I spoke with my chemist friend this weekend, and even she had to look up Plato Scale before lending any answer. She had never heard of it before, but she understood what it was measuring.
Let me cut to the chase and let you know what she said. The biggest factors for this gauge would be specific density of the oil and the temperature of the oil. (We knew this already.)
She said using a thicker oil and/or an oil cooler would have the biggest effect. (We knew this already as well) What is happening is as the oil heats up it becomes thinner. The thinner oil does not support the load at the higher RPM’s as well as it did when it was thicker.
We do not know at what temp/RPM/viscosity combination this happens and I think this is why SVT is not giving us a straight answer.
So here is what I’m going to try for the next mid-Summer track event: Mobil1 Red (15w-50). When the oil heats up and thins out, it will still be thicker at the same temp/RPM in relation to Mobil1 Blue (5w-30). This should support the bearing loads much better when it is super hot (109 F) and should be reflected in the “oil temp” gauge as not as high.
This is posted on the Mobil1 website for the Red cap version:
Mobil 1 with SuperSyn™ 15W-50 is perfect for hot-running or heavily loaded vehicles and high-tech imported cars. It offers an extra level of protection, even under extreme use.
Also listed was:
-Excellent for supercharged and turbocharged engines, muscle cars and amateur racers.
-The highest viscosity Mobil 1 available.
-Race proven.
-Superior high-temperature protection for high-performance and high-revving cars.
-Mobil 1 with SuperSyn™ 15W-50 is factory fill in Ford Mustang Cobra R.
http://www.mobil1.com/index.jsp
What can it hurt? I’m not saying an oil cooler is out of the question, just that it will be installed after the warranty is done. It is a lot easier to remove the 15w-50 then the oil cooler if there are any problems.
Also, if you guys in the “normal” ZX3 don’t think you are facing these same issues, you may be gravely mistaken. And if you don’t want to go to Mobil1 Red… try the Green cap (10w-30)
Here is the link to the other discussion chain:
http://www.focaljet.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=UBB21&Number=677413&page=1&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=1
Remember, this is not official from SVT and we still need to keep on them for an answer…