Oil Cooler/Reliability Mods

[M0nk3y]

Originally Posted by Dzmitry

So a good question then, is how much better is this "best" oil sample? Are we talking any big numbers here that could result in an engine lasting 50k vs 100k miles or are they insignificant?

Here are the results.

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by ZDan

The concern is oil going into the engine being "too cool", right? That would be oil temp after the cooler.
[edit]Oh yeah, the real concern (I think) is oil never getting hot enough to boil off moisture, in which case yeah, if the hot side of the cooler is getting up to 180-190ish, that's probably OK...

Remember water evaporates before 212F. 212F is when it boils, but even at 190F, you can see it evaporating/steaming off.

Think of a pot of water on a stove over a fire; you can see vapors coming off long before the water boils.

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by M0nk3y

Here are the results.

Quite the drop in Iron and Copper.

THat's a great sign you're getting less wear.

[M0nk3y]

Originally Posted by CSG Mike

Quite the drop in Iron and Copper.

THat's a great sign you're getting less wear.

Agreed. Granted some numbers could be attributed to break-in early on. But there is a clear and concise drop of those 2 materials this year (first year running the Perrin Oil Cooler).

I only had 1 track day last year on the Forester oil cooler (mixed with a season of SCCA National AutoX Events).

This year:

NCM (6.5 Hours of track time)
Mid-Ohio (2 Hours)
Pitt Race (5 Hours)
Gingerman (2.5 Hours)
NCM (4.5 Hours)
NCM (3 Hours)
VIR (6 Hours)

I'd venture to say this year was considerably harder on the car than any other year. YMMV obviously, but I think it's pretty good evidence that at least an oil cooler has seen a reduction in Iron and Copper.

[ZDan]

Originally Posted by M0nk3y

I'd venture to say this year was considerably harder on the car than any other year. YMMV obviously, but I think it's pretty good evidence that at least an oil cooler has seen a reduction in Iron and Copper.

Same oil each change? Not practical but of course it'd be nice to have results from a "control" car that went through exactly the same usage from mile 0, without adding the oil cooler!

I haven't had my oil analyzed, maybe I will next year. I have heard from others who track without a cooler without seeing unusual levels of wear metals from oil analysis.

[racingfool]

Originally Posted by CSG Mike

Quite the drop in Iron and Copper.

THat's a great sign you're getting less wear.

Could that be partially because of less miles between changes?

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by racingfool

Could that be partially because of less miles between changes?

Even then it would be a non-linear trend.

[Jdmjunkie]

At what temperature is oil tested at to determine viscosity? Would that not be the optimum temperature to keep the oil at?

[M0nk3y]

Originally Posted by ZDan

Same oil each change? Not practical but of course it'd be nice to have results from a "control" car that went through exactly the same usage from mile 0, without adding the oil cooler!

I haven't had my oil analyzed, maybe I will next year. I have heard from others who track without a cooler without seeing unusual levels of wear metals from oil analysis.

Yes, all Redline 5w-30. I changed out OE 0w-20 early on and didn't send an oil analysis out for that, somewhere around 1,000 miles

[SCFD]

Where I'm located, it can get to -20C/-4F. To avoid having to run 2 oils, one for winter and one for summer, I'm thinking of just going with a 0W30 oil year-round.

Would this be advisable for our motors? Any recommendations for a good 0W30?

[racingfool]

Originally Posted by SCFD

Any recommendations for a good 0W30?

Originally Posted by racingfool

https://www.millersoils.co.uk/products/cfs-0w30-nt-2/

https://www.redlineoil.com/high-performance-motor-oil

https://drivenracingoil.com/i-304977...motor-oil.html

.

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by Jdmjunkie

At what temperature is oil tested at to determine viscosity? Would that not be the optimum temperature to keep the oil at?

Exactly what it says on the test: 210F and 100C, depending on the test.

It's just a standardized test for testing viscosity, not an optimal temp.

[Autoxer62]

Originally Posted by M0nk3y

FWIW, I have had 2 oil changes with no oil cooler.

I've had 2 oil changes w/forester coolant cooler

I've had 2 oil changes w/Perrin cooler.

Car went from DD, to AutoX DD, to Track DD. I just got my best oil sample back to date with a couple track weekends on it on a Perrin Cooler.

Just so I understand - there are 5 samples here out of 6, the missing one was at ~1000 miles so that would have been the break in oil. If so, the way I read this is the copper/iron/silicon dropped in half with the Forester cooler, then half again with the Perrin cooler.

The other numbers that are notable to me is the phosphorus and zinc are better especially with the Perrin unit, so presumably that meant the additive package wasn't as used up.

I don't know exactly how this translates to overall longevity in terms of miles, but it seems like this is a pretty good testimonial for oil coolers in general and the Perrin one in particular.

Thanks much for posting this data.

[TommyW]

I doubt anyone has lost a motor due to having an oil cooler however I can't say the same for the opposite.