Oil Pressure and Driving Hard

[BlackBrud]

I’m starting this thread because i have a pretty specific oil-pressure / rpm / longevity question that has been bouncing around in my head lately.

I recently moved to a town up in the Rocky Mountains, so going over mountain passes is something I’m doing more often than most people. I usually try to stay at or below 3500 RPM when I’m climbing the 6-8% grades because I’ve noticed that my oil pressure goes from about ~45psi to ~65psi or more pretty quickly when I rev above 3500 RPM during a climb. Is that rise in oil pressure normal? Would running at a higher RPM and oil pressure (say 4k @ 70psi) for a minute or two here and there have any adverse effects?

Related to that - what is considered a safe RPM range when doing longer sustained climbs? I’m not trying to break the speed barrier up hills, I just want to understand how hard I can push the burb and still keep it happy. Every now and then people slow down to pass a slow semi up a hill, and it kills momentum, so the 40-60mph acceleration can feel…spirited.

FWIW Usual pass altitudes range from 8k ft to 11k ft above sea level with speed limits in the 55-65mph range.

 

[Geotrash]

I’m starting this thread because i have a pretty specific oil-pressure / rpm / longevity question that has been bouncing around in my head lately.

I recently moved to a town up in the Rocky Mountains, so going over mountain passes is something I’m doing more often than most people. I usually try to stay at or below 3500 RPM when I’m climbing the 6-8% grades because I’ve noticed that my oil pressure goes from about ~45psi to ~65psi or more pretty quickly when I rev above 3500 RPM during a climb. Is that rise in oil pressure normal? Would running at a higher RPM and oil pressure (say 4k @ 70psi) for a minute or two here and there have any adverse effects?

Related to that - what is considered a safe RPM range when doing longer sustained climbs? I’m not trying to break the speed barrier up hills, I just want to understand how hard I can push the burb and still keep it happy. Every now and then people slow down to pass a slow semi up a hill, and it kills momentum, so the 40-60mph acceleration can feel…spirited.

FWIW Usual pass altitudes range from 8k ft to 11k ft above sea level with speed limits in the 55-65mph range.

I lived in Colorado for 25 years, so I know what you mean.

But the oil pressure spike you’re seeing is both normal on these engines and necessary to protect the internals at higher RPMs.

And the GM LS engines are built to rev. They can run all day at 3-4000 rpms pulling a heavy trailer, and start up the next day and do it all over again. Don’t sweat it.

 

[BlackBrud]

I lived in Colorado for 25 years, so I know what you mean.

But the oil pressure spike you’re seeing is both normal on these engines and necessary to protect the internals at higher RPMs.

And the GM LS engines are built to rev. They can run all day at 3-4000 rpms pulling a heavy trailer, and start up the next day and do it all over again. Don’t sweat it.

Ah - thank you! Yeah it’s a pretty unique and taxing drive through the mountains - the burb has been a tank so far though. Many of the mods Ive done have been for the harsh driving conditions out here - i70 can feel like high speed off roading in some of the rough spots haha

 

[strutaeng]

Yup. No harm at all. I come from a SBC where I "think" high RPM is bad...not the case with the LS engines. These engines actually come from a sports car throughbred engineering. They are designed to rev and love doing so.

In fact, I believe the higher RPMs actually makes these engines last longer over the SBC. As most know, running an engine on lower RPMs or "lugging" the engine is super bad (talking gasoline engine of course). I believe it has to do with lower hydrodynamic oil film on the bearings causing more wear at lower RPMs combined with higher loads. Higher RPMs brings more oil to the bearings, which is a good thing for working an engine under a higher load such as climbing a steep incline.

That oil pressure and RPM seem perfectly normal to me. Just keep on truckin'

 

[BlackBrud]

Yup. No harm at all. I come from a SBC where I "think" high RPM is bad...not the case with the LS engines. These engines actually come from a sports car throughbred engineering. They are designed to rev and love doing so.

In fact, I believe the higher RPMs actually makes these engines last longer over the SBC. As most know, running an engine on lower RPMs or "lugging" the engine is super bad (talking gasoline engine of course). I believe it has to do with lower hydrodynamic oil film on the bearings causing more wear at lower RPMs combined with higher loads. Higher RPMs brings more oil to the bearings, which is a good thing for working an engine under a higher load such as climbing a steep incline.

That oil pressure and RPM seem perfectly normal to me. Just keep on truckin'

Thanks! Yeah I just assumed that the drivetrain wouldn't like some of the high-rev driving over passes. I'm really glad that I can push it a bit and that doing so will keep it healthy