well i decided to go all motor non turbo on the civic so i could autox/road race it, i was looking into a oil cooler, did a search and found a good website on HybridHonda about a custom cooler setup... but i dont have that kind of cash to dish out. I was at the local Advanced Auto yesterday and noticed a nice tranny cooler for $35, and i thought i'd make a great oil cooler, but it dosent have pipe ends, the ends a 1/2in barbed so all the fancy AN plumbing is out of the question. My only real Q is, is it ok to run a oil cooler with high pressure FI hose, a sandwich plate adapter and a Advanced Auto tranny cooler? Anyone tried it? if no one sees any problems in this i'll do it and make a write up
edit: link to the cooler site http://hybrid2.honda-perf.org/....html but that setup ran around $150-200

 

Thanksgiving Day BUMP!

 

3:31PM BUMP!

 

U could also go to a junk yard and find an oil cooler off another car, that way u know its made for it. A friend of mine did that and got the adapter and he picked up the hoses from pep boys i believe. He also got all his necessary fittings at home depot. The total cost was around 60$. I, on the otherhand, just bought the oil cooler kit from B&M and it comes with everything, and its a polished cooler, not a black one (so it looks a little better). I payed $100 for the kit and u dont have to go hunting around for fittings and what not. U should also run a thermostat so the oil doesnt run through the cooler when its cold, it will take the oil a lot longer to warm up if u dont. Plus, i have found that it keeps the oil a little bit cooler because without the thermostat, the oil runs through the cooler too fast and it doesnt allow the oil to fully cool before going back to the motor. The thermostat was about 30-40$ but i think u can get them at any VW shop. BTW, i know what makes a difference what doesnt because i have an oil temp gauge. The oil cooler itself makes a noticeable difference when high RPM driving on the freeway and such, and with the thermostat it knocked the temps down about 10 degrees more.

 

i was planing on getting a thermostat also, B&M makes a $100 kit?? i'll have to look into that

 

jackson racing makes a really nice kit...i'm thinking about that one in the near future

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Sideout &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i was planing on getting a thermostat also, B&M makes a $100 kit?? i'll have to look into that</TD></TR></TABLE>

Actually its like $109.99 i think. Try ordering through summitracing.com if u cant find it around where u live.

 

I'd like a little more info on the thermostat for the oil cooler. Does it just go inline ? What kinda thermostat do I need to ask for at VW ? Is it off a factory car or what ? Do parts store have any of these "oil thermostats" ??

 

If you want the a nice cheap oil cooler go get one off a RX7 (say 87-90).

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 89dxhunchback &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I'd like a little more info on the thermostat for the oil cooler. Does it just go inline ? What kinda thermostat do I need to ask for at VW ? Is it off a factory car or what ? Do parts store have any of these "oil thermostats" ??</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yes the thermostat does go inline. What i meant by VW is go to one of those VW parts places that sells stuff for the older VW's. They always have cheap stuff and it's essentially the same thing. In fact i was just flipping through the summit catalog and found one for $30 or so, but i know they can be had for cheaper at the VW shops.

 

We did that on our Datsun 240 Z racecar, but I think that it might be a bit too big for our oil pump to handle.

but the opening in front is perfect for that oil cooler, and kinda looks like an intercooler from a distance

 

You don't want to run a smaller tranny cooler as an oil cooler. They don't allow the volume of flow that a proper oil cooler will allow. Also, anything that has 1/2" fittings can be adapted to AN fittings if you wish, and vice-versa. I would personally avoid most "kits" as they generally have crimped fittings and cheaper hoses. You don't have to spend $500+ on the setup, but spend more than the minimum. You will at very least want quality fittings (earls, aeroquip, etc) and SS lines. The cooler itself is generally fairly cheap (still around $150 for a good cooler). Check out permacool for a good selection of parts. If you're planning on road racing, you don't want to skimp on your oil system. If you blow a line, your weekend is done, and generally a weekend of racing is far more expensive than a good oil cooler setup.

 

CRX HF (D15B6) has a sandwich type oil cooler. it runs off your engine coolant.

 

yea, I wonder how effective the HF oil cooler is...

 

i just picked one up from the junkyard today. its really not a heavy duty oil cooler. its actually standard on a lot of other engines like most of the B series. oil just runs through it as it flows in and out of the filter transfering heat to/from (havent figured out whether it cools or heats the oil) the coolant lines. the compact size of it doesnt allow me to believe its all too effective, but im gonna install it anyway on my next built engine. the only problem is that ill have to weld in new nipples for water pump to thermostat transfer tube and another exit for it to work like as designed. i couldnt pull the stock tube from the engine, it would be a bit tricky while its in the engine bay. i could possibly take a pic of it if anyone really cares.


Modified by Tyson at 2:01 AM 11/29/2003

 

Couldn't you just grap water from the coolant lines that go into the throttle body ?

The coolant and the oil are alomst the same temp anyway... I guess the coolant coming from the bottom radiator hose would be cooler...

I think there is a line that comes off my water pump tube on my D16Z6... I/you could just tap into that line and then return the water to one of the TB lines.

The nipple I speak of is visable from the driver side looking almost right at the bottom nut that holds the intake on.

I remember seeing it the other day b/c it doesn't have a clamp on it, but it doesn't leak and hasn't come off ( yet ).

 

thats probably what ill have to do. the nipple thats already there goes up to the EACV/IACV, then the line from the EACV/IACV goes to the intake manifold. i can put it inline after it goes to the EACV/IACV without a problem i think. i just dont want to throw off the temp readings at the EACV/IACV.

btw, if the coolant and oil temps were the same temp, then the engine doesnt ever cool down does it....

 

HF oil WARMER, think about it!!!!!!!!!!

 

actually, i have thought of it. and i am a bit confused about how it exactly works as designed. correct me if im wrong, but this is how im understanding the coolant system. coolant flows from the thermostat to the water pump and then thru the engine and then the head/intake mainifold and then depending on if the thermostat is open or closed it goes either to the top of the radiator or back into the coolant cycle just after the thermostat. the HF filter adaptor is placed AFTER the thermostat. so then it does make sense its a "warmer", not a "cooler". but hows it cupposed to warm it? oil would only need to be warmed during startup, but does the coolant warm up any faster than the oil? surely honda designers must have thought of some need for this thing? so im confused.

now, if it is indeed designed as an oil "warmer", why cant it be plumbed inline BEFORE the thermostat. then certainly it has a positive oil "cooling" effect. its effectiveness can be argued. but thats not the point. if i cna make sure it does a proper job of cooling, i see no reason not to install it on my next engine.


Modified by Tyson at 11:35 AM 11/29/2003

 

Oil and water temps do not operate at the exact temp, oil is usually a bit warmer. I dont think there is a HF oil "warmer." It is in fact a small oil cooler on the back of those HF motors, but like the B series ones, they arent that effective.