Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Having sorted hot weather cooling so that I can run in traffic on hot days with no concerns I have now given myself the reverse problem - went out for a quick spin this morning - the ambient was 3.5 degrees and I couldn?t get water above 70 degrees on the gauge.

Ended up having to use a few extra revs to keep the oil warm - what fun

I used to avoid using the car in the darker months but am trying to extend the running year so probably need a shutter for winter driving to blank off part of the rad

Mines about the same, with an 82 degree thermostat fitted and 5 degrees outside. In my case about 160 ish degrees Farhenheit, but not up to 170 F ( 76 C ). I have not checked the accuracy of the gauge recently.
Eric in Burnley
1967 S3SE DHC

Thanks for the reassurance Eric

You make an interesting point on the accuracy of the gauge - not sure I checked mine after it was refurbished. I had assumed that it is reasonably accurate and think it is vaguely right - but cant base that on anything substantive.
Hmmm......

All the best
Gavin

gav wrote:... reasonably accurate ... vaguely right ... but cant base that on anything substantive.
Hmmm...... Gavin

That's the text book definition of "SWAG": Scientific Wild Ass Guess.

Or use the probability theory, if it reads 170 then it probably is 170.

Gavin are you using an appropriate thermostat that's working correctly?
I can usually see mine working in the slight fluctuations of temperature gauge when I'm at steady speed.

Ended up having to use a few extra revs to keep the oil warm - what fun

Do you have an oil temp gauge? I was under the impression that ten miles would suffice for oil irrespective of water. In any case I would think that any decent multi-weight oil could stand some below 100celcius running. That said, I do get the impression (from PistonHeads) that Brits change their oil less often then Americans and rebuild their engines more often.

A long time ago I worked for a mining company who ran a fleet of off highway dump trucks, mainly fitted with General Motors 149 series engines. We could not achieve the engine life that GM expected. Shell, our oil supplier, set up an oil analysis lab which resulted in us changing oil filter, oil, and air filter more often than recommended by GM (the mine was hot and dusty place) we achieved the engine life GM anticipated.

Whilst I know vehicle manufacturers have much more knowledge than me I have always changed oil at half the interval recommended. Oil and filters are relatively cheap.

Richard Hawkins

I have read reports that in very dusty conditions changing air filters too often let's more crud through than allowing dust to build up and reduce size of particles passing through.

MarkDa wrote:I have read reports that in very dusty conditions changing air filters too often let's more crud through than allowing dust to build up and reduce size of particles passing through.

I'd be wary of believing that in every case since it assumes all filters are equal.

Agreed - I don't suppose any of us are using our cars in anything like those conditions.
I expect we also change oil on a time period that's way less than the normal distance cycle.
In my old daily driver VW Passat TDI I did 6 monthly oil & filter changes and it still used no additional oil and was returning 50+ (uk) mpg after 300,000 miles when I let it go.

MarkDa wrote: have read reports that in very dusty conditions changing air filters too often let's more crud through than allowing dust to build up and reduce size of particles passing through

That's correct. I've heard that too. Applies to all air filters. There's a "conditioning" phase before they are tested for flow rate and dirt entrapment.

Sorry - been tied up with other things for a bit.

The engine and stat are new and only recently set up on the rollers. Its done around 450 miles since the install (which is a lot for me!). The air filter is also new so I see that it needs to run in which is fine. I'll do an oil change in 50 miles or so.

The journey was only around 15 miles and it only really warmed up at the end but as soon as the rad met the air, the temp dropped back to around 70 degrees on the gauge (however accurate that is - I'll check next time I do a drain down).

I was thinking about a dash operated rad blind but have decided that's a step too far (and something else to go wrong) so I am concluding by relying on the stat to do its job. There is warmth coming out of the heater but with a low ambient it doesn't burn my leg like it does in the spring and oddly, I miss that

Gavin

A bit late to the party, but on type 26 cars you can drop horizontal slats into the radiator between the mesh and the frame to reduce the cooling. I'm currently blocking off 4" (100 mm) but I don't know whether later cars will allow this.

In very hot weather my oil gauge can be at 30?C before starting which is when I'll normally allow 4,000 rpm but not until it's over 50? will I floor it. In freezing weather it can take 3 miles to reach 30? and 5 or 6 miles to exceed 50?. I haven't worked out how to shield the sump easily; any ideas?

Interesting point about the sump.

How much of it protrudes below the cross member?

What about an alternative solution of an oil pre heater pad on the bottom of the sump. If you pre heat the oil before your journey I would have thought that it would warm up quicker. In an ideal world I guess this should be coupled to a water pre heater as well. This would extend the engine life but where do you stop?

Gavin