Just some random idea going thru my mind, had an idea for an oil cooler

then i was thinking , maybe it will work too well

was thinking of installing a fitting into the bottom of the radiator to feed the OEM oil cooler, instead of taking in hot coolant from the block to feed the oem oil cooler ( they way it comes from the factory)

could this cool the oil too well with an aluminum radiator?

i was thinking of the design of the oem oil cooler; and it doesn't seem like there is that much surface area, so I don't think it would cool to much.....

not sure
what do you guys think?

 

would adding an oil cooler decrease overall oil pressure?

 

Oil and water should be within a certain range to optimize their effictiveness. Both can be either too cold or too hot.

 

I run a system I like. I have a large oil cooler then I run the oil back through the little stock oil/water cooler to feed in the oil at the temperature I want. Seems to work well as I have never had an oil related failure with this system in place.

 

I doubt your idea would cool too well, the cooler will still be kept warm.

Most air/oil coolers should be used with an oil thermostat that opens at 160F or so.

 

As a rule of thumb, oil operating temperature ought to be at least 212*F to be sure that you are boiling out any water that might condense in the crankcase.

K

 

The motor oil can still operate in freezing winter. It all depends on the Viscosity(thickness) of the oil. For instance 5w-20 oil will flow easier when the air is freezing or really cool. 10w-40 on the other hand is thicker in viscosity and will not work as well when the temps drop down.

Either way the engine oil is constantly flowing in and out of the engine block so it can never get too cool. One way of cooling down the oil is to add a heat wrap around the oil pan where the exhuast header pipe runs under.

 

Install an oil temperature gauge first and determine if you even need an oil cooler. They can be expensive and complex, so it's probably best to get some hard data that says you need one before you jump into it.
-Adam

 

when it comes to racing, oil can most defnitely be too cool. why in the world do you think they have different grades? the stuff that works well at high temperatures and under high levels of stress doesn't work well when it's cold. if it didn't matter what the temperature of the oil was, what would be the point of an oil temp guage anyway?

go to the track early in the season, you'll see guys with oil coolers cover them up on the brisk mornings. i know because i did some crew work for a guy who did this.

now comes the question of how you find the optimal operating temperature for the oil you use. i dunno, maybe it says on the bottle?

 

too cold oil is not good for several reasons:

1. it will waste horsepower.
2. impurities, water, etc will not be burned off and will build up in the oil, thus damaging the motor. motor oil needs to be heated above 212 degrees to vaporize the water that will accumulate in it.

most street cars keep the oil around 230 degrees or so when totally warmed up and driving down the highway. my GTI VR6 would run anywhere between 220 and 240 degrees on a normal day at normal cruise (80 degree day at 80 mph). this temp allowed for good horsepower, good efficiency of the motor, good emissions, and kept the oil free of moisture, acid buildup, etc. it came from the factory with a water/oil heat exhanger to keep the oil temps in that neighborhood. this system was great for everyday use (street driving) but for extended track use, especially on hot days, the oil temp would frequently rise to 280 degrees. that was approaching the "scary hot" range, but i never experienced any engine failures in approximately 10k track miles and 50k street miles. i always used synth oil, though...

for a racecar, i like to see the oil temps steady around 230 or so degrees. i run 5w-30 synth oil in the racecars. i like to see the water temps around 190 or so...

good luck

 

I have a first gen b16 and I've seen 260F temps at the track before. That's kinds high IMO.

 

Them there nascar boys have combined radiators and oilcoolers

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SicNA94TegGsR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Them there nascar boys have combined radiators and oilcoolers</TD></TR></TABLE>

in my current H1 car, i run a Howe racing radiatior. the rad is 2-3/4" thick, full length, and has a built in oil cooler/heat exchanger in one end. works AWESOME. warms up the oil when it is cool, and keeps it cool during races. great system. but not cheap!!!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Todd Reid &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">great system. but not cheap!!!</TD></TR></TABLE>

If Todd spent money on it, it must be good!

 

The OE oil cooler on my Volvo (oil cooled turbo) does not open till ~175-180F and temps (even in track) stay under 215-220F.

 

I would not bother with an extra oil cooler on a street car- the OEM one should be fine.

I do use an external oil cooler on my ITC CRX at the recommendation of a local shop. I am very careful early and late in the season to warm the engine up before getting on track since it gets pretty chilly in WI and cold oil does not lubricate all that well.