Running hot?, Oil temp vs. plug read Options

[brownaar]

Let me say up front....CHT gauge is on order. I'm tired of guessing. Anyway, oil temps are running 220-230, kinda makin me antsy. I pull plugs and read them, they look great, nice dark bronze color, no white ashy lookin stuff, no excessive carbon buildup. If plugs seem to show proper combustion, are my head temps okay? Oil pressure stays great even at the highest temps.
Thanks,
Aaron

[dbgriffith75]

Don't assume that because you're burning clean your head and/or oil temps are good. In fact, don't make any assumptions about anything. When in doubt, test it. Then test it again. Then test it again just to be sure. The primary thing to remember here is that the engine is air cooled (unless you've added a coolant system) and that its temps depend entirely on unobstructed air flow throughout the sheet metal on the engine.

But if you've got a gauge on the way, I guess just wait till it arrives and get it hooked up to see what they're running. I don't really know of any other way to test them.

Likewise I'm not sure what the standard temp on oil is supposed to be; but again it depends on oil circulation and making sure it's unobstructed and that the oil cooler isn't plugged up w/ dirt or crud. Look back through the last few pages of the 914 Garage and find a topic titled "300 degree oil temp." There's a lot of discussion about this.

[Ferg]

230 is what my 2.0 ran at before I added a second cooler....

I believe most stock 2.0 will run about that on the highway, on a warm day. At least that's what I found when testing the many different 914's I've owned.

Speaking strictly oil temp, 230 would not bother me to much if that was the MAX and I was changing oil every 3k, and had good pressure.

Ferg