Thread: VE oil pressure and temperatures

Hello guys!
I recently placed gauges at my car which made me into some serious thinking. I would like to share my results with you and hear your opinions.

Cold start pressure was about 6,8 bar = 98psi. When engine become hot I got full throttle pressure ~4,2bar=60psi and idle pressure 2-2,5bar=29-36psi. 5W40 oil is used. During the midday we had 43degrees and some summer days are that hot.
I was city driving mostly low speeds and water temp was stack at 98C/208F degrees. Oil temp 95-100C/203-212F degrees depending on stress. Outside temperature during night rides was 30C/86F degrees. I've made two videos regarding hot and mid temps. On a longer in town ride my water temp reached 105C/221F degrees. I've read that water temp sensors placed on the upper radiator hose might not be that accurate cause it's the hottest spot they could be. I kinda believe that cause my fans did not turn on as they should be. I still haven't compared readings through diagnostics.

I replaced my oil with 300V again but 10W40 this time and new oil filter, cooling water. It didn't change much...
Cold startup is 6,5bar=94psi and cold temp pressure is high enough but hot drops to 3,5-4bar=50-58 on either cruising or high revs.

Using the AC on city driving kept my water temp on 90C/194F and my oil on 80C/176F with no stress. On the free highway I pushed it two times to see water temp climb to 110C/230F which stayed there... and oil temp 95-100C/203-212F. Using low speeds on the way back kept my water temp at 100C/212F.

I know I need a larger radiator and perhaps a more sufficient oil cooler but what do you think about my oil pressures regarding the temperatures?

This is the Motul 300V specs through motul.co.jp


These are some Mobil1 specs

I am using a gtir oil pump and 20w50 oil in the VET. It is over 100 degrees out now. My oil pressure when cold was around 100 or so. It pegged my gauge. Now that it is hotter outside I rarely see over 80psi. My sending unit or guage is kinda jumpy and I am not sure how accurate it is. But In normal cruising I see around 50psi. I will be changing the oil to a 5w40 or a 5w50 when it comes to replace it. My oil pressure with the old ve pump was only 20psi at idle with 0w40. Sometimes it would drop to a lil under 20psi.

Too bad indeed you couldn't find a ve pump when you needed it.
Excellent writeup on your build post!
I think 20W would be way too thick and 5W very thin for you. 10W or max 15W maybe are more appropriate.



Guys I'm afraid I made a huge bloomer. What I've claimed about my oil temps stand actually for my water temps.

I was cruising on the highway with outside temp at 30C/86F and 3500-4500rpm to see my middle gauge at 80C/176F degrees (that was supposed to be the oil). I made a stop to my mechanic to clear things up and exchange some friendly words of understanding. Middle gauge raised up to 100C/212F and my fans turned on, temperature started to fall to 95C/203F were fans stopped. This was exactly the same monitoring I had made through datascan so upper radiator hose sensor is pretty accurate!




Medium stress city driving got my oil up to 105C/221F while on the highway 110C/230F.

What I would like to know is if people notice a huge pressure drop above 85C/185F.

Some of you might find this information useful.

I made this cruising video.
Outside temp 25C/77F
water temp 75C/167F
oil temp 80C/176F
pressure 6bar/87psi @3200rpm

Outside temp 32C/89,6F
water temp 85C/185F
oil temp 90C/194F
pressure 4,2bar/60psi @4200rpm

Outside temp 36C/96,8F
water temp 85C/185F
oil temp 94C/201F
pressure 4,2bar/60psi @4500rpm
AC was on for at least 200km/124miles

City driving is still the same both stack on 100C...
My new thicker radiator arrived, hoping it will chill me
If it doesn't then perhaps underdrive pulleys maybe a bad idea for traffic...

Also got some interesting information

What radiator and thermostat are you running?

I have greddy gauges
a nismo t-stat
N1 water pump pulley
Custom race radiator


crank scrapers and I run 5w30 oil

our oil pressure is the same at idle and cruising
my water temp cruising around town will barely crack 75c
oil temp is in the 85-90c range

personally i get concerned if either of my temps reach 100c but that may just be me being paranoid

That looks cheesy...
What about your outside temps? You're looking cool alright.

I run both Gspec pulleys.

Billion 71C wide flow type thermo

Standard P11/G20 radiator 15mm core thickness.
I bought one which was supposed to be 30mm but actually was around 26mm I'm about to install it.

external temps are about the same as your 80F+ but I have relatively low humidity here in the NW USA

Oh yeah i also run a 20psi radiator cap

Okay I did the first oil change on the VE-T. After 1500 miles the oil was nearly completely black and broken down apparently. I changed the oil from Valvoline 20w50 to Rotella synthetic 5w40. My oil pressure has improved so much! The car runs smoother and has more power than before. At cold start I have 80psi from the GTiR pump. After warm it never drops below 30 even after repeated full throttle runs. At 4k on the freeway I have around 70-75psi after the oil gets very hot. If the oil is let cool down at idle the oil pressure will rise. With warm oil at 3500rpm I hit over 100psi and that is where the guage maxxes out.

With the oil VERY hot I still hit over 90psi at high rpms. Perhaps that 20w50 had broken down, because on the freeway at 4500rpm with the Valvoline I was only at 35psi.

I also changed my oil filter from Mobil to K&N. The K&N is supposed to flow better and so far everything is working great!

Damn you man
That pump flows big time. Viscosity made a huge difference.
My mechanic was describing me that I should get similar pressure readings but I don't...


I placed a P11 TD aftermarket radiator about 26mm/1.0244inch core thickness used HEPU P999-G12Plus coolant (pink color mostly used on AUDI-VW). I drove in town for 3 days before place it to the highway. Temp is growing slower than before but still reaches 100C after 15 to 20 minutes of driving with minimum stops for corners. I had my tuner in the car, left town with 100C towards the open highway, driving for a long time with no stress at the engine. 5th gear and 120km/h (74mph) made no change on temps. We decided to stress it. 4th gear full vvl activation 140-160km/h (86-99mph) stayed there for 2minutes approximately changed to 5th back to 120km/h (74mph) looked at the instruments and temps were 90C/194F! Is it insane or not?
Made a stop for 45minutes took the way back but this time highway was our first exit. Engine was still cool. No matter how I drove temps remained low. Water 90C oil 85/185F-90C/194F.
One day after temp still reaching 100C/212F in city but if don't stop it could drop to 95C/203F.
What do I have to do? I suspect the larger WP pulley along with the 16VE pump, maybe a bad combination for city driving.

you sure your coolant system is bled properly?