The "Soot (PM) in the oil" thread got me to thinking. How often should I change oil on the race truck? I doubt it'll get more than 20 miles/year but almost all of them will be WOT. I'm thinking once /year at the end of the season.

Any thoughts?

Dan

What kind of racing, and how often is it raced?

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Guess you haven't been following my build thread! I do Land Speed Racing (LSR). The truck is a S-10 with an OM617. We have 4 meets/year and I'll probably run 4 or 5 runs/meet at most. I trailer to and from the track. There is some driving to the start line, preliminary warm up before a run and a little operation in the pits. The track is a mile long with a bit over 1/2 mile for shut-down (for me - the track offers longer shut-down for faster cars).

Dan

Hey Dan,
So how fast have you had your 617 powered S-10 up to?
Just curious!
cheers
Chris

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In this case an Oil Analysis also might tell you if you have some abnormal condition in the Engine before the problem shows up.

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I haven't been following the build thread. If the engine is stock or close to it, once a year ought to be plenty. My 617 spends more time at max power between oil changes than yours will with an annual oil change.

__________________
Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 400,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 22,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.

No clue - 'tain't done yet.

Dan

I agree w/ Skippy. In normal use, these engines see more time at WOT between oil changes than yours do. And LOTS more time cold idling, stop and go traffic, etc. I've had my foot flat on the floor for minutes at a time climbing hills in my truck - kind of what these engines are designed for.

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617 swapped Toyota Pickup, 22-24 MPG, 50k miles on swap

One of the reasons I picked this guy. So my "Once a year" scenario seems reasonable though I think I'll do a change after the first meet as it's been sitting, has new mains, and I've disturbed a lot of gunk inside the crankcase.

Dan

Oil analysis is the only way to tell when to change the oil.

I'd pull a sample after every race weekend then decide from there. When pulling a sample, be sure to do it after the motor has run a while so impurities remain suspended. Drain off a few quarts, stir the oil then take a sample.

Two questions are answered by the test.

Oil condition. ( is the oil worn out, compare these # to new oil )

Engine condition ( compare this to historical oil tests _for that engine_ . If you don't have historical info and engine wear hasn't occurred in the last batch of oil, you won't have a good picture of engine wear.)

Im going to give a guess on how fast Dans race truck will be on the flats, 140 to 145 ,efficiencey of the body against wind resistance ,the lightness of the body will all help the final speed but the gearing and the motor will have to do the final push to get it to that speed .I dont know the record of a 617 MB powerplant but this would be one for the books.The weight stances is going to be crazy weird ,very lite weight over the rear with most of it resting above the frt ,I would sure featherout a slow stop at high speed.

Hey Chase - Not a LSR racer, are ya?!! Surprisingly, weight isn't a factor (at least at my speeds). In fact, most racers ADD weight (sometimes quite a bit) to run, depending on the track. I'll keep it reasonably light as acceleration is somewhat important but I usually end up with my foot on the floor and cruise to the end of the track with little gain in speed past half-track or so. I don't expect the S-10 (tentatively named "Mutt") to ever see the salt - too much post-meet maintenance. The vehicle has to be COMPLETELY torn down following the meet as salt gets in places you didn't know had places and it'll rust stuff into a wad.

I run at The Ohio Mile of the ECTA. One mile of beautiful concrete with just shy of 1 mile of shutdown. As far as guestimated top speed - depends on the HP available to push this brick down the track and whatever aero improvements I can make. In the class I'm allowed a front air dam but no rear spoiler or such that might glue the rear to the track. As a rule of thumb, 300 HP will push a reasonably aero vehicle down the track at 150 mph - Mutt is NOT "reasonably aerodynamic". I'm guessing 130ish after I fit the intercooler. Pre-intercooler, maybe 110 or so. The first step is to get it from one end of the track to the other.

Dan

My rural commute has my 240 at or near wot for 30 or 40 miles a day.

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I'd drain it at the end of season and put it into a daily driver so as not to waste it, then put fresh oil in at the start of season.

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