FM oil cooler

Magpie · Postby **Magpie** » Thu Mar 12, 2015 4:56 pm

Whilst not taking my motor past 3,500 over the past 800km, the oil temp was about 6 degC lower than the water consistently. The water never went past 90 degC and oil over 84.

Will know soon with how it goes on the track and can provide data then. The IQ3 dash makes it easy to monitor lots of data whilst keeping your eyes on the road.

greenMachine · Postby **greenMachine** » Thu Mar 12, 2015 8:28 pm

Dweezle wrote:Sorry I don't quite understand.

Sorry, muddy water, beer bottle and all that :oops:

HKS explained it as I should have (thanks HKS).

My oil has an operating range of 80-120+, so I am more worried about over-cooling, or at least not getting the oil up to temp quickly enough for the first session. After that it is not a problem, unless the day is cold and the wait between sessions is long. However I am seeing temps in the low 120s, so I will be keeping an eye on whether I need a cooler too.

:mrgreen:

Apu · Postby **Apu** » Thu Mar 12, 2015 8:31 pm

Is over cooling really an issue? With the sitting around on the grid and a warm up lap, my oil gets to 80deg...unless it's freezing temps.

And again...multigrade oils.

greenMachine · Postby **greenMachine** » Thu Mar 12, 2015 10:40 pm

The person who built my engine told me, in very firm tones, NOT to work the engine hard until the oil got to 80c. When he refreshed it 12 months ago, after a few years duty and a serious overheat (blown head gasket), he said it was as good as (his) new inside.

This is a race engine. YMMV.

:mrgreen:

Dweezle · Postby **Dweezle** » Wed Mar 18, 2015 5:36 pm

Can i ask people thoughts on the oil cooler going behind and in front of the radiator?

I am looking at mounting it behind the radiator, using the oem A/C fan location.
I do not have this fan anyway.
Would make hosing simple and tidy.

I believe as long as it is tight to the face of the radiator then it should get air flowing through it.
I am also thinking (maybe dreaming), that the Coolant temp will help keep the oil temp from getting too cool.
Would anyone disagree ?

Would i get a larger temp drop having the cooler out in front?
I do not want to sacrifice much cooling ability.

Having zero understanding of what air will do when it has to go through 2 coolers, i would love to hear from people with such knowledge.

ralt · Postby **ralt** » Wed Mar 18, 2015 6:54 pm

Hi.
Have you ever contemplated mounting the cooler flat with hot oil going from the back to the front ( most important)with a plate spaced 4mm from the cooler face on the top and bottom with the leading edge bent at an angle to catch the air and protect the cooler. You can use this if space is a problem and you do not want hot radiator air compromising the cooler. An old old aircraft system.

Postby **NitroDann** » Wed Mar 18, 2015 8:23 pm

I'd love to see some documentation!

Almost everything about fast cars was designed during WW2 to get bombers off the ground. Nos, high boost blowers were perfected, turbos etc.

Dann

madjak · Postby **madjak** » Thu Mar 19, 2015 12:34 am

Watching my oil temps this weekend, idling the car would bring it up to 70 fairly quickly then 80 after a while of sitting still waiting for my run. On the track, warm up lap with some load would lift it to 90 and after 3 full speed laps the max I saw all day was 105 degrees.

I think this is fairly ideal for a track car... I don't know if oil temps would drop below 80 at cruise but I doubt it.

My oil cooler sits 80mm in front of my radiator.

greenMachine · Postby **greenMachine** » Thu Mar 19, 2015 7:07 am

madjak wrote:Watching my oil temps this weekend, idling the car would bring it up to 70 fairly quickly then 80 after a while of sitting still waiting for my run. On the track, warm up lap with some load would lift it to 90 and after 3 full speed laps the max I saw all day was 105 degrees.

I think this is fairly ideal for a track car... I don't know if oil temps would drop below 80 at cruise but I doubt it.

My oil cooler sits 80mm in front of my radiator.

Good data point, but to be useful need to know is this a turbo (ie rwkw?), and what was the ambient.

:mrgreen:

Apu · Postby **Apu** » Thu Mar 19, 2015 8:23 am

A bit more data as I drove Apu to work this morning. Apu is turbo'd so oil temps will be a bit higher.

~20degC in traffic...traveling about 40kmh most of the way.

Oil temp maxed about 105degC - coming off ANZAC Bridge it did creep past 105 as it gets jammed up there. Most of the way in start-stop traffic moving at 40kmh, I was sitting on about 100degC. If it did get to 105degC, a short run to about 60kmh would see the temp drop to 100degC or lower.

I pulled over for petrol and when I restarted, oil temp was 100degC. I decided to see how much I could drop oil temp when I get the water spray fitted, so I trickled about half a cup of water over the oil cooler (which is mounted behind the firewall where the Nopro tank would fit). Oil temps dropped to 95degC whilst pootling along at less than 40kmh. Those who drive past Birkenhead Point in the morning will know what I mean.

madjak · Postby **madjak** » Thu Mar 19, 2015 1:01 pm

My engine is a built NA8... approx 160+ whp. Oil cooler is a setrab 7 row. No thermostat. On track, the engine was working between 5500 and 8000 rpm. Ambients were around 28 degrees maybe a bit higher.

rascal · Postby **rascal** » Thu Mar 19, 2015 1:29 pm

greenMachine wrote:
madjak wrote:Watching my oil temps this weekend, idling the car would bring it up to 70 fairly quickly then 80 after a while of sitting still waiting for my run. On the track, warm up lap with some load would lift it to 90 and after 3 full speed laps the max I saw all day was 105 degrees.

I think this is fairly ideal for a track car... I don't know if oil temps would drop below 80 at cruise but I doubt it.

My oil cooler sits 80mm in front of my radiator.

Good data point, but to be useful need to know is this a turbo (ie rwkw?), and what was the ambient.

Oil temp is way more affected by rpm than rwkw..

A.Chen89 · Postby **A.Chen89** » Thu Mar 19, 2015 3:01 pm

Dweezle do you have an AC condenser or an inter cooler in front of the radiator as well?

The air passing through all those coolers can only cool so much.

The oil cooler in that position should've fine for daily driving or even the track based on people's experience here.

Also depends on how well ducted the airflow is (stating the obvious) but it's probably just easier to suck it and see.

madjak · Postby **madjak** » Thu Mar 19, 2015 3:26 pm

ah yeah there are lots of factors in it. My engine runs cool with only the small honda radiator so it might be a cool engine if they can exist.

I think oil temp depends on so many factors. Bearing tollerences, oil viscosity, how well the water cooling system is working, fuel type, flow rate, total hp.... and then how well the radiator is cooling which has heaps of variables as well. For me the front mount works fine, the only issue is damage if its in front of the radiator.

Apu · Postby **Apu** » Thu Mar 19, 2015 4:02 pm

The main reason I mounted mine in the firewall location is the fear of a stone going through it.

I've had an oil hose blow, and it's amazing how fast the engine can drain itself of oil...and I was sitting in traffic!