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Originally Posted by ctgottapee
The oil sump is part of the heat emitting system, most cars have no oil cooler at all.
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Exactly so. The last thing I want to do is overheat the oil by insulating a necessary cooling device (sump pan). I think I can rely on the 'oil cooler' (oil/coolant heat exchanger) to do any necessary oil cooling, as my VW TDi engine doesn't seem to produce a whole lot of heat, but I'd want some way of closely monitoring the temperature of the oil in the sump to check I'm not overheating it.
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You could even try pre-heating the tires, just like they do at the race track.
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I'd not considered pre-warming the tyres but I considered prewarming the transmission. For whatever reason, my mpg continues to climb until I've been driving for a good couple of hours or so. Even though that mpg improvement over a long drive is less pronounced now I'm starting with a pre-heated engine, it still takes two hours to reach its absolute peak. That's probably a combination of things, including having a thoroughly heat-soaked engine, and including warmer fuel, as my car recirculates warmed fuel back into the tank, but I guess the transmission warms up - both with internal friction and with conducted heat from the engine/clutch housing - and the transmission oil becomes less viscous as it heats. Then there's CV joints, wheel bearings, and then tyres, all of which will have been designed to run most efficiently when thoroughly warmed up.
I had good success with a transmission oil change. VW claim the (manual) gear oil never needs changing for the life of the vehicle, but after 150,000 miles and ten years I decided to change it anyway, and also added a small tube of Molyslip gear additive (UK version!) The difference was immediate and obvious, both in the way the car drove and in observed mpg. I got my mechanic to change the oil up on his four-post lift. Took him ten minutes.
That was so cheap and easy, I'd recommend anyone to do it every few years, whatever the manufacturer says. (Manufacturers have an interest in claiming long - or infinite! - maintenance intervals because that sells cars.)
I calculated that 'gear oil change mod' would have paid for itself easily in a year, unlike this blessed 'alternator delete' mod, which is taking far too much time and is costing way too much! I think I may have passed the point of maximum benefit-vs-cost-n-trouble some time ago with that, but having paid for all the kit and done half the work, I'll carry on and finish it.
I've generally been having fun with it, but I'm still smarting from having accidentally damaged my alternator last week. I guess any project worth doing has moments where you wonder why you started it.