Actually, I'd say it's about normal for a sbc at idle.... Heavier oil might be better for it, depends on which school of thought you go with on oil. Personally, once the break-in time is over I run all mine on synthetic Mobil 1. Not near as affected by temperature as dinosaur oil, never have had an oil related failure with it, either. That includes 5 seasons of circle burnin' and 20+ years of drag racing.....