Is anyone using an aftermarket oil cooler? I met a guy at Expo 2002 with one installed, and he claimed it lowered his track temperature from 220 degrees to 185. Most oil cooler kits that I've come across seem rather inexpensive, and I figure maybe it's $120 well-spent on lowering engine temps. I can only imagine what ungodly temps I run on the track with my blower, so I'm trying to gather some info on whether this is a worthwhile mod, and what kits in particular are a good buy.

 

Here's a note I saved from a thread

By davew: the best way is to find out what your oil temp is and then caluclate how much cooler you would like it to be, and then use the appropriate size cooler. don't be so quick to assume that you need one. I know many dedicated honda track cars that run high CR in hot climates and never have oil temp problems. and cold oil is just as bad as hot oil...

 

Actually I'll just post the whole thing

Question:

The article on the Hybrid board uses an 11" x 8" x 1.5" 48 row cooler, Andrew here on HT uses an Earl's 14 row cooler, XS Engineering uses a 10.75” x 7.00” x 2.00” 19 row cooler for their kits, and I've seen other sizes used as well.
So, how do you properly size an oil cooler to your particular application? I'm building a high compression (12.35:1) N/A motor that will be in a daily driver that sees lots of track time, plus I live in hot and humid Houston, TX (traffic city) -> I'm sure an oil cooler would be very beneficial.
Any insight on this topic would be extremely helpful. TIA.
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By davew:

the best way is to find out what your oil temp is and then caluclate how much cooler you would like it to be, and then use the appropriate size cooler. don't be so quick to assume that you need one. I know mane dedicated honda track cars that run high CR in hot climates and never have oilt temp problems. and cold oil is just as bad as hot oil...
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By jeff652:

I was hitting 280 degrees during lapping sessions.
I put in a Mocal 24 row cooler and now I stay between 150-155 on he street and ~180ish on the track. Worth every penny . . .
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By spoonek9:

Very Important!!! For those who are using an remote oil cooler, you should run a thermostat in line with the oil cooler. You want to get the oil to proper operating level.
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By davew:

Jeff...280 is pretty high. you may want to check your timing, etc and see what is causing you to produce so much excess heat. Yes the oil cooler is now taking the heat, away but that is more curing the symptoms than any problems.
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By jeff652:

Yeah timing is at 19 degrees. My motor makes power all the way to 23 degrees, but I need to get a J&S to run it that advanced (plus 100 octane)
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HTH

 

Well that's a good point. I'm probably putting the horse before the cart, because I don't have the slightest idea what a safe temperature is for my car on the track. I'm running 5 lbs of boost with a jrsc.

 

ttt

 

This is what I saved from another post...

There are several oil coolers out on the market today, I'll quote general street prices with them...
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The first and cheapest would be the B&M model. For the price it doesn't look too bad. The size of the tubing is okay, it's debatable as too what is too big and too small . ~$125:
http://www.bmracing.com/noflash/prod...ortCooler.html
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Next would be the Greddy, note also on the page is a filter relocation kit, something pretty cool (but where's a good place to mount it (think gravity and draining)? ~$450
http://www.greddy.com/products/OilCoolerKit.htm
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Then there are the DIY:

Permacool Parts (adapters):
http://www.racerpartswholesale.com/filtmt.htm

DIY install (with pictures):
http://www.hybridgarage.com/tech/oilcooler/index.html

TypeR Setup (all aftermarket):
http://www.sportauto.cc/Oil-Cooler/a...ooler_text.htm

There is talk of using an AT Radiator's built in ports for a MT car. These fittings are too small and will cause oil starvation.
=
Update: Jackson Racing unit looks very promising! >> Nicely priced @ ~$200
http://www.jacksonracing.com/pages/p...ooler_inf.html


[Modified by Tweakmeister, 6:49 AM 7/8/2002]

 

This is Al Small's setup from the ITR expo. He told me that the whole system ended up costing him $700 or so. He said that some of the attendees were interested in the system but that seems way too expensive for an oil cooler to me.

 

i got a Racimex cooler with Thermostat, i recomend this upgrade to everyone doing ocasional track-days...

 

I did a Mocal setup for about $450, parts only. That's with full braided steel lines. $700 is about right, if that includes labor to install.

And yes, it's worth every penny. The car will easily see over 260F on track days if you drive hard.

Warren

 

He did/does all the labor himself. The parts cost him that much!

I dont know how it correlates but my S54 BMW engine was seeing 240-260 degrees as a normal temp on the track. ~200 degrees is normal on the street after warmup.

 

Damn, did he use platinum braided lines?

btw - has he tried changing the filter yet? Looks like it would make a big mess

On the plus side, it's very well protected.

Warren

 

I've got a brand new HKS oil cooler that I'm willing to sell for 420 + shipping. It's very similar to the Greddy unit. It actually cost more than the Greddy, but I'd rather set my price low and not have to negotiate prices. If anyone is interested email me and I'll send you some pics.

 

y0 guyz, this is my oil cooler.

I would defenitly go with an thermostat controlled oil cooler!

 

Hey, you still have some space left on the right for another cooler (don't know what for)!!!!

 

tranny oil cooler!

servo steering oil cooler

 

Nope, standard stainless lines. He even said that he didnt pay full retail on anything. Dont know why it cost so much and was suprised when he mentioned that "a bunch of guys from the EXPO were interested in buying a kit if I fab'd one". I said that $700 was probably high but he was confident that people would pay it.

He has changed the oil filter before. I believe he just puts a cloth right under the filter so it doesnt drain all over the place there. Also, if you let your car sit overnight and THEN change the filter you normally skip the mess..but you probably already knew that.

 

Dutch, that's a Mocal / Racimex cooler, right?

 

Al was my instructor at the Expo, and I was one of the guys admiring his oil cooler. I didn't ask the price, though. $700 is too much for my wallet. I was thinking more like $100-200 for parts, and I do the install. I'll check out the B&M kit.

 

Yes the JR oil cooler looks nice, but it's listed at $335. Where did you find it for $200?

 

Anything less than a Setrab or Mocal cooler makes me nervous. I know numerous folks that have cracked lesser coolers at the track, and I don't mean from a crash. That, or the cooler just plain didn't work well.

Warren

 

I'd love to get a closer look at the Jackson Racing unit. It appears to be pretty decent.

 

Here's my AP Racing temp controlled oil cooler setup. The prevent pump failure and to insure that there is good lubrication during warmup only 10% of the oil is allowed to flow to the cooler until the normal operating temps are met and only 80% is allowed to flow to it after oil is completely heated.



The small port on the sandwich block is meant to used for Oil psi gauge but I use it as the oil feed line for my snail.




Air is pulled in from the front near the FMIC and exits thru slits in the plastic wheel well cover. I might be moving it to a conventional mounting position since I want to make a CAI for the snail.

 

Go Greddy

 

what about earls

 

what ever one u go with.....its a good investment