Just out of curioisty, what is a normal oil pressure reading on a TIPO 209 ad idle and under load. When first started, my pressure sits int he middle of the gauge, once warmed, it drops back over to the left side closer to the 0 but in between 0 and 5. Under load, or normal driving conditiosn, the needle hangs out right int he middle of the gauge. Although, when cold it goes above 5 until warm then comes back. I am sure it is int he manaul somewhere, was just curious if anyone had any idea.
The EXACT same thing happens with my 275 GTB/4. Curious of opinions. I generally think the car runs fine except and other than that there are zero signs of anything unusual.
You both have perfect oil pressure. Cold at 1,500 rpm would be 5.5-7.0, at 2,500 rpm would be 6.0-7.0. At 80-90C, idle should be 1.5-2.5 and at 3,000 rpm should be about 5.0-5.5 and at 6,000 rpm should be about 6.0-7.0. Remember that that gauges tell you an "approximation" of what is going on in the engine, so do not use the gauge readings as gospel. Gauges will vary as to accuracy.
Oil type and oil change intervals is a constant topic here, but we seldom talk about oil pressure. How many of us knows what real and true oil pressure his engine receives? We know that there are three tick marks on the face of the antique Italian gauge, the needle reads somewhere left of the middle tick at idle and somewhere right of the middle tick at high revs; but really, is that good enough? Dyke, how do you monitor your engines? john
Regarding the gauges actually they are quite good. Perhaps not the exact values but if you know them you can rely on them. Either temperature, pressure, revs, volts, they all work as they should, warn you when something is wrong. Perhaps the fuel is the only exception as it is quite inaccurate, the light flashes every fast corner (left ones) and half full is not the same as half empty.......the speedo is exact in some cars (with the correct tyres), we won quite some regularities with it. Ciao Oscar
John: I have found the Ferrari mechanical oil pressure gauges to be fairly accurate. However, the Italian electric oil pressure gauges are just about hopeless. The problem is almost always bad grounds or the sending unit. On a Boxer, different sending units can make as much as 25-30 psi difference on the gauge. Generally, if the gauge reacts like I described in the first post, I accept them as OK. Also, if the gauge reacts appropriately to changes in the oil pressure relief valve setting, that is also a good sign. When the gauge readings are not what I would like to see, before I panic, I hook the engine up to a master gauge and see what it is telling me. Oil weights can make a significant difference in oil pressure. primarily when hot. For years, I ran straight 40wt, but about 25 years ago, went to 20W50 with little or no effect on oil pressure (in fact, it may be slightly better). However on classic pre-war cars, 20W50 is definitley not as good as straight 40 or 50 weight. The problem with the multi-weights is that the viscosity modifiers tend to break down over time (in the beginning, this was a MAJOR problem with these oils, but not so much today). In any case, the multi grades are not able to hold the high temperature ratings as well over time, but for most of us this is just not an issue. We do use 20/50 in the race cars, but it gets changed fairly often.
Thanks Dyke. Oscar, that's just the point I am trying to make, "generally acurate" is okay for your speedo or the fuel gauge, but when it comes to oil pressure, it's good to be for certain that the 85psi at 5000 rpm is in fact 85psi and not some point to the right of the gauge. john
duplicate threads... oil pressure is not necessarily a sign of good or bad lubrication, it only shows how much effort is needed to move the oil at different temperatures and viscosities...
Also as a rule of thumb the oil (temperature app. 100 Celsius) pressure should be 1 bar per 1000 rpm but not more than 6 bar. Of course the electric instruments give you only a rough idea about the real pressure. If you think something is wrong with your oilpressure have it chcked with a mechanical gauge. You have to be very worried if your pressure drops towards zero while you keep a constand engine speed! Here you find a lot of info: http://ferrarichat.com/forum/faq.php?faq=haas_articles
Identical numbers on my freshly rebuilt 365 GTC/4 motor. Prior to the rebuild, hot oil pressure would run well below 5 kg/cm2 at speed and just above 0 at idle. The old motor ran pretty well considering well worn main bearings, rings etc. The sender and gauge were not changed, however I did install a NOS gauge a year before the rebuild.
