Thread: Oil Cooler Kit?

Just wondering who here has used or is using a oil cooler kit on their car. As of recent this is something I plan on doing to my car. I am trying to take a little extra caution in protecting my motor. Some may ask why and the reason for me wanting to do this is because after having some good conversations with a few friends I feel that due to the high oil pressure given from a VE oil pump that the oil has to be getting pretty damn warm especially when pushing the motor hard.

So with that said I am going to install a oil cooler kit. I plan on pieceing my own kit together. So far I am going to be using the AutoTech Motoring block off plate, earls or setrab oil cooler and I am still torn on which sandwich plate to use along with -10 fittings and lines. I have considered mounting the oil cooler behind the front grill or depending on mounting options I will mount it where the windshield washer fluid tank goes in the wheel well.

Anyone else have any input? Any pics of installed parts?

@happynole had one on one of his cars.

wes has one on his car too.

From MotoIQ...

look into getting a laminova heat exchanger, plumb it into the rear coolant hose at the back of the block, WAY more efficient than a rad style cooler, uses less pipe work so will save on weight and removes any chance of something flicking up and puncturing it.

Also aids in heating up the oil quicker so the engine reaches its optimum temperature quicker as it uses the cooling system, as long as you have a solid cooling system then you will never have an issue.

Im using one on my 88mm build where I believe heat management will be a key part to longevity of the motor.

http://speedflow.co.uk/laminova/

If you go with a coolant-to-oil heat exchanger like that, you might as well use the stock DET setup which works the same way but probably packages better. I don't personally love the idea of these things though.
I'd do an air-to-oil heat exchanger like you are planning. On a high performance turbo car, dumping heat from the oil into the coolant is not my idea of progress.


If you do go with an air-to-oil heat exchanger, I'd try to make sure you have a thermostat in the system.

I have been planning on putting an oil cooler on my car for a long time. I am ever so slowly getting there. My idea for the oil feed and return is maybe something you'd be interested in? I don't like any of the off-the-shelf solutions, so I plan on modifying my oil filter housing. I'll tap into the aluminum oil channel after the filter to create two in-line bungs (outlet and return). A little careful cutting and some threading should be all it takes. Maybe some aluminum welding if you're trying to be fancy or to cover mistakes.

I have a spare oil filter housing I plan on using for practice before doing the real thing.

I'd like to see that @BenFenner

With my o/f relocation setup, I saw a 10-15*F oil temp drop and also made the system hold 5qts.



Ran hoses under the headlight...

I just took another look at it and it looks possible you could do both (filter relocate & oil cooler) in that same area. I will say, oil changes are gonna be much less knuckle-scraping with the filter being so much easier to access. I do still need to add some sort of 'flying debris' protection for the o/f though.

Would you need a check valve if only using the oil cooler? I would think so.

You do for the o/f relocate (pic below). You could also tee off the cold side of the oil cooler for a coolant feed to a turbo.

My experience with the laminova comes from a boosted Suzuki swift setup, he was having issues on track with oil/coolant temps, once a he installed a laminova setup the temps were solid. They really are good and much more efficient than the stock style det coolers. Like I said you just need to make sure you have a good cooling system a big radiator etc