Oil cooler temp difference

[romemmy]

Hi all,

Just thought this tidbit of info would be interesting.. When I finished putting my new engine in I didn't have my new oil cooler yet, and of course couldn't use the old one because the old engine imploded with metal bits all over the place in the oil system. So what I did was bypass the old cooler (cut the old pipes, cleaned them, and looped them back).

The car ran perfect like this and at idle the temp was the norm - around 190-200deg on the gauge (just before the middle). However, driving on the freeway, not exceeding 4Krpm, the temp would creep up to around 230deg. Still well within operating spec (170 to 250 is normal operating range), but definitely higher than normal.

Tonight I got the new oil cooler on (my own custom design - not OEM), and now the temp never exceeds 210, actually sitting right around 200 under load.

So the interesting info - the oil cooler keeps the engine 30 degrees cooler just at normal freeway speeds! I wouldnt have thought the cooler would have made such a large difference during normal driving, but it shows that the coolant system on this engine barely keeps the engine in operating range without the additional cooling.

Anyway, just thought that was interesting..

Thanks!

S.

[Route 16]

dumb question, what else can we do/upgrade/bolt on to keep it cool?

[Helmsman]

Interesting input Romemmy, thanks. I.e better make sure to keep also the oil cooler clean and healthy.

[romemmy]

Originally Posted by Route 16

dumb question, what else can we do/upgrade/bolt on to keep it cool?

Upgraded oil coolers are available (OEM-location ones for easy fitting, though I made my own setup), though they are typically not needed unless you are hard on the car (track use, typically).

Beyond that I'd probably look at a more efficient radiator. CSF has a bunch of upgrades to the cooling elements (radiator, oil, transmission, power steering) to improve cooling quite a bit. I haven't upgraded my radiator yet but will likely be doing so soon.

Thanks!

S.

[Solo_M_Tech]

Please post pics of your custom oil cooler set up! Very interested.

[romemmy]

Originally Posted by ham_sammich

Please post pics of your custom oil cooler set up! Very interested.

Right now I'm still playing with the design. I basically cut the OEM pipes then adapted it to -10AN pipe. From there I go in to a -10AN Derale oil cooler. I'm probably going to switch out to a larger element - the one I have right now is a similar surface area to the OEM, but triple the number of rows, and I want to go much bigger. As a proof of concept it's not bad, and keeps temps down, but for track use I will want to use something much larger.

I'll take some pics when I'm happy with it!

Thanks!

S.

[roastbeef]

It's like the oil cooler is there to cool the oil or something.

[romemmy]

Originally Posted by roastbeef

It's like the oil cooler is there to cool the oil or something.

Super surprising, I know

The interesting bit was how much it is required during light usage. When driven hard, street or track, of course oil cooling is massively beneficial. But to affect temperatures by >15% just while cruising in top gear shows how important it is on this particular car, and thus also why upgrading it could be useful..

Thanks!

S.

[roastbeef]

Originally Posted by romemmy

Super surprising, I know

The interesting bit was how much it is required during light usage. When driven hard, street or track, of course oil cooling is massively beneficial. But to affect temperatures by >15% just while cruising in top gear shows how important it is on this particular car, and thus also why upgrading it could be useful..

Thanks!

S.

you'll have to excuse my sarcastic post. it was after a concert and my friend jack daniel's posted that.

anyways, what are you doing to address the way the cooler butts up to the exit vent on the undertray? custom rear shroud?

[Spun Crankhub]

With your oil temp so low, are you able to get readings from the car on oil level? My car will not even attempt a measurement with temps <220.