Oil Cooler/Reliability Mods
 

I have owned a 2019 Toyota 82 TRD SE for a few months now and have just recently moved to Germany and am only about 40 minutes away form the Nurburgring and am looking to finally get some track time. This would be my first time on track. My biggest concern with tracking the car is making sure it doesn't blow up and stays reliable. From what I understand the oil temps like to spike when you start to put the 86/BRZ through its paces. Is an oil cooler absolutely necessary and what other things should I be looking to make sure the car lasts a long time? Things I'm looking at are

• Oil Cooler
• Diff Cover
• Air/Oil Separator
• Baffled Oil Pan

Do I need any of these or am I being paranoid? Please impart your wisdom on me

I don't think you need any of those. The "need" for an oil cooler is IMO way way way overstated. My indicated oil temp reliably goes up to indicated 272F (133C) and holds there. Even on the hottest days I've never seen it increase uncontrolled from that level. That temp is no problem for good synthetic oil, but 30+ VI oil is probably a good idea...

I'd impart with this that I would recommend anyone questioning their need for an oil cooler monitor their oil pressure to find their answer :)

While an oil cooler isn’t t absolute necessary it doesn’t hurt. I run at around 220-230 on the track depending on the outside temp with one

None of those things are absolutely necessary, especially if it will be your first time on track. The oil cooler is the one that's nice to have, but there are a lot of variables that go into it - ambient temps, grip levels (tires/aero), experience, session length, etc. If you start tracking regularly, I'd look into one for peace of mind.

There's a good beginner's thread on track-prepping an FR-S/BRZ. I'd start here:

https://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25485

Keep in mind that the track you are at has a huge effect on cooling. The Nurburg, being one of the fastest tracks on this planet, is pretty easy on cooling. That and you'll likely be really slow if you're a novice to track work.

I would simply replace your brake fluid, consider a good set of track pads, and do a few days. Later down the road, pick up an oil cooler.

I think some of the 86s that were available for rent to run on the ring ultimately stepped up to 50w oil to keep the engines reliable. I think the big track puts a unique strain on a car with lateral loading and long durations of sustained high RPMs. To be fair - your thread title is about "reliability mods" so while you don't "need" an oil cooler or oil baffle - they do have a benefit in improving longevity/reliability of the engine.

I prefer achieving my target oil pressure with cooler oil than with hotter oil - part of that reason is 2 fold: 1) The cooler oil tends to degrade slower and reduces OCIs. 2) the oil itself is a cooling agent of the engine internals so you're not taxing the cooling system as much and keeping overall internal part temps lower. I agree the need is overstated but conversely the need for an oil pressure gauge is not overstated. Without cooling, I recommend starting off with a 40w oil (like 10w-40) and keep an eye on oil pressure, you may be fine there or may need even go heavier.

Air/oil separator - no. With the port injectors, your valves will stay clean enough.

Brake ducts - absolutely a reliability and longevity mod you should consider.

Diff cooling such as the Greddy cover or simply adding heat shielding to the exhaust where it passes by the Diff/CV joint.

Axles - for reliability and longevity - replace the grease in the axles with something like Swepco 101 or Redline CV2. This is not a mod - but an improvement on maintenance.

uhhhh, what? :thumbdown:

It's been well proven buy multiple tests here the oil pressure of 5w-30 oil at 250F+ is not ideal by any means.

The oil is fine, yes. The oil pressure at that oil temperature is not. And oil cooler is installed/in place to control the oil temperature to maintain oil pressure.

How are the oil pans for these cars and do they contain sufficient baffling? When is a good time to upgrade the pan (i.e. extreme summers, r-comps, slicks)? Are these engines okay for slight overfill to prevent oil starvation or is there risk of cavitation/foaming?



I blew the engine in my last car due to oil starvation so I'm very weary about this issue.

stock is just fine, even with aero/slicks.

Some folks add a baffle for peace of mind, as it's very easy to do and inexpensive.

We have evidence that with the same 5w30 oil, pressure is *the same* with or without an oil cooler. I.e. the oil being at a lower temp is offset by pressure drop due to the oil cooler:
https://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=91820
http://i.imgur.com/m8H5JBA.jpg

Also, the risk of running an oil cooler is non-zero. Multiple incidents of lost engines and fires due to leaking oil cooler plumbing.

IMO, for *most* of us who track for ~15 minutes at a time a handful of times a year, an oil cooler is not necessary.

surely, there must be a reason why OEMs include "unnecessary" oil coolers on most "performance" cars.

Was it cost cutting on the 86, or is the 86's performance that low?

Food for thought.

I'm certain that it was cost cutting. They know that anyone who will need an oil cooler will buy one that suits their individual needs. One less thing to leak as well.

Lots of high-power cars will have runaway oil overheating at the track without (and even with) a cooler. The FT86 does not have this problem. At least I haven't encountered it. On even the hottest track days, my oil temp goes up to ~272F on the factory gauge and reliably holds there, never tries to creep up.

When I bought the car I figured I'd *have* to get an oil cooler to track it as that was the conventional wisdom here on the forums. As I researched it I came to the conclusion that for me, and I'd bet for *most* of us who track these cars, an oil cooler is just not necessary. If I'd ever encountered uncontrolled oil temperatures continuing to climb above ~285 or so, for sure I'd have gotten an oil cooler.

I would definitely recommend at least 30-wt synthetic and frequent changes for track usage...