Oil Cooler for a DD with track days?

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by ZDan

All equal, (same plumbing, oil paths, pump, lack of oil cooler, etc.), it wouldn't be surprising if the FA24 would have seen higher oil temps given greater displacement and power. So yeah, that *could* be one reason.

Main reason is likely the same as why they have this type of oil cooler on Foresters, which are not likely to become track cars: Quicker oil warmup in cooler/colder temps.
Another reason could be they can say "now it has an oil cooler!" which in light of all the boo-hoo-hooing over 270-275F temps on this forum is at least some consideration for them, I bet.
And it wouldn't be a bad idea for them to ensure that oil temp is cool enough that running the specified 0w20 oil wouldn't be problematic at higher oil temps while tracking.

Anyway, it's a part for them that's off-the-shelf and doesn't occupy a whole lot of space, tons of experience building cars with it, so not that big a deal to implement and not a big cost impact to them.
For sure the OEM-installed oil cooler is going to be a lot less problematic on the new car than aftermarket oil coolers have been on 1st-gens.

Some of it is parts bin, some of it is not.

I do fully plan on replacing it with a track duty cooler on my car though.


While anecdotal, when I went from the OEM oil/water cooler on my S2000 to an oil-air cooler, my wear rate went down significantly, per UOA.

[mixxxx]

Adding as a data point. 10mile commute to office, nearby grocery trips and canyon runs. Its fine. 180-190 oil temp using Jackson Racing Oil cooler.
2015 BRZ 20+ trackdays 65k DD miles
2017 BRZ PP 35+ trackdays 55k DD miles

Maybe for your use case of occasional tracking, maybe the Jackson Racing Dual Radiator Oil cooler is a better fit as it gives faster cold start oil warmup and still give you protection during track days.

[Goingnowherefast]

Originally Posted by CSG Mike

Having worked/working for OEMs, I can tell you that most cars are made for the 99%, and the 99% in this case, are not tracking the car.

Agreed. Definitely in the case of the GT86 that is certainly for sure. GM Performance products and the new Hyundai N group products are one exception to this. Both are designed, tested, and explicitly warrantied for track use.

Originally Posted by PulsarBeeerz

What oil coolers are you guys using that commonly leak? When installed correctly there really isn't much to go wrong...

As an anecdotal data point, my JR oil cooler leaked from the sandwich plate. Yes, it was installed correctly. In fact, JR confirmed this and offered to send me a new plate. I had a race that weekend, so we were actually able to fix it by chucking up the plate and machining the surface flat (which it was not). Been leak free for 10K+ miles. Not saying people don't install things wrong, but when the solution is to re-machine an aftermarket part to work, I'd say that's out of the realm of "installation error".

Originally Posted by ayau

Add some OEM crash bolts and max out the front negative camber if you haven't done so already.

100% this. Right up there with pads and fluid. Not only will you save on tires, but you'll actually leave the day not frustrated by torrential understeer.

[CrowsFeast]

This may be a stupid question but why do no oil coolers seem to have drains installed in them?

Per the Jackson Racing kit info you're supposed to add 1 quart extra of oil when you install it, and then 1 quart will just stay in during your regular oil change and IIRC reduce your oil change interval from 5k to 3k.

Wouldn't it be beneficial to be able to drain out all the oil and be fresh rather than always having 1 quart hold over? Has anyone added a drain either on one of the lines or on the bottom of one of the collectors?

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by CrowsFeast

This may be a stupid question but why do no oil coolers seem to have drains installed in them?

Per the Jackson Racing kit info you're supposed to add 1 quart extra of oil when you install it, and then 1 quart will just stay in during your regular oil change and IIRC reduce your oil change interval from 5k to 3k.

Wouldn't it be beneficial to be able to drain out all the oil and be fresh rather than always having 1 quart hold over? Has anyone added a drain either on one of the lines or on the bottom of one of the collectors?

For the same reason you can't drain the engine of oil that is sitting in various crevices, etc. You never 100% drain all the oil in the engine.

[CrowsFeast]

Originally Posted by CSG Mike

For the same reason you can't drain the engine of oil that is sitting in various crevices, etc. You never 100% drain all the oil in the engine.

An extra quart that's sitting in hoses seems like a lot though and shouldn't be that hard to drain out (I would think), unlike the stuff that's sitting in bearing journals and such.

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by CrowsFeast

An extra quart that's sitting in hoses seems like a lot though and shouldn't be that hard to drain out (I would think), unlike the stuff that's sitting in bearing journals and such.

Extra point of failure and cost that's not needed.

FWIW, cars with oil-air coolers, such as Porsches, also don't drain their oil coolers, as designed by factory

[timurrrr]

Originally Posted by CrowsFeast

Wouldn't it be beneficial to be able to drain out all the oil and be fresh rather than always having 1 quart hold over? Has anyone added a drain either on one of the lines or on the bottom of one of the collectors?

Now there's another point of complexity: once drained, you need to fill the oil cooler with fresh oil. The OEM fill location will not allow doing that.

If someone forgets to fill the oil cooler, they can end up pumping a big air bubble through the engine on their first start; and if they forget to re-check the oil level they may end up being very low on oil.

All these problems are solve'able as long as you follow the instruction, but practically speaking I can imagine that the risk of engine damage by forgetting to follow the instruction can outweigh the benefit of flushing the oil.

[ZDan]

I remember as a dumbass 15 yearold kid thinking maybe I should turn the engine over after draining the oil to be sure I got the old "bad" oil out... Even then I decided that the engine was far better off with "old" oil than with no oil! If change intervals are reasonable, you shouldn't have to worry about a quart or more not being changed out due to being "lost" in the oil cooler. Then again you probably don't *need* an oil cooler in the first place...

[Ultramaroon]

I plumbed mine specifically with oil changes in mind.

disconnect at designated spot
connect adapter with funnel
add oil until fresh oil comes out the other end into a pan
reconnect.

Adds five mins to my oil change. I keep a supply of those AN gaskets on hand for the fitting.