killerpenguin21

iTrader: (20)

Background: for 18 track days i had the oem oil cooler duct installed with a chunk cut out to allow my brake ducting through and rarely saw oil temps get much over 200. last week at the glen i removed the duct to make it easier to mount my ducts with the new splitter and was easily running 220+ oil temp in barely 60 degree ambient air.

Conclusion: stock oil cooler sucks without the pressure/aiming of the flow from the oem duct.

i have been planning to do an oil cooler upgrade for awhile, the plan is to do a vertical mounted setup between the radiator and the intercooler. car still has a/c and yes im keeping it...for now.

This planned setup would require removal of the forward mounted pusher fan for the a/c. In discussing this with my engineer dad, he swears that not only would the a/c be useless but that the car would overheat anytime i was in traffic or sitting. at this time i drive to and from the track, but a trailer will be in use shortly.

So my first question is, how important is that front fan to the cooling system? Car is being built for NASA TT3, but i like to overbuild it and still have it be able to do full 25 minute sessions.

my plan:
Koyo radiator
dual 10" puller fans - can get 650cfm each or 1000cfm each
one or both fans on a switch for cool down/overheat
setrab oil cooler up front

does that sound like enough? would probably be dumb to not have a water temp gauge. plan is to start blocking off the nose of the car for aero purposes and hopefully getting it to the point of all air coming through the intercooler opening only.

any thoughts or input would be greatly appreciated.

LetsGetThisDone

iTrader: (1)

The puller fan is only for the A/C. You could get a half rad, and put the oil cooler next to the radiator. I think CBRD offers one, but you have to call them. Or you could get a full width CBRD rad, and get a half width A/C condenser from another car that you can make work with a little welding. I don't think the oil cooler is going to do that great between the intercooler and the rad. The intercooler raises the air temp significantly. So unless your getting a large oil cooler, I would rethink that.

killerpenguin21

iTrader: (20)

Definitely not going half rad, that would be an absolute step backwards IMHO. I'm 99% sure the pusher is for a/c and puller in the engine bay is for the radiator not the other way around.

I'm not the first to do this type of oil cooler setup, I know it works at minimum at least as well as stock (example: stock cooler is about 190 square inches, a setrab series 9 15 row has 30 square inches more surface). You can easily run something that has double the surface area which combined with higher efficiency core/fins leads to lower oil temps. On top of that, the stock cooler location is sketchy if you ever go off track.

pshooter

iTrader: (8)

It's not the cooler it's the ducting.
I relocated the stock oil cooler to in front of the radiator to make brake ducting easier and immediately saw an increase in oil temps. I have since upgraded to a setrab cooler and it hasn't made much of a difference. Even in that location you need ducting to keep the air from going around the cooler.

Without the pusher fan for the A/C it will be very inefficient at anything below highway speeds.

killerpenguin21

iTrader: (20)

Right, we've made the same conclusions. Have any pics of your set up? I've read some info over the years about oil cooler setup and having oil enter the bottom/exit top to maximize time in the cooler, is your horizontal or vertical?

Balrok

iTrader: (15)

For your car ya I'd get fancy with a front mount/AN fittings, block off's, etc since you've gone that direction on other things. But you could simply add a fan to the oil cooler which will create the pressure zone where you need it. If you find my thread from awhile back I showed something like a 40deg drop in oil temp just by that addition without ducting.

heel2toe

iTrader: (41)

I have nothing useful to add other than a Koyo radiator may not be the best choice in the interest of saving space up front. They run very wide so I'd probably recommend something like a CBRD unit which i proven to perform well and save you some space for better mounting of your oil cooler.

killerpenguin21

iTrader: (20)

I like cbrd a lot, but I can't justify the price premium over a Koyo since I have never seen any data that shows it cools that much better. There really is y a space constraint...I just need to put the cooler exactly where the pusher fan is.

Balrok - I'm familiar with your thread and bought a fan to go on the stock oil cooler, but I wasn't happy with the mounting solutions I had at the time so I ditched the idea. I don't think it will be difficult to creat a duct/air feed for a front mounted cooler either.

Balrok

iTrader: (15)

"could be" more efficient that way, I'd go with a fluidyne. Be wary though as mounting it that close to the rad will transfer heat to the rad so make sure you get the flow needed to keep her cool. That's always been the debate - mounting flush to the rad to create clean air flow but sacrifice on radiant heat transfer, or separate from rad to sac airflow (turbulence between the two surfaces) but not transfer radiant heat. By keeping it on a side duct you avoid both concerns but risk bumps taking it out etc.

fjm9898

iTrader: (2)

I added dual coolers (tape them off in the winter to keep temps high enough)
I installed them high enough that they peek over the FMIC so that way they still get direct airflow. About 2/3s of the cooler is exposed to direct airflow.

Actual race cars put their cooler completely above in the nose section so they get loads of direct flow.

killerpenguin21

iTrader: (20)

What was your reasoning for dual? What kind of oil/water temps are you seeing? My planned setup was basically just what you have on the left side but with a slightly taller cooler

There was an article on motoiq awhile back about csf radiators, but have t seen any first hand experience.

fjm9898

iTrader: (2)

My first reason for dual was that i can run both on a track event and then swap the lines over to single for daily driving. running 20-50 oil, being to cold during the winter might cause problems so i wanted the option to reduce the system down to keep temps happy.

But i think i am going to try the NASCAR approach and just tape them off in the winter and try that. I have yet to get to drive the car in anger since installing this oil cooling setup.

killerpenguin21

iTrader: (20)

Interesting, what brand are they/what are the dimensions if you don't mind sharing?

I'm also motivated because my s2000 needs an oil cooler and I could easily repurpose the oem evo piece

rongdoer

iTrader: (1)

Is there some way you could plumb a valve in there to bypass one when you want?

fjm9898

iTrader: (2)

killer. its basically the STM kit 2x. they use B&M cores.

rongdoer. yeah i was looking at that. i could pretty easily put a T divert valve on there. but like i said i think i am gonna go NASCAR style with tape this winter and see what that does. Not that i drive it much in the winter though. its not my daily driver.