That standard VDO gauge reads up to 600F degrees. What's the nominal and max?
I heard 220 for max. Is this right? Oil temp max is said to be 220 also.
PS. Type1 1600cc slightly modified (just outside bolt-ons like carb and headers)
Thank you. It didn't make sense to me when someone told me 220. Glad I checked!
Good, my new 300 degree gauge will not be out-of-range.. Now on to figure-out how to run the wires around :)
Bob Hoover had this to say about head temps a while back:
"The safe upper limit for cast aluminum is 450 degrees on the Fahrenheit scale. That is the lower edge of the 'plastic' range for cast aluminum; the point at which the material begins to deform and 'flow', not in the fluid sense but due to a combination of heat & stress. Run at that temp for any length of time, allow the head to cool and you'll discover it's dimensions have changed. Do that enough times -- enough 'heat cycles' -- and your valve wear will be greatly accelerated and your sealing surfaces will no longer provide a seal."
For more see:
Water boils at 212 degrees F, so I'd think that 220 degrees F oil temp would be "just fine", not "the maximum allowable".
I was under the impression that conventionnal oil can support more than
240 degrees F. I do remember reading aout synth being usable over 300 degrees. Anyone have an URL for that SAE paper where they compare both oil type?My 0.02
I see a range from 260 to 350 on my bug. At 350 I can still grab the dip stick and hold without it being uncomfortable. I would consider my engine to be a border line engine on reliability. I say that because I am not sure of the overall health of the engine.
-- Terry B AKA VDUBBS Buggin in Bama
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This month or last month Hot VW's had an article on the use of synthetics compared to normal oil. They used an IR gauge and tested different parts of the engine and if I recall had some nice temperature charts documenting the whole process. Synthetic ran several degrees cooler in all cases. That said, there was another article in the same magazine a few years back that tested the effects on the oil seals using synthetic versus regular oil. This was done in a makeshift lab using a hot bath of oil as opposed to in a real engine. I recall that most brands of synthetic caused some minimal distortion to the seals. There was one, Mobil I think that had the least amount. My old VW mechanic always told me to just keep straight 40 in it and I have for 10 years now. I live in the Mojave Desert and my 61, 67, and
72 all run normally at whatever temperature they are at or in. Today's High, 106.Mike
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