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  • Oil coolers ....

    Are they worth the $$$? I know in drag racing apps they really don't do much since the run time is low. But, on a street car will I see an actual drop on the coolant temp gauge from the addition of one. As it it now, on long drives the engine temp creeps to around 200 on long highway trips (usually an hour plus at 2500 -3000 rpm sustained driving) but that's where it stabilizes. I know that isn't way hot, but losing 10 - 15 deg. would be nice from the stand point of radiated heat to the floors/firewall.

    Thoughts/opinions/advice?
    Whiskey for my men ... and beer for their horses!

  • #2
    I know its not exactly apples to apples.......... but in the VW world oil coolers were found necessary by the factory way back in the developement stage.

    Today there is a lot of information based on actual experimentation. Might try a search in the forums of TheSamba.com, LOTS of info burried in there.
    Of all the paths you take in life - make sure a few of them are dirt.

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    • #3
      I've never ran one, but have looked at them due to Buick's notorious oil pressure woe's and thinking cooler oil will maintain higher pressures (remain thicker) and came to the conclusion the only reason I'd run one is if I did a partial or full fill of the coolant passages with hard block and needed the extra cooling capacity.
      Escaped on a technicality.

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      • #4
        I'd say they're definitely worthwhile on any application which elevates oil temperature (towing, police/taxi, turbocharging, open track cars). They can also help add volume to the oil system. Considering that more than a few of the OEM performance cars now run oil coolers (often a compact oil-water unit near the oil filter), the engineers must have convinced the bean counters that oil coolers are sometimes necessary.

        I'd be surprised if they're necessary on pure drag cars, unless they're air-cooled engines.

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        • #5
          One other thing . . . .

          On a street car, an oil cooler needs a thermostat so that the oil gets hot enough during short trips and in cold weather.

          Hope this helps.

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          • #6
            And that's what got me thinking about one .... the BWB has a good sized one on it, and obviously GM put it there for a reason.
            Whiskey for my men ... and beer for their horses!

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            • #7
              Originally posted by Bamfster View Post
              And that's what got me thinking about one .... the BWB has a good sized one on it, and obviously GM put it there for a reason.
              That's because the vehicles function is to tow a couple tons and put a lot of heat into the bearings, which are cooled by oil. Making ~25HP going down the highway shouldn't heat the oil as much as making ~75-100HP going down the highway (towing).
              Escaped on a technicality.

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              • #8
                the engine dictates it as much as the load the chassis is willing to take.

                the boxers air cooled have no other cooling pressure but wind across it..good candidate for cooler. I think they got those as simple as the filter with fins, and then from there bigger to something else.

                I alosr run boxer, external trochoid oil, near a clutch fan, billet oil filter..don't need a cooler as far as that thing can lug to a stripping clutch for all it cares. in fact it is the coldest full operating temp engine I have ever run...ever.


                another factor is the assembly internal. the v6 often has offset journals resembling balance. that is a good candidate for cooler just to be sure normalcy stays that way...hauler or not. (jeep liberty is a nice example)


                all the inlines, sidways or not..unless running a 90hp mentality from the 70s, all good candidates for coolers.

                the v8 can be anything. choice is common sense for needs.

                the auto tranny .. I apply it the same as above. engine happy, so is tranny.
                Previously boxer3main
                the death rate and fairy tales cannot kill the nature left behind.

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                • #9
                  I seriously doubt that adding an oil cooler will help with radiant heat in the cabin. Go over to Lowe's/HD, buy a roll of HVAC sound deadner-insulation (foil backed with adhesive) and stick it on the floor and firewall. Weighs practically nothing and doesn't cost much.

                  Trying to fix a water coolant temp problem by cooling your oil is like having an itch on your elbow and scratching your knee.
                  I'm still learning

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                  • #10
                    I would get an oil temp gauge first and see if you really need a cooler..........

                    Remember oil needs to run at a certain temp to work properly, adding a cooler could cause more harm than good if it's not letting the oil get to operating temps........

                    But then they do make oil system thermostats to keep the oil at the right temps, but until you see what kind of temps your running right now, I wouldn't waste the money.......

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                    • #11
                      TC raises an interesting point as the oil and the engine internals stay cleaner if the water that condenses in the crankcase etc. isn't boiled off and out the breathers. That said like anything involving cars it needs to be systems approach. A lot of high performance muscle cars back in the day had oil coolers and now with the current high specifc output engines we see the same thing not to mention the high operating temps they are designed to run for emissions purposes.

                      I run a 6 x12 Earl's plate style oil cooler and my goal is operating temps that are consistent across the board for street driving at 180* or so, water temp, oil temp and auto trans temp. I also run an external oil pump with two additional scavenge stages that pull 5" of vacuum at idle and are limited to 12" at speed. That is enough to get the water out of the oil. It also distributes the cooling requirements across two heat exchangers which really helps at events like Drag Week when we have long drives in hot weather towing a little trailer. Its also ideal for open track and auot-x which I do some of several times a year.

                      At the drag strip its opposite case. The ideal there is fully warmed up oil and a cold engine. Mine runs fastest when the water temp is 130-140* when I pull out of staging into the water box, but under thiose circumstances the oil is pretty much ambient temp and therefore thicker. I run 15-50 synthetic. The best solution would be an oil pan warmer for that situation. I've never run the oil cooler thermostat as it doesn't make economic sense to me.

                      For a street strip car I'd recommend a good quality cooler with properly sized lines and the right adapter that doesn't create more probelms than it solves. I like remote filters too for packaging of headers, ease of acces etc. when you want to insepct it which I do often. Oil cooler is on the right, trans cooler on the left, I haven't needed cooler fans as of yet.

                      Drag Week 2006 & 2012 - Winner Street Race Big Block Naturally Aspirated - R/U 2007 Broke DW '05 and Drag Weekend '15 Coincidence?

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                      • #12
                        I found this site and it's very informative about oil.........Take everything you think you know and through it out the window......Hotter oil is better......

                        In an earlier section I said that thicker oils are usually needed in racing situations but not necessarily. Remember that a major function of oil is to cool the inside of your engine. In ASTM D 4485 3.1.4: Terminology: Engine oil- a liquid that reduces friction and wear between moving parts within an engine, and also serves as a coolant. Since the oil with a viscosity of 10 cS at 212*F thins to a viscosity of 3 cS at 302*F we will get more flow. The pressure will go down some as well. This is OK as long as we have a minimum of pressure to move the oil.

                        This increased flow will result in increased cooling by the oil. This is a good thing. You would probably want more oil flow in these situations and you get it. The hotter oil thins and this increases flow. The higher flow works harder to separate the engine parts that are under very high stress. It all works out for the better. Higher revving engines need thinner oils. You do not necessarily need to go to a thicker oil while racing. Only experimentation will tell.
                        I'll start you off with Chapter one so you can read the whole story.....

                        Last edited by TC; May 24, 2012, 12:13 PM.

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                        • #13
                          And I agree with all that has been said. When I bracket race the car, I get into the water @ 180* and make sure the T stat is open (in other words, engine fully warmed up). I do this for consistency because that's the easiest place to know where it is every time for me.

                          So let me ask this, is 200* running down the highway on long mountain drives just right, borderline or to hot? Honestly, around town on a 90*+ day, it stays right around 190*.

                          And I agree that the oil needs to be hot to work properly .... I do plan on doing the poor man's HD heat barrier as well.
                          Whiskey for my men ... and beer for their horses!

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                          • #14
                            Those temps all sound right in the bll park to me.
                            Drag Week 2006 & 2012 - Winner Street Race Big Block Naturally Aspirated - R/U 2007 Broke DW '05 and Drag Weekend '15 Coincidence?

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                            • #15
                              I dont think those temps are anything to be worried about... but ... I like my cooling system to work really well. If I've got a 180* thermostat in the engine, I don't want to see the temp go over 185.

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