Tracking a car with warranty. Oil Cooler? Oil Weight?
 

I just recently bought a 2015 FR-S as a second car with the plan to use it mostly for tracking (road course), and maybe some AutoX. I have a track near by me that I am a member at which allows me to go whenever, so I will probably be out there a couple times a month.

I have read about going with a heavier weight oil and using an oil cooler, but I still have about 20months of full warranty, and 44months of powertrain.

I took my car out for the first time last weekend and with low-mid 90's I saw around 280 degrees F max oil temp. I live in Texas so temps going over 100 degrees will be pretty common during the summer.

Wondering what the best plan is:
- Doing preventative mods (oil cooler, 30w oil) and possibly dealing with warranty issues
- Leaving it as-is and pushing the oil temp limits and doing more frequent oil changes

Thanks! :thumbup:

The dealers won't like seeing an oil cooler, and could claim that any oil or heat related damage was due to it, same with oil to a lesser extent. They could also deny claims if they have knowledge or proof of your racing activities as those are not within the scope of the warranty (this is a huge gray area/can of worms).

Personally, I would develop a relationship with your local dealer, be upfront about everything you are doing, and if anything breaks they might just be on your side. I tracked my BRZ all summer with stock oil and cooling in DFW (I autox a ton too, but that's not anything to really worry about) and managed to get by without problems. I do however, have an oil cooler that is going on the car before next season (maybe next weekend, but forecast is for rain and I don't have a garage).

Thinner oils cool down faster, and synthetics hold up to heat pretty well.

It will depend how hot you get your oil (driving ability, course layout, weather, etc.) and what oil temps/pressures you are comfortable with on track.

I've looked over logs from my track days and in 85 F ambient with a Perrin OC, I'll typically see 240 F sustained (243 F peak) oil temps with 5w30 oil. Taking a look at the handy pressure v. temp chart GSpeed has plotted for our cars:

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=91820

5w30 oil at 240 F with an OC means just under 10 psi/1000 RPM oil pressure, which is a typical safe recommendation for engines. Compare that to a 0w20 oil at 280 F without OC dropping down to 5 psi/1000 RPM - that is arguably a danger zone (although some people are comfortable with that).

IMO looking at that data, if you're going to track regularly in hot weather I think an oil cooler and 5w30 oil are well worth it. But ultimately up to you what level of risk you're willing to take on with your engine.

With a good oil cooler (Jackson Racing), you can safely run 0W20 (full synthetic only; I recommend a Group V oil).

Dealers don't like seeing oil coolers, but they can't outright void your warranty for having one.

Thanks for the info guys. I think my plan is to run the car stock for now since the weather is getting colder, then most likely go with an oil cooler at the start of next summer.

These engines seem to be reliable enough that I can hopefully just use the oil cooler and not have to worry about any warranty issues.

It really depends on the dealership you bring your car too. I didn't lie to the service advisor when he asked if I tracked my car and all that and they ended up replacing my transmission under warranty due to a rattle noise.

This.

Build a relationship with your advisor. Even going for simple oil changes and building a history with your dealer can help you when you need something done.

Magnuson-Moss Act requires the dealership to prove that your modifications caused the failure. Modifying the factory lubrication system (by installing an aftermarket oil cooler) would absolutely count as an offending modification if you spun a bearing, or had any sort of engine internal problems.

We've seen this happen with Corvettes. Hell, GM can (and will) deny warranty on engines if the right oil isn't used in LS7s. They'll have the dealership send off an oil sample for analysis, and if it's not Castrol (or whatever they "require" in the manual) they're legally able to deny the warranty claim.