Could people with Gallardos tell me what their Oil pressure readings are?

Mine used to be at most 4 bar after some driving.

Then the day before it went in for its 1500 mile service I went for a run to Cambridge. On the way back I got caught in some traffic and it rose above 4 bar for the first time. The next day when I took it in for the service it was above 4 bar when I started but drifted down after some time.

I mentioned this when I dropped the car off and when I got it back they said everything was ok.

But now I've noticed when I start the reading hits 7 bar (half way between 4 and 10 marker) which is close to the red zone. It never hits the red zone and drops to around 4 after some time.

Is this normal?

P.S. These are just my observations, sometimes I forget to check it, so maybe its biased by when it catches my eye (i.e. how i'm driving).

Thanks

While I'm at it, here's a couple of more questions:

1) How long should I wait for the car to warm up?

Currently I mostly wait untill the Water Temp gets to 90 (where it normally sits when driving) and the oil temp starts to move.

2) Is it ok to drive at low revs before the car is fully warm?

It can take a while if I follow the procedure above. So would it be ok just to let the water temp get to ~70 and then drive the car without pushing it?

Any other precautions you would suggest?

I don't want to be over cautious, but I also don't want to be spending too much time with it in the garage.

Thanks

I've recently noticed mine above 4 and 5 with normal driving. I am taking mine in next week to make sure all is well.

Paul

I drive off gently as soon as I start the car - no hard acceleration at all, very, very soft on the gas. I'm a sympathetic driver - I can't recall what the owners manual says, but every other car's manual that I've ever read tells me this is OK.

I don't give it full throttle until the oil temp is showing about 80 -90 degrees C.

I don't think it is feasible to wait until the car is warm before driving. It's a fairly cold blooded engine, so you'll be waiting a while.

I also let the car warm up until the water temp has got to near 90 and the oil temp has started to warm up, before I move off. I know this does take a bit of time, but I'm sure it is better for the engine. Most wear happens in the first 15 mins after starting the engine, especially if it hasn't been warmed up before any load is put on it.
The Gallardo has a dry sump, so I think it really does need a few minutes to properly start circulating the oil before stting off down the road. There is also no "accumulator" to give the engine instant oil pressure at the bearings etc, so warming up gives the oil get a chance to get to the bearings, valve guides and other important places.
I'm not sure about it being a "cold blooded" engine - yes it does run a bit cooler than some other engines I've had, but as it is a high revving, sophisticated multi-valve, variable inlet/exhaust engine, I like to let it really warm up gently before stressing it at all.
Previous (mainly Japanese turbos) cars I've had also had an air sensor which measured the air density as you turned on the ignition, and altered the fuel map and timing to optimise it for the conditions. I would guess that the Lambo engine must do something similar, so agin warm up time would let everything settle down.
William

This is what I do with all my cars. Get in an go. The engine is only using 20-30 BHP so no stress, just to get going. After the oil gets up to 70 or 80 C I will start to give it more goings.

This should be good in any car as long as you are not using a thicker oil. Then you need to wait until it reaches full temperature, say 90 C.

aehaas

Agreed; the old ideas about "warm-up time" is from a much earlier era in automotive history. I just start up and drive after a minute or so. I do think it better to reach full operating temp. before really "getting on it", though.