I am wondering how many of you are running oil coolers. I don't know when you would need one......I don't have a gauge for that, but It seems like our cars should have had one from the factory.


Just want to get your opinions on this subject

tried to search, but it's not working right now.

 

you can run one anytime you want to no specific time, but most do it when they are pushin some serious horsepower or live in an area that stays hot all the time.

 

road racing...

 

You can put one on anytime you want. It helps overall, I plan on putting on one after I finish my suspension mods.

 

my car is a dd and it makes around 420-430 at the wheels depending on the dyno. I normally drive it easily, but I do live in Mississippi(Summer is a little toasty).


I just wanted to get an idea of what everyone else is doing.

 

im using a sandwich adapter.. ran my own lines.. using a Canton plate type heat exchanger... i also put an oil temp sensor in the oil block off plate above the filter... you have to drill and tap the small aluminum block off plate with a 1/8 NPT pipe tap.. easy to do.. took about 4min...

 

Here's something to think about. Putting on an oil cooler when it is not needed can actually hurt you. You want your oil temps to get to at least 212 degrees when you drive. This is why city driving short trips is bad for oil because when you don't get your oil heated to these temps, you don't boil out contaminants such as water and fuel that got past your rings. The oil is designed to run at these temps. If you are constantly ******* the crap out of your car like drifting and road racing, you can easily justify it. The only true way to know if you need it is to monitor your oil temps and if they are getting way beyond 212 degrees for extended peroids, then you could be prematurely breaking down your oil due to the high temps.

 

i agree with about 95% with what you say... you forgot 1 factor though.. what weight/thickness of oil you are using..

if you are using a very thin oil.. like GC 0w-30 or 5w-30.. your oil is thin and heats up a little faster than lets say 20w-50 (what i use for road racing). So, on a daily driven car, in excess traffic, hot climate zone (FL, AZ, NM, CA) i say you can use one.. but for people in cooler weather.. and dont see a lot of traffic or heat.. dont need one.. so long as you keep your cars' maintance up (good coolant, fans working correctly, a 180* thermo)..

road racing.. a must.. i see oil temps in the 250+ range with using 20w-50.. just think it i was using 5w-30.. wow...

so to the person asking the question.. ask yourself what do you do with the car.. and then decide...

 

Im running a oil temp guage. Under normal driving my oil stays around 210. In heavy traffic or when playing around, I've seen it 240-250. Mine is only a weekend driver, so I def dont need a cooler.

 

240/250 on what oil? that seems high... and i guess it depends on your version of "playing around"...

i see those temps when using a thicker weight oil.. and doing flat out racing for 20min sessions .. WITH my cooler ..

 

The ideal oil temperature is 225*F. As mentioned above, it allows burn-off plus it is where the lubricant additive packages do their best work. The nicest oil thermostat I've found is made by CV products but is not a sandwich type. It installs in-series just before the cooler and bypasses when oil temps are below 225*F. This type is necessary if an remote filter is used. I will soon be adding one since on cold days with a in-radiator (dual pass) heat exchanger oil temps barely reach 150* when street driving.

The best place to monitor oil temps is in the pan so as not to be influenced by heat drawn off by the cylinder case and/or heads.

http://www.geocities.com/casanoc

 

You have it backwards. Thinner oil moves faster and carries heat away. Thick oil moves slow and retaine more heat .

 

The ideal oil temperature is 215-230*F. If the vehicle sees any street time, I wouldn't want the temperature to stay in that range for the following reasons...

1. The oil needs to exceed 212*F in order to promote the burn off of water contamination, from condensation and gasoline combustion by-products, and light hydrocarbons from fuel contamination.
2. The aniline point of most oils is around 100-110*C (212-230*F) which is the temperature at which the base oil and additive package obtain ideal miscibility.
3. Many of the critical additives like ZDDP and MoDTC require a lot of heat to activate and start working.
4. Hotter oil promotes the release of entrained air, reducing oil aeration.

For those reasons, you'll have the longest service life from your oil in that temperature range. An oil cooler is only beneficial if the oil temperature is exceeding this range and you need to bring it back down to this range. I don't recommend a cooler unless the oil temperature is exceeding 250*F and staying there. Group III and IV synthetic oils can handle higher heat better than Group I and II conventional oils.

Chemistry tells you that the ideal oil temperature is between 175-190*F. Below 175*F, the oil has a tendency to nitrate. Above 190*F, the oil has a tendency to oxidize. The problem is this is assuming ideal conditions with no contaminants from combustion, no water or fuel dilution, no soot, etc... These factors force a higher oil temperature to contain them, otherwise they would act as catalyst for further oxidation than would be caused by the higher temperature. Sadly, you can't have your cake and eat it too.

If the engine is for drag racing only, then it's a different story. You aren't trying to go normal oil change intervals and 100k+ miles on a drag car. In that case, you want the coolest oil temperature you can get and adjust the viscosity for that temperature appropriately.