whats good oil pressure?????

[chops]

At highway speeds doing 75mph my oil pres is at 42 and at idle 19 to 21 but when its hot outside and am at 200 temp my oil goes down to 10 12 psi am new to these buicks so just want to know where you guys are at???

 

[hiboom]

oil press

sounds pretty average for 10-30 or 10-40w oil maybe a little low for 20-50w or straight 30w. 10lbs or oil pressure for every 1000 rpm is average some car may very a little

 

[chops]

Am using
10/40 but am going to switch to 20/50 for the summer

 

[ChristianKustom]

Yeah sounds right. I am running 10w30 w/zmax and additives and mine sits at 11 idling and shoots up to 59 while cruising. It gets higher if I step into it. Thicker oil will help raise it a bit but be careful going too thick. Not that we have to worry about this during the hot weather but cold starts in the winter time with thick oil can spell disaster on your parts due to the fact that cold thick oil is difficult to circulate through your engine. But yes it is ok to havve OP's that low. Completely normal. Below 8psi and I would start thinking about bearings in the near future. Just my opinion.

 

[JUSTA3.8V6]

man, that seems low to me. my car doesnt drop below 20psi hot at idle and im consistantly at 60 psi at 60mph or higher. w mobil 1 10w30. 172k unopened miles

 

[chops]

I drop below 20psi if I hot lap it on a very hot day from what I've been told that's normal especially if am beating the piss out of it in 90 deg humidity. Other than that under normal driving conditions in very hot temps am 19 20

 

[BobbyBuick]

10 psi per 1000 RPMS is all you need

 

[JUSTA3.8V6]

i try to not let my car hit even 180. maybe sometimes. i DONT LIKE HEAT lol

 

[hiboom]

man, that seems low to me. my car doesnt drop below 20psi hot at idle and im consistantly at 60 psi at 60mph or higher. w mobil 1 10w30. 172k unopened miles

Better check your gauge.They were not much better then that when they were brand new.- LOL!

 

[ChristianKustom]

man, that seems low to me. my car doesnt drop below 20psi hot at idle and im consistantly at 60 psi at 60mph or higher. w mobil 1 10w30. 172k unopened miles

Someting does not sound right about that. I bet if you hooked up an oil pressure gauge you would be surprised at the results. I agree with the statement that you gauge is probably not functioning correctly.

Remember these cars were also the same cars that left the factory with lousy dirt filled paint jobs so every car will be slightly different. However oil pressures are usually within +/- 5psi from what I have been around.

Use a professional gauge (SnapOn, Cornwell etc) and check the OP. I bet your stock gauge is indeed wrong.

 

[JUSTA3.8V6]

i have a 2 yr old mechanical auto meter phantom in it. hasnt changed since i installed it 2 springs ago.

 

[smoke20]

Someting does not sound right about that. I bet if you hooked up an oil pressure gauge you would be surprised at the results. I agree with the statement that you gauge is probably not functioning correctly.

Remember these cars were also the same cars that left the factory with lousy dirt filled paint jobs so every car will be slightly different. However oil pressures are usually within +/- 5psi from what I have been around.

Use a professional gauge (SnapOn, Cornwell etc) and check the OP. I bet your stock gauge is indeed wrong.

CORNWELL I stay far away from them tools

 

[JUSTA3.8V6]

i beat the hell out of my car all night last night in milwaukee, my OP did not drop below 20 psi at idle in gear. factory freak i guess

 

[chops]

I think ever since I changed the nylon line to a copper line that's when I saw the difference

 

[turbo nasty]

FWIW a buick full heat soaked idling in gear in stock form. Having oil psi in the high teens isnt unusual.

 

[bison]

70psi@6000rpm at full operating temp. I wouldn't want less and more is not better and does not help anything

 

[Steve V]

Don't worry about the actual number as long as when you give it gas it jumps up. I've seen 8 psi at idle and no other issues,I did not like it though. As stated earlier 10psi per 1000 rpm is rule of thumb.

 

[chops]

Weel today I bought valvoline vr1 20/50 what a difference in hot temp I ihad 23 psi and full throttle 60 all day long. I guess that's my choice for the summer and back to 10/40 winter thanks for the input guys:biggrin:

 

[BlackBandit]

Weel today I bought valvoline vr1 20/50 what a difference in hot temp I ihad 23 psi and full throttle 60 all day long. I guess that's my choice for the summer and back to 10/40 winter thanks for the input guys:biggrin:

Read bison's post. 23 psi at idle and 60 cruising at 2200 RPM may give you (and anyone else that doesn't understand oil and oiling systems) a warm fuzzy but the bottom line is you're probably sacrificing oiling performance for a number you like on your gauge. If you have good pressure with lighter oil run the lighter oil. Running a heavier oil will give you a gauge reading you like better but that comes at the expense of less flow. (read: bearing cooling) Something to think about.

P.S.10W-30 and straight 30 weight are the same viscosity at temp.

 

[chops]

am new to these tr am trying to see what works best in any aspect with my car I put only the best on this car just so you know how anal I am I changed the oil 4x in 800miles to see what works best my first oil change was mobil 1 then I was told that's the worst thing I can do for this car so out it went. Now I found vr1 so far everything is where I want it to be my car doesent like thin oil in the 90% weather but over the winter its fine its not that my oil pressure is bad with lighter oil its just me I guess thanks for your responce