Thread: VE and Oil Coolers

A couple years ago the consensus view recommended that an oil cooler be used for VEs with a cam upgrade (16VE cams at the time) if the car would be revved to 8000 RPM on a road course.

I specifically remember a post by 98sr20ve who had an oil temperature gage saying that the oil would get too hot after a few laps of high reving but would cool down again after a lap of shifting at 7000 RPM.

So, my question is, based on the last few years of experience, is the community consensus still that an oil cooler is needed for engine safety on the track?

Thanks much.

Bill

Could it hurt?

Subscribing...

This may have impacts on my planning/budget for mid-term plans

definitely interested in the answer to this. i would like to get out this year and do some scca solo runs with the ve

I am very active in autocross and so far I have had no over heating issues. As I said though is there any down fall to having an oil cooler any ways. Weight?

Billc - I don't have a specific answer to your question either, but I would think like any motor, a lot would depend on the location and layout of the road course. More info along those lines would probably help those here with experience racing VE's on road courses. Even then, unless the advice is specific to the tracks you plan to run on, it might not apply to your needs. If it were my money, I'd research the system choices that are out there, put your money aside, buy a good oil temp gauge and go from there. After running at a few road courses you may find you don't need any help or simply increasing the oil capacity of the system might give you the extra temp padding you need.

SE-L - Road courses put a much higher demand on a cooling system than an Autocross course. For AutoX, it shouldn't be needed. Thinking about possible downfalls... unless you installed a temp bypass valve (which can fail), an oil cooler could prevent the oil from reaching ideal operating temps. On a dual use vehicle this would show up under everyday driving conditions, especially outside of summer. External connections for oil lines provide additional points of failure (they can always leak)...

Yes -- this is part of what concerns me. The constant battle between order and chaos is driven toward chaos by entropy. Simple is better unless it needs to be complex.

Yosho -- Thanks for your response. I was hoping maybe some folks on here with oil temp gauges could share some experiences. I run mostly at Summit Point West Virginia -- both the main track and the Shenandoah Circuit. I just upgraded to the SR16 cams and am going to the track June 6. I would like to use the extra RPMs but would prefer to avoid engine failure. Towing costs are so high!

The VE comes stock with squirters. and it will see much higher temps! I think the cooler is a nicely added piece for engine longevity.

Really good point...


Dudeman

For reference, here is the original post from the other forum.

http://www.sr20forum.com/sr20ve-sr16ve/44466-ve-oil-temps.html