Engine oil needs a lot of time to warm up

[Tim-HH]

Hi,

has anybody else noticed that it requires a lot of time to warm up the engine oil of the C182?

At an outside temperature of 6°C and 1000 RPM it took 10:30 minutes until the oil temperature reached the lower green arc at 100°F. Under the same conditions the engine oil of the C172 had a temperature of 100°F after only 5 minutes. Both aircrafts have almost the same amount of oil (C172 7 quarts, C182 8 quarts). Given the fact that the C182 has two additional cylinders which also produce heat I had expected that the engine oil would warm up quicker than in the C172 with it's smaller engine.

So I was wondering if there is an explanation why the C182 requires more time for the engine to warm up?

Greetings
Tim

[mer8771]

Yeah that's normal at low temps. Keep in mind air is flowing slowly around the jugs and over the oil cooler even with the caw flaps closed. It just takes time to worm up or you could just buy and install the oil warmer plug.
They did a hellofajob with this one.

EDIT: A Harley Davidson takes a long time to worm up when its cold out. As James Dean said it takes one cig exactly one cig to worm up. As an EX-smoker that's 7 min or so.

[Lewis - A2A]

Lol I love that cig timing


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[Tim-HH]

Yes, I'm well aware that it takes some time to warm up the engine. That was also not the question

I don't understand why this process takes significantly more time on the C182 than on the C172.

Greetings
Tim

[mer8771]

Oh sorry, I totally missed the mark on that question. The 182 has a more efficient cawing then the 172 and the 182 has a bigger bite of air coming off the base of the prop. I thank (don't have the specs with me) that the base of the 182 prop is several inches bigger and puts more air into the air scope. The prop bites more air closer to the base as does the wing the close to the cab it is. I'm not trying to talk down just don't know how to communicate it any better then that.

EDIT: As I understand it the prop of the 182 is forcing more air over the jug and oil cooler making it harder to worm but better to cool.

[smokeyupahead]

Thanks mer8771! Just digging into the peculiarities of the plane before purchase...I like to torture myself like this.

[mer8771]

I put a lot of thought into it myself but I am so glad I got it. It's a P@D* only better.

[Scott - A2A]

Tim,

There is some debate on waiting for the oil to warm. Piper manuals say not to let the engine idle too long, just take off as soon as the engine can handle full power. Some people wait until the oil needle just moves before applying takeoff power.

Lycoming has the min CHT temp at 165 deg.

Scott.

[AKar]

As winter approaches up here in north, a good common sense practice is to wait at least some oil temperature indication if/when you've got to start it at relatively cold temperatures. This is because it can be rather difficult to know otherwise if the oil is handwarm or freezing. At least it might be a good idea to check your clock that you do a good 10-15 minutes of low power running before slamming the throttle open. Thin enough multi-grade oils are a must. Of note is that in reality, while oil is cooled more efficiently at cold temperatures, the cylinders will often actually run hotter on take-off due to denser air affecting engine's performance more than coldness affects the engine cooling. I understand that density effects are not modeled by default in FSX/P3D atmosphere though, so you might not see that in the simulator.

-Esa

[EnDSchultz]

Of note is that in reality, while oil is cooled more efficiently at cold temperatures, the cylinders will often actually run hotter on take-off due to denser air affecting engine's performance more than coldness affects the engine cooling. I understand that density effects are not modeled by default in FSX/P3D atmosphere though, so you might not see that in the simulator.

-Esa

My understanding is that Accusim already figures the density of intake air, presumably by the temperature and pressure given by the weather system. Whether or not this specific phenomenon is specifically taken into account I don't know... but if the effect of OAT on the rate of engine cooling is correctly calibrated, and the effect of air density on engine performance (and resultant heat output) is correctly calibrated, then surely what you describe should arise naturally from the intricacies of Accusim's engine simulation?