New Twist On Oil Coolers @ Pure Automotive Performance

[Pure Automotive]

Well I'm glad a thread about an oil cooler ends up in a discussion on foam bumper bars. /thread lol

[Huehuecoyotl]

Originally Posted by 2forme

Gem, you've apparently never had to deal with insurance companies.

No I agree with you, its a liability

Originally Posted by Pure Automotive

To me, it looks like it's in there to hold the shape of the front bumper in a collision. Otherwise, its the same foam they pack in electronics boxes.

No, in the event of an impact, preservation of the bumper cover plastic is not one of its functions.LOL

and why do you think computers, fragile devices, are shipped in foam, to preserve the shape of that shipping box??


http://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/meng_fac/96/

[Pure Automotive]

Well I guess I'm wrong then. I apologize for my ignorance.

[Turdinator]

Originally Posted by Pure Automotive

Well I'm glad a thread about an oil cooler ends up in a discussion on foam bumper bars. /thread lol

Don't abandon the thread please. I'm interested to see how effective it is as an oil cooler as I'm sure others are too.
@2forme and @Huehuecoyotl I know you two like to "discuss" things thoroughly but you both say removing the foam is bad and I'm sure I high percentage of people would agree with you there. Can we move on from that?

[Huehuecoyotl]

Not ignorance we all learn something with each mod we do to our cars.
I value your posts and build greatly

I'm still very interested in the results on your oil cooler experiment-loving it

I think youre on to somethinng with that cooler tho.

I went with a high top mount solution with my oil cooler mount and I wont publish any data till I have some but I'm just trying to see if its as effective at dissipating heat as it was infront of the fmic where it works great as an oil cooler, but warmed up the fmic more than I liked

Seems my fan relay switched solution works great, see pic. I will post logs of my car with the cooler up front and where it is now. I was seeing temps around 240 when driven hard with it infront of fmic, which is 'prime' real estate.

The sump fin cooler is something I have actually been looking at for other applications on the car

[Pure Automotive]

Results are coming soon, for now, check this out:
*Disclamier, I don't know how accurate this pyrometer is, but I know its close because I use it pretty often.

[ame]http://youtu.be/PYHQNTOGelI[/ame]

[xjohnx]

Originally Posted by Pure Automotive

What happens if you rear end someone with a side mounted oil cooler and nothing to protect it but the plastic bumper?

It's all the same, if you're worried about breaking something when you rear end someone, don't rear end someone. Intercoolers, oil coolers, piping, etc, it's all in danger when you are in a collision.

The difference between this oil cooler and a side mounted oil cooler is that the side mounted cooler is usually mounted behind the impact bar, meaning that if you rear end someone, the metal impact bar is absorbing the brunt of the impact before the car crumples enough to reach the oil cooler. With this setup, your oil cooler becomes the first "hard" impact.

Comparing an oil cooler to an intercooler for the purpose of this conversation is a strawman argument at best. If an intercooler hose/pipe gets punctured, you are leaking air. Not a big deal. If an oil cooler/hose/fitting gets damaged in an accident, you're spewing 200+ degree flammable fluids in close proximity to an even hotter exhaust manifold.

[No Limit Motorsport]

Originally Posted by Pure Automotive

Results are coming soon, for now, check this out:
*Disclamier, I don't know how accurate this pyrometer is, but I know its close because I use it pretty often.

I think you did a very nice job with it. Ignore the hating about a missing piece of foam. There are plenty who won't mind removing it. When everyone started putting FMIC on WRX's you got the same outcry.

I am about to tackle a oil cooler on a BRZ too and have been racking my brain with a good place to mount it, since there aren't many areas that will get airflow. I might just hide it somewhere and use a temp gauge to see if the effect of having a cooler in place to radiate heat is enough to bring temps back into check, without having it open to air flow, cutting holes in stuff etc.

Adam

[ATL BRZ]

Originally Posted by Lonewolf

Hitlering your front bumper will be the next big thing...

Yeah I'd need another place to mount this one. Not gonna chop the bumper open, my car already has a 'stache because it's a BRZ.

[Huehuecoyotl]

dont like my strut bar mount?

[DJCarbine]

From the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

"frequently their main purpose is to serve as a spacer between the bar and the bumper cover and not as an energy absorber."

Also an interesting but rather dry article about foam vs no foam bumper design
http://www.thatcham.org/safety/pdfs/...evelopment.pdf

I think its also going to save a lot in collision costs as the foam support behind the cover will help prevent cracking/denting in due to the foam absorbing low impact speed crashes. Foam behind the bumper cover should lessen damage to vehicles in a low speed collision. I do NOT think it will help if you hit a pole @ 60mph.

Most sources are split on the issue, as I am sure many in here are

[industrial]

Meh, who cares about the foam. It's not going to save you in a huge accident. In a small accident it might save you the cost of a replacement bumper cover. Not a big deal. If you can't cover a thousand and change to replace your bumper cover and a few things up front you probably shouldn't be adding FMICs and oil coolers.