I just got an oil temperature gauge installed today by a friend of mine who is a MINI tech. Did it on his own time which save a crap ton of money

Long story short, the oil temperature usually hovers around 160-180+ F. I haven't seen it yet top 190F. Granted I haven't been driving it hard, just smooth driving around town. I've read average is above 200F. Did I miss something or am I running low oil temp? He did say I have an oil pan leak and need to change the gasket. If its low temperature, could this have an effect?

 

Sadly, I can't remember what my OEM temp gauge was reading when it was working, but IIRC it was +/- 200 - 240??. Depends where you're measuring. Realistically, if the engine is running well, whatever you're seeing is fine and should be used as a baseline. A leaky oil pan gasket will have ZERO effect on oil temp.
Effectively, your oil temp should boil off any water absorbed, so 212+ is desired.

 

Since the location of the sending unit for the oil temp is different for so many, +1 on using your current temps as a baseline....

 

Oh sorry. The oil temp sensor is in the oil pan. Specifically the drain plug has been replaced with a plug with the sensor in it.

 

Definitely sounds low. Could be an issue with the sensor, the wiring or the gauge. Can't see a normal engine running that low. An IR temp reader would be helpful.

 

Hm, thanks. Yeah I have another friend that said prosport gauges(I have them) run a little off for him. Ok wondering if I'm getting the same effect. Also , the guy who installed the guages said there was something about the voltage when installing, when I turn the lights on the gauges make a buzz sound to go from white to amber illumination. I forget the specifics of what he said.

 

This thread is so BORING without any pictures haha - if it's any help the water temp gauge (scan gauge) on my mini stays about 209 all the time.

 

Since a oil pan add on temp guage is impedance based, a bad ground, too thin a wire, etc will all cause inaccurate readings...
The coolant temp and the oil temp should be VERY closely related, since there is a heat exchanger/cooler that functions as an oil preheat in cold temps, and a cooler in hot temps...
Any chance you are running with Stuck thermostat or a colder one?

 

I'm not sure about that. I dont think ive ever had work done on my thermostat since I bought it in 05 brand new. If it is the heat exchanger, then why does my coolant temp seem accurate but my oil not? Maybe its the wiring? My friend is used to working on r56s? I have the stock 05 mcs speedometer with the coolant and fuel temps on left and right, solo tach on steering wheel.

 

Stock temp guage is a "dummy" guage... Really only shows cold, OK/normal and overheating...no REAL info unless you had the chro pack....
It's a guage that's made too look classic, but does not reflect the actual changes in the coolant temps you would see if you had a odb2 reader that reads temps pluged in...
To put it simply, like on most modern cars, the guage is "dummbed down" to limit the number if erroneous complaints/questions...so the middle range is all it shows once "warm".... The heat-exchanger is located in the US passenger side wheel well area...looks like a mini radiator of sorts, has oil and coolant flowing through it...lack iff coolant changes can cause it to fail, and leak internally, mixing the oil, making some to think head-gasket, or worse...
This part is ONLY on the S.

 

Ah thanks for that info about the 'dummy' gauge.

I will say guys that I've been double checking around since I first posted and I think part of this has been spurred along by the fact that this is my first oil temp gauge.

I've been talking to the guy who installed my gauge and he asked someone he knew had an oil temp gauge in the oil pan and he basically said that's the same temperature range that the other guy is getting. I've also contacted Prosport and the representative just basically told me that oil temperature readings depend on multiple factors such as make/model of the car and where the sender is placed. He said that if its placed where mine is on my MINI, replacement of the drain plug, the temps will naturally be lower on my gauge since its at the lowest point.

I am just going to have to assume that the rest of the engine oil is running several degrees higher than what I'm getting in the oil pan(I think I read somewhere +20 degrees or more) which makes sense if optimal temperature is supposed to be over 200F and my gauge is reading around 180-190+ at the bottom of the oil pan after its warmed up. It is getting colder out here around DC so I think I'm getting over the fact that I wont see those higher temps on my gauge at least maybe til the summer.

Anyways, I'm planning for at least an oil pressure gauge as well for more full information. Thanks guys!

 

I'm using an AutoMeter Oil Temp gauge and the sensor is mounted in the oil drain plug. My oil temperature is always about 15 degrees lower than my coolant temps. I'm using an Ultra qauge connected to OBD port to get the coolant temperature. Which appears to be right on.

 

http://www.iwsti.com/forums/ecu-tuni...r-oil-pan.html

This thread was really interesting to read

 

On other cars that I have with real oil temp gauges, my truck runs at 200 and my BMW runs the same under normal driving conditions. The oil cooler I have in the BMW has a thermostat set to open at 170 degrees so apparently the BMW engineers think it should be over that. The sender (and cooler thermostat) are located on the oil filter housing, not the pan, for comparison.

 

Just had another question.

At what temperature can I start opening up the throttle?

Ive read that until about 140f you should keep the rpms under 3500k. Anyone else?