I live in San Antonio Texas and it gets really hot here. My ambient temperature has been reading above 100 degrees lately, like 110 F. Is there some reason this would matter to me? Should I be watching it? My temp gauge and oil gauge are the same as always, below the middle. It will be 90 deg outside, and get up to 111 on the ambient LED, so I was just wondering if I should care.

Thanks.

 

The dash temp gauge is a dummy gauge it will not start moving until your car is hotter than it should be. Hotter temps outside just mean your car has to work a little harder to keep cool. I know mine is a little more sluggish driving around on 100+ degree days.


I'm assuming when you say oil gauge you mean the pressure one?

 

Welcome, hop on over the SARX lounge in the gulf forum. The AMB gauge is not important in terms of the car running but definitely keep and eye on the coolant temp gauge, at 230F it will start to move past normal and even at 230F it's not good for the motor. But with these temps lately it's hard to keep the car as cool as it should be.


But if you plan on modding your car then consider the Good Box, Scan Gauge II, or something similar. This is a shot of my car after do a hard run through the hills in this weather. I use the Good Box which displays data in the factory LCD.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9krpmrx8/5806260926/

 

You must have fixed your cooling issues because on those same roads @ 98 deg, I was getting 220 water, not ***** to the wall, but had my AC on since I don't push my limit either.

 

Yeah coolant temps are okay but now my intake temps are super high. I think my MAF is going out so I am just going to replace it since it is the original.

 

That's what i notice when i get out of the garage, the temperature just moves so fast even though you just driven it a little bit.

 

Why don't you try the DIY MAF coolant block, then.

I'm pretty sure I've seen 150+ deg IAT so does it matter or does it seem to have idle problem?

When warmed up on hot day I burn my hand if I touch anything between the tops of the front fenders.

 

Yes, the oil pressure is gauge is what I meant. LOL. Thanks for the response. one more question... if you don't mind.. I am very good about having my car serviced when I'm suppose to and I use what the book says, and what is on the oil fill cap which is 5w20 oil. With my temps reaching in excess of 100 degrees, and I have 80,000 miles on my car, should run something different? and is this determined with some kind of mathematical formula?

Thanks

 

if your car has been factory serviced (stealership) for 5w20 all it's life and it's still on original engine, then I suggest you to go do a compression check.

I use 20w50, btw, this is coming from NYC.

oil cap? what oil cap?

 

Try IAT's in the 190F range when stopped in traffic


That's the million dollar question and you will get a million answers. If you don't want hassles with the dealer in the event you need a engine replacement just stick with 5W-20. Switching at 80k is not likely to help anything. But if your engine fails before the warranty is up then I recommend a good full synthetic of a 40W or higher.

I personally believe that 5W-20 just doesn't hold up in our weather and from the used oil I have tested on other local members running Castrol 5W-20, my assumptions are somewhat true in that the 5W-20 was pretty broken down after 3,000 miles but still within acceptable ranges so it's not absolute junk. I just think with a heavier weight 5W-40 or 0W-40 or higher you get a bit of extra protection. remember, in South Texas the first number on the bottle doesn't mean much.

 

0w40 is fuel saving thin for Texas.

I can't even read 5w20 on the stick it's so thin.

 

Just a reminder that GENERAL AUTOMOTIVE section is not the place for discussing RX8 issues. It is for anything automotive that is unrelated to the RX8.

I know it's confusing.

Paul.

 

I went with 10w40 year round. Its hot as hell in vegas though, I can park my car after driving it and come back 6 hours later and it isn't even near cold and hits proper temp in minutes. Search around the forums there is a graph that tells you what oil is the best for your climate.

 

Making sure is the IAT the same as the cobbs reading for the Intake Temps????

 

dude that is friggin sweet

 

I'm not confused at all.

High AIT can be trouble on any combustion engine, and the same oils and cooling products can overlap on them, too.