Quote:
Originally Posted by Phoenix'97
I will have to research it but it is hard to believe. The motor oil is cycling through the motor long before the coolant starts cycling through after warming up, I don't see how it is possible for the coolant to warm up faster than the motor oil...
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The coolant surrounds the combustion chambers, it is there specifically to absorb excess heat of combustion, the oil will touch parts that get pretty hot, but not hot enough to warm it up quickly. The oil probably warms up the quickest when it is in the heads, but it isn't there for very long.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Phoenix'97
The only issue with an oil-to-coolant heat exchanger is that in below freezing weather the engine oil will likely warm up faster than the coolant, which takes a good amount time to get up to temperature while letting the car idle for 15 minutes.  |
First of all, you seem to care about your car a lot, but letting it idle for 15 minutes is not doing your car any good. When you idle, ESPECIALLY when it is cold out, you are diluting the oil with fuel, which destroys the capability of the oil to lubricate. Get a block heater, plug it in a few hours ahead of time, unplug, start engine and start driving. I have a block heater that I use any time I drive the car when I have at least half an hour of warning. It is truly awesome to start your car in 30 degree weather and already have the coolant at 80 degrees. I even use my block heater when its 80+ degrees out. Coolant temps start out around 110-120, and the engine idles smooth and at 700rpm instead of 1000.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Phoenix'97
The question then becomes, do I really need one for my application? It could be beneficial if I were to use lower viscosity motor oil than my recommended 5W-30. The lowest I could go is 0W-30 but I am not sure if this is too thin of motor oil to use in my motor, even with an aftermarket low friction ceramic coating of the motor internals and even if I am using top tier Amsoil Signature Series or the European Formula, and changing it out every 3 months like it were conventional motor oil.
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There is no reason to change your oil out every 3 months unless you are doing an F-ton of short trips, especially using Amsoil's signature series. Oil does not deteriorate over that short of time. I did an oil change after 10K miles and 19 months on my accord using Penzoil Platinum 0W-20, here are the results.
