Hi All,

After the recent track day - I'm thinking an oil change is in order. Running Castrol 5w20 and ambient temperature was right around 100 degrees F. At these temps I imagine oil temperature would be nearing the point where conventional oil begins to break down (someone said they were reading oil temps exceeding 260 degress F).

I suppose my next question is, if I ran synthetic oil instead of conventional, would an oil change after every track event be necessary (due to the greater heat tolerance)?

Thanks in advance!

 

I would rather change the oil right BEFORE the track event than after.

 

^ +1

 

If you are running oil that has been in the motor for a couple thousand miles and then running a track day then I would for sure change the oil after the track day. I agree with Expo that an oil change before the track day would probably be better.

I would be pretty surprised if your oil temperatures were 260 degrees as you would more than likely have blown your motor. Since oil plays a larger cooling role with the rotary engine you will see oil temperatures follow coolant temps. As such, if you had oil temps that high it's a sure bet your coolant would have been the same. The coolant seals tend to go out around 260 degrees. So, I don't imagine your temps were that excessive.

That being said, I would highly suggest changing your oil before the track day if you are going to be using a 5w-20. If you are expericing temperatures north of 220 degrees I would highly suggest a thicker viscosity.

 

Thanks for the info - any opinions of synthetic vs conventional for track days?

 

whatever.

just do one before or after.

personally, i always run 5w-30 mobil1 full synthetic.

 

before and after. You'd be shocked how dirty oil can get after a good track day.

 

^ +1

 

After a good track day, half your oil will be new anyway as you have to keep pour oil in there. I think the rate is 1 quart for every 75 track miles. I never keep it that low as I am afraid of oil starving under high G loads. I just pop the hood open after every two sessions

 

+2 change before and after