Oil cooler before turbo?
Oil cooler before turbo? I would like to try and lower temps of my coolant, trans and engine oil a little bit. Is there any reason i should not put an oil cooler inbetween the oil pressure feed and the turbo? In other words, run my turbo oil pressure line to a cooler in front the radiator and out the cooler, to the turbo. yes? no? maybe so?
I would like to try and lower temps of my coolant, trans and engine oil a little bit. Is there any reason i should not put an oil cooler inbetween the oil pressure feed and the turbo? In other words, run my turbo oil pressure line to a cooler in front the radiator and out the cooler, to the turbo. yes? no? maybe so?
Yes it would be easy to plumb, maybe help cool the turbo and oil down a little. Maybe the oil being dumped back into the engine would be cooler? Probably just wasting my time?
Man I did a search on it. This is what I’ve learned:
1) mostly on import sites, the replies from the forum members were dumb and not informative
2) no one posted anything but speculation
3) it’s still probably pointless the more I think about it lol. Say my oil temp in the engine is 200f. The cooler cools it to say 170. It hits the hot housing of the turbo, it can’t compare to cool it down when hot exhaust housing is bolted to it.
Which makes me wonder why in the heck exhaust housings arent separated/insulated from center section and turbine.
1) mostly on import sites, the replies from the forum members were dumb and not informative
2) no one posted anything but speculation
3) it’s still probably pointless the more I think about it lol. Say my oil temp in the engine is 200f. The cooler cools it to say 170. It hits the hot housing of the turbo, it can’t compare to cool it down when hot exhaust housing is bolted to it.
Which makes me wonder why in the heck exhaust housings arent separated/insulated from center section and turbine.
TECH Regular
Joined: Nov 2018
Posts: 467
Likes: 116
Man I did a search on it. This is what I’ve learned:
1) mostly on import sites, the replies from the forum members were dumb and not informative
2) no one posted anything but speculation
3) it’s still probably pointless the more I think about it lol. Say my oil temp in the engine is 200f. The cooler cools it to say 170. It hits the hot housing of the turbo, it can’t compare to cool it down when hot exhaust housing is bolted to it.
Which makes me wonder why in the heck exhaust housings arent separated/insulated from center section and turbine.
1) mostly on import sites, the replies from the forum members were dumb and not informative
2) no one posted anything but speculation
3) it’s still probably pointless the more I think about it lol. Say my oil temp in the engine is 200f. The cooler cools it to say 170. It hits the hot housing of the turbo, it can’t compare to cool it down when hot exhaust housing is bolted to it.
Which makes me wonder why in the heck exhaust housings arent separated/insulated from center section and turbine.
If you have an oil temp sensor in the pan and that oil is getting to hot, that would be the time for a cooler i think.
Trending Topics
LS1 Tech Stories
The Best V8 Stories One Small Block at Time
6 Common C5 Corvette Failures and What's Involved In Repairing Them
Pouria Savadkouei
Retro Modern Bandit Pontiac Trans AM Comes With Burt Reynolds' Autograph
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Greatest Cadillac V Series Performance Models Ever, Ranked
Pouria Savadkouei
Top 10 Most Powerful Chevy Trucks Ever Made!
Hennessey's New Supercharged Silverado ZR2 Has 700 HP
Verdad Gallardo
Coachbuilt N2A Anteros Is an LS2-Powered C6 Corvette In Italian Clothes
Verdad Gallardo
Awesome K5 Blazer Restomod Comes With C7 Corvette Power
Verdad Gallardo
10 Camaros You Should Never Buy
10 LS Engine Myths That Refuse to Die
Verdad Gallardo
Launching!
Joined: Mar 2019
Posts: 267
Likes: 171
A cooler only adds life to the oil within reason. You want the oil temps be >212*F but <240*F for normal driving. Cooler temps than 212*F means you get insufficient evaporation of water and fuel contamination, which will shorten oil life. This is especially true with a turbo car where richer air/fuel mixtures and higher blow-by is present.
I wouldn't worry about an oil cooler unless the oil temp is creeping over 250*F periodically. If you need one, I wouldn't put it on the turbo feed nor drain. Use a sandwich plate off the oil filter housing with a thermostat. You can also consider a remote mounted oil filter with a larger Ford sized 3/4-16 threaded filter. You get better oil flow through the filter and a slight cooling effect since the filter isn't sandwiched between a hot engine and even hotter header.
With the turbo, I also recommend using an oil formulated with a decent bit of PAO for high temperature stability and shear stability. Mobil 1 Extended Performance 5w-30 would be an entry level for this category with Red Line HP 5w-30 and Driven LS30 5w-30 topping that list. I use LS30 in my 5.3L with a Fram Ultra XG9837 filter changed every 10k miles.
With the turbo and rpm, I'd more concerned about oil aeration than temperature.
Hope this helps.
I wouldn't worry about an oil cooler unless the oil temp is creeping over 250*F periodically. If you need one, I wouldn't put it on the turbo feed nor drain. Use a sandwich plate off the oil filter housing with a thermostat. You can also consider a remote mounted oil filter with a larger Ford sized 3/4-16 threaded filter. You get better oil flow through the filter and a slight cooling effect since the filter isn't sandwiched between a hot engine and even hotter header.
With the turbo, I also recommend using an oil formulated with a decent bit of PAO for high temperature stability and shear stability. Mobil 1 Extended Performance 5w-30 would be an entry level for this category with Red Line HP 5w-30 and Driven LS30 5w-30 topping that list. I use LS30 in my 5.3L with a Fram Ultra XG9837 filter changed every 10k miles.
With the turbo and rpm, I'd more concerned about oil aeration than temperature.
Hope this helps.
Registered User
Joined: Jun 2019
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
I've been running an eBay oil cooler for the last three years.
After making back to back pulls my idle pressure takes a hit, I flip the fan switch and within a few minutes my pressure comes back up and is more stable.
After making back to back pulls my idle pressure takes a hit, I flip the fan switch and within a few minutes my pressure comes back up and is more stable.
Staging Lane
Joined: Sep 2021
Posts: 82
Likes: 5
From: Bethel, VT
I think you're better off putting it downstream of the turbo. Better to cool the oil before it goes back in the motor. It seems a little bit of a waste to do it pre-turbo given that you may get 20F or something out of the oil only for it to go into a 500F CHRA.
