Oil Cooler kit for FI applications, getting one?
 

I'm not really in the market for FI right now but was wondering how many of you guys are getting oil coolers and if you are do plan to purchase a kit like HKS or Perrin or build one yourself? Just curious i don't plan on selling any of them but might be able to pass the info on to some people who can build a kit if enough people are interested.

If your answer is no, please state why please.

If I go SC I will hold off a little on getting one. If I go with turbo, I'll probably get a Perrin before running the turbo.

Is an oil cooler still necessary if you are running a supercharger as opposed to a turbo? The idea makes complete sense for turbo as the oil is circulating through the turbo and would heat up considerably more, but for a supercharger, beyond burning more fuel and making more power the heat levels shouldn't really increase much right? Just conjecture. I'm hoping someone with more experience can chime in with details.

spot on..

I am running the Perrin oil cooler with the vortech supercharger.

Tell us more , have any videos ?

See it here in front of the Intercooler.

http://s1359.beta.photobucket.com/us...tml?sort=3&o=6

It's a pain to install because of the intercooler piping. I could see it being easier on the frs. Because it doesn't have the HID light. But once installed it looks good.

... really, you just have to be mindful of how you route the hoses..

Really I installed my own kit. Not having someone else do it for me. So when you get your car back look at the black pipe that comes off that thing that looks like a radiator. Follow it to on the drivers kind of a tight fit.

Terrible location for an oil cooler...in front of your IC which is in front of your radiator. For my build I'm going with HKS or P&L Motorsports whenever they release their kit, since they mount in front of the right wheel. Being in Phoenix I have to have an oil cooler due to how hot it gets here...hell n/a cars would benefit with one

well being a fan of extra credit we went to an "overkill cooling solution" stock radiator is 15mm core we replace this with 2 25mm tube core add a liquid to liquid oil cooler in the "cold side tank" and have less than 2 feet of total lines to complete the whole "kit".
The best thing about this is that you dont need to thermostaticly control the oil temp (a big potential problem with the Air to liquid cooler solutions) as the water thermostat does this for you and actually heats the oil faster during warm up then stabilizes it to run about 20-30 degrees hotter than the water temp. this is better in many ways than the current kits on the market.
1. lighter overall
2. short hose runs,minimal resistance to flow = no extra strain on the stock oil pump
3. "fixes" the Water cooling issues sure to develop with the stock radiator.
4. Uses existing cooling airflow and leaves fender locations for brake ducting
5. With low profile fans ADDS space in front of the engine for turbo/SC piping
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/f...RADIATOR-1.jpg
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/f...lcoolerTOP.jpg

you got any more pics or details on this setup looks really good!!

here are the cores for comparison.
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/f...oolingComp.jpg

oh the radiator mounts in the stock location A/C condensor bolts back up and all the stock mounts are used to mount the new Radiator too!

Can you post some higher resolution photos from a bit further away please? I can't really see what's going on in there....

And this was/is the OEM standard on many Honda engines for the last 25+ years. Random, useless and non-applicable fact....

im prolly just gonna put one together from an FC rx7 core. Ive always liked using them.

The location isn't bad, the placement is and here's why:

1: The air passing through the Oil Cooler first doesn't "ruin" it. The heat from the oil cooler radiator is only going to add a few degrees to the passing air (if that) and less as the air is flowing faster. And again as the air passes through the intercooler for the turbo/SC it's still only gaining a slight temperature increase (and less with increased flow) and thus why it's still effective (or "good air") when it reaches the coolant radiator. So this explains why the location isn't bad.

2: The placement is bad because of the gap. Air flow will always take the path of least resistance (like heat or electrons) and the problem here is that the rear face of the oil cooler radiator is not in contact with the front face of the intercooler and thus the air, after flowing through oil cooler radiator, creates a substantial amount of turbulence in the gap between the oil cooler and the intercooler. That turbulence creates a pocket of resistance and the air flow will try to flow elsewhere and if there is any easier path for it to flow (like around the intercooler) it will do so. So either that gap needs to be completely eliminated by butting the oil cooler right up against the intercooler (eliminated turbulence) or if that is not possible then the oil cooler needs to be relocated or all other possible areas needs to be sealed off so the airflow has no other option BUT to flow through your cooler/IC/Radiator.

PS: that the turbulent air that also reduces flow through the IC will also reduce flow through the coolant radiator but this is much less of an issue as radiators have radiator fans.

In my race car (N/A engine) I have an oil cooler in front of my radiator but I was not able to butt it right up against my radiator. I have a radiator fan on the side of the radiator that there is also the oil cooler and I leave it running all race long and I also took some measures to block off the area on the sides of my radiator so the air wouldn't flow "around" it and thus is forced through it.

I voted no, but that may change. My reasons; mild temperatures where I live plus the large amount of oil held by the engine should give it sufficient dwell time to cool off, the aluminum block should shed heat pretty quick, and I'm still hoping to go SC over turbo. Also, I don't intend to track the car. All in all I doubt I'll need an oil cooler. But I'm still open to the idea.

Does anyone know if the auto twins use an in radiator oil cooler for the tranny? If so, what size line is used? I doubt it would be big enough, if it's even there. But a quick look couldn't hurt.

I am planning on a new radiator as well as my oil cooler...PHX gets super hot and anything I can do to keep the temps within reason is on my list of things to do. I already have the vented hood, dunno how effective it really is, but I'll assume that any heat escaping through the vents is better than none at all. I am also going with the Chargespeed front bumper so i have actual usable side vents for the oil cooler to be mounted in it's own air path.

http://www.chargespeed.com/photo/ext...-600-400-1.jpg

Dunno if I'm going with HKS for this cooler, but I want something similar.

http://www.hks-power.co.jp/product_d...04at008_p3.jpg

But where will the brake ducting go! ;)

Good question...lol!

Voted: From the looks of what's available out there I'll end up building my own.

Looks like cooling will be a problem for any FI car here in SoCal. Keep in mind there are two cooling opportunities to cool your engine; 1. Coolant. 2. Oil.

All you need are:
1. Sandwich Plate
2. Thermostat
3. AN Fittings & Lines (AN10 preferred but AN8 is probably ok)
4. Setrab (the best) heat exchanger
5. Brackets and misc accesories for install.

The problem in an FI car is placement. If it's a front-mount then you'll have 4 cooling elements stacked. Radiator, AC condenser, Intercooler, Oil Cooler, and in my case Trans Oil Cooler (which makes 5 elements). You really don't want it infront of the brakes ducts because the your brakes will suffer... This is the only time I wish our cars had a top mount intercooler.

There's no brake ducts on this car stock, hell there's not even anything even remotely diverting air towards the brakes. When I do go with some brake ducts I'm pretty sure I can route the flexible hose around the cooler.

Yes, obviously.. there are no brake ducts stock on this car. Though, too cool the brakes you'll either need to punch out the fender "brake duct" cover or run a hose from somewhere. If you have a hot heat exchanger there then............

If you make it work, let us know!

I'll finger something out ;)

looks great

The problem I've ran into, is that most universal oil sandwich plates don't fit with the stock oil filter housing because of the lip. The Perrin kit uses a stand that raises the filter location up above the lip.

More on this please Robi. When & how much? Stop being such a big tease! ;)

Which Mocal makes one... HKS and Greddy also make one but they may be rebranded Mocal.

I'll hopefully be doing a DIY on an oil cooler on mine in the next few weeks using mostly parts I have laying around. Mine will be front mounted as I currently don't plan on a switch to FI anytime soon.

Thank you so much, I have been looking everywhere to find one that they sell by itself! I'll be making my own kit as well, and I have a couple of customers that are interested in the same.

These cars run hot. If you track your car and its NA an oil cooler is almost required, so with forced induction we highly recommend it.

@Pure Automotive check out BAT Inc.

Thanks bestwheelbase. After reading all the responses and finding the following i might go the build my own route as well. So others can see what Dave Pure and Best are talking about here is the page from BATs catalog:
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8365/8...38eff619_b.jpg

:thumbup:

I'll be assembling my setup next week if all goes well.

here is the BEST solution...
system out of the car
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/f...ps06b23050.jpg
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/f...ps8af90fdb.jpg
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/f...psf07578d2.jpg
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/f...ps077a568f.jpg
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/f...psd36be7d1.jpg
can use stock A/C with this.
NO cutting plastec to mount
Cold air over the top as needed
STOCK mounting points used
OVER TRIPLE THE COOLING CAPACITY and an extra Qt of engine oil.
takes 2 hours to install
total system cost Radiator oilcooler takeoff plates hoses, an fittings, fans
EVERYTHING INCLUDED for John Q Public to install $1,195.00
Will be doing a Group buy soon..

Robi

ROBISPEC. Lol. Had a local radiator manufature build it

Nothing about that looks like a $1200 solution.

I apologize for any offense that may yield in advance.

I disagree, prepackaged oil cooler kits are 700-900 and with this you get a new radiator and fans also, triple the coolant capacity and another quart of oil. If I was going turbo and tracking that would be my choice for an all an one cooling solution.