Engine speed and Temperature
Posted: Mon Sep 26, 2016 5:31 pm
I got a good demonstration yesterday about the relationship between engine speed and engine temperature yesterday.
I was tooling along a flat stretch if Interstate 5 in what was probably 95-100 degree heat. I have one of those VDO oil temp gauges where the sensor takes the place of the drain nut. (I don't know if the readings I get are the actual temperature of the oil, but I assume that they are proportional.) The readings are normally between 120 and 180.
When driving at 65 mph with my stock 1600 engine, I was getting readings of 205 or so. When I slowed down to 60, the temp dropped to about 180.
I'd always assumed that the faster the engine spun, the more air was going through the engine's cooling system. I guess that's still true, but there seems to be a point where that increase is outbalanced by the greater heat produced by the engine itself. So I guess I'm going to keep my cruising to about 60 (at least in hot weather), since that seems to be the sweet spot for the engine's cooling system.
I was tooling along a flat stretch if Interstate 5 in what was probably 95-100 degree heat. I have one of those VDO oil temp gauges where the sensor takes the place of the drain nut. (I don't know if the readings I get are the actual temperature of the oil, but I assume that they are proportional.) The readings are normally between 120 and 180.
When driving at 65 mph with my stock 1600 engine, I was getting readings of 205 or so. When I slowed down to 60, the temp dropped to about 180.
I'd always assumed that the faster the engine spun, the more air was going through the engine's cooling system. I guess that's still true, but there seems to be a point where that increase is outbalanced by the greater heat produced by the engine itself. So I guess I'm going to keep my cruising to about 60 (at least in hot weather), since that seems to be the sweet spot for the engine's cooling system.