Oil cooler needed? Don't know? See some results inside

[2forme]

I've reached 218 degrees BARELY flogging it on the street. 30-34 degree ambient. I might need an oil cooler LOL. Coolant holds steady at 196.

[brillo]

At this point I'm just going to change my oil more frequently than normal if I'm running 0w-20 and certainly after a track day. Oil getting up to 260ish isn't great but it really just cuts it's life down so changing it makes up for the temps. If your doing a lot of track days a cooler is prolly a good idea but just occasional HPDEs I'd just make sure your change your oil after the event.

[Shankenstein]

Originally Posted by ft_sjo

As a wise engineer once told me, "Test, don't guess!"..

But he also told me "Never let the truth get in the way of a good story!".... which could apply to some vendors on here..

My day job is to provide solutions to a problem. Until I see a problem I won't try to solve it. I think that's where we are with the oil temperature thing.

The simple solution is this. Fit an oil cooler and blank off air flow to it until you need it, e.g. a track day.

Cool idea, but it shouldn't be necessary with most kits.

The Perrin system (save $$ and piece it together! see previous thread for part numbers) has a thermostat-style valve to the -10AN connectors. The cooler doesn't flow unless you get up to temperature.

How do people fully change their oil with one of these systems if it has a closed valve (bad idea: redline for a few minutes?)

[Huehuecoyotl]

I'm fine getting 97% of my oil out, the 1/2 quart that sits in the cooler and lines dont bug me and shouldnt bother you either

[ft_sjo]

Originally Posted by Shankenstein

The cooler doesn't flow unless you get up to temperature.

80'something degrees C is not 'up to temperature' which is the problem with all these aftermarket stats.

[Shankenstein]

Originally Posted by ft_sjo

80'something degrees C is not 'up to temperature' which is the problem with all these aftermarket stats.

I had no idea it opened in the same temperature range as the coolant thermostat.

What temperature does your ideal setup maintain?

I've always heard that 220 is when conventional oil starts to break down. Since we're a synthetic community, 250 is probably more accurate. Would a range of 200 - 225 be appropriate target for our oil cooling system? More headroom?

[Kodename47]

If you wanted to limit to around 120 deg. C then I'd suggest having the stat at 100-110 deg. C. That way the oil is in a decent operating range before the stat opens. You'd also then not have issues with day-to-day running temps.

[jeebus]

Hmm, maybe this is why after a number of AutoX runs nearing the end of the day my BRZ feels like it's starting to lose a tiny bit of oomph.

[norsamerican]

Houston Tx weather is so humid and hot in the summers im slightly concerned about oil temps. The air is heavy/thick and hot 95+ for the majority of the summer

[ft_sjo]

Originally Posted by Shankenstein

What temperature does your ideal setup maintain?

Based on what i've been told by people in the know, i'd want to keep my oil at all times around 105C.

[Shankenstein]

Just confirmed the 185 F (85 C) thermostat in a Mocal valved sandwich plate.

You can special order a different thermostat for 203 F (95 C) thermostat for $25 more. For those interested: LINK to catalog PDF

[jpit]

We had more severe problems on the 370Z. Some cars would go into limp mode after running three laps on the track with temp closing in on 280. Several magazines mentioned the problem also and eventually Nissan added an oil cooler to the production run. Several of us installed oil coolers and they worked fine except for one problem: during daily driving (and especially during the winter months) the oil temp would take at least a half hour to reach 180 and this was with a 180 degree thermostat. Ideally, engine oil should be between 180 and 210. We had to add a plate in front of the cooler (even 13 row ones) to eliminate some of the cooling. We did find out (and I don't know if this applies to all thermostats) that our thermostats allowed some oil to go into the cooler regardless of temperature. Running oil below 180 can be as bad as running it at 250. My advice (from what I have read so far) is that a DD does not need an oil cooler while a tracked car might benefit.

[Pure Automotive]

I'm glad to see some real world testing, I am about to start my before and after testing. I plan to log some hard non-cooled driving and then add my new oil cooler kit that I'm working on. If it makes a difference I may have a fairly inexpensive solution to this, I'll post up when I can say more.

[Dave-ROR]

Originally Posted by ft_sjo

As a wise engineer once told me, "Test, don't guess!"..

But he also told me "Never let the truth get in the way of a good story!".... which could apply to some vendors on here..

My day job is to provide solutions to a problem. Until I see a problem I won't try to solve it. I think that's where we are with the oil temperature thing.

The simple solution is this. Fit an oil cooler and blank off air flow to it until you need it, e.g. a track day.

Are you ok with 290-300 degree oil temps under track conditions? I'm not with his car, I don't trust the engine as is. I run the chumpcar like that because.. well WGAF? And because the failure points aren't worth it as we've already had a cooler leak on that race car, nothing like putting yourself out of the running on a weekend that's costing you $5,000...

I need to get someting to read from the OEM sender to compare, but I'm pretty sure I'm around 250 now in warm Florida temps (87) on track.