Skoda Octavia II (1Z3) – oil temp problems UPDATE

I’ve been working on an improvement of oil cooling as mentioned in my initial post about problems with oil temperature.

Summary and facts

• factory tuned car is not designed for spirited drivers
• keep engine oil under 110 deg of Celsius
• improve air flow throughout engine bay
• common VW spec oils are designed with HTSC viscosity of 3.2@120deg C – it kills your engine if pushed hard
• street/performance oil such as ester based Motul 300V has got HTSC viscosity 4.2@150 deg C
• common VW oils are stripped off most wear resistant additives – you save Nature but kill your engine; broken engine is worst than some minor CO2 pollution
• ECO cars are worst myth ever made – they are eco friendly only on paper

I don’t why but my coolant radiator started to leak badly – I had to change it. After repair work was done, I noticed significant improvement in cooling. I didn’t managed to get oil temps over 110 degrees of Celsius. Furthermore, temperatures of coolant and oil drops more quickly.

I’m never satisfied because anything can be improved furthermore – every percent counts. Of course in sanity limits…I always obey my rules of price/performance ratio. Only idiots buy overpriced tools with little or no real life advantage.

I’ve removed plastic covers at the bottom of bumper – they have restricted air flow to the engine bay. My friend told me it is ugly but hey who cares I need great air flow through the engine bay to keep temperatures down. My initial idea was ducting from front of the car right to the oil sump but there was no place. That’s why I removed useless plastic covers next to the fog lights.

I’ve recalled from childhood one technique used in arts – I drilled holes into my engine cover so that air flowing under car will suck out hot air from engine bay. It reminds me good old days of computer CPU overclocking – no air flow, no fun !!!

Of course time will only tell but I’m confident that I’ve have significantly improved air flow throughout the engine bay. Question is CAN WE DO IT BETTER?

I’ve already in my mind yet an other improvement. I noticed during front bumper removal that right below the lights there is nothing – perfect place to cut out holes through the bumper. Thus improving air flow furthermore!!!

After many hours of learning about ECU remapping, I finally gave myself a green light for a remap – external cooler will be must no matter what. Unfortunately, I’m not in mountains at the moment and I have no place to push it really hard…alpine roads are the best.