Best oil pressure at cruising speed, and is ours too high?

moien

Member
Joined
Sep 6, 2023
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5
Fluid Motion Model
R-23 (Outboard)
Hi all, we have a 2018 Cutwater C30 CB with a Volvo D6 425 inboard engine. According to the engine manual, the oil pressure at full speed should be 63.8 PSI, but when I took the boat out tonight, it was hovering around 68-70 PSI. Is that OK, or is that cause for concern?

We recently had all fluids and filters changed, for what it's worth.

Thanks!
 
That is good pressure. I would not worry about that at all. The oil pressure numbers are based on operating temperature. Even if the engine is operating at thermostat temperature 180 F. This does not mean that the oil is at its peak operating temperature. Warmer oil tends to thin which drops pressure. I don't really worry about high PSI oil pressure reading as long as they are in the engine's known average oil pressure range.

Now that you know what the oil pressure is at WOT log that, I would also log the pressure at your normal high cruise speed, low cruise speed and idle. Having this information for you specific boat and engine will help you diagnose an issue. The numbers should not change more than 10% +/-. When logging the numbers set the throttle at the speed for a minimum of 15 to 20 minutes so the engine operation can stabilize readings for the engine load and speed. This will give you an accurate number. ( the exception would be WOT. !0 minutes of full throttle would be the longest I would want to run it. ( my opinion)

Example: WOT = 3500 + 100 rpm, engine temperature, oil pressure, Turbo boost,. High cruse speed: 3150 RPM engine temp, oil pressure, turbo boost, :Low cruise speed 2100 rpm, Engine temp, oil pressure, turbo boost. Idle: 600 rpm engine temp, oil pressure.

I watch idle oil pressure more than I do high speed operation. This gives me a better idea of oil condition and engine integrity. (My opinion)
 
Thanks! That’s super helpful and we really appreciate all the detail.
 
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