What is a normal oil temperature for a 2022+ WRX?

For the FA24 in mixed street driving, roughly 200 to 230F is the normal operating band. That is where the engine is happy, the oil is fully up to temperature, and nothing needs attention. Under spirited driving or on track, oil temperature commonly climbs into the 230 to 260F range. Brief excursions into that band are not an emergency - modern synthetic oil is formulated to cope - but sustained operation up there is the condition that shortens oil life and, eventually, bearing life. Some context for the numbers below that band. Anything under about 180F means the oil is not fully up to temperature, and this is where you should still be driving gently rather than using boost. Coolant temperature will have looked normal for some time before oil gets there, which is why the factory gauge is not a useful warm-up indicator on a turbocharged car. What drives oil temperature up: ambient heat, sustained high load, repeated hard pulls without cooling laps, track sessions, and towing. What brings it down: airflow, so a car sitting in traffic after a hard drive will often show its highest reading a minute after you stop pushing rather than during. When an oil cooler is worth it. If you are seeing sustained numbers in the 250s and above during the driving you actually do, that is the signal. Track days are the clearest case - a full session generates heat a street car never sees. Hot climates plus a tuned car is the second case. For a stock or Stage 1 VB driven on the street in a temperate climate, an oil cooler is solving a problem you do not have, and adding one with an inadequate thermostat can even keep the oil too cool in winter, which is its own problem. What to actually do about high readings: back off and let it cool rather than pushing through, because oil temperature is a lagging indicator and the number you see is the number the bearings already lived through. On track, that means a cooling lap. On the street, it means driving normally for a few minutes. If you do not currently monitor oil temperature at all, that is worth changing before you worry about the specific numbers. An Accessport or a gauge turns this entire topic from anxiety into information, and it is the same tool that tells you when the car is warm enough to use in the first place.