Subframe-mounted oil-to-air heat exchanger (oil cooler)

[Series8217]

To battle high oil temps at the track (I measured the oil pan at 275*F after a cooldown lap), I'm installing a Setrab 19-row Series 6 (13" wide x 2" deep x 5-3/4" high) oil-to-air heat exchanger. I purchased it from Racer Parts Wholesale along with a Mocal sandwich adapter with a built-in 200 deg oil thermostat.

Since I ran my exhaust out the rear I have a big space in front of the cradle, so that's where I decided to put the cooler. I designed some sheet metal brackets and had them laser cut by a local vendor, and Chris West helped me bend them up at West Coast Fiero.

Here's the oil cooler installed:




It's pretty sturdy, but I think the lower portion of the bracket won't last long due to fatigue from vibration and the weight of the full cooler moving up and down, so I plan to add some gussets before I operate the car with it installed.

Next step: plumbing!

I'm sure it's also going to need directed airflow to be effective but I probably won't have time to build any before the next track day, so we'll see how it goes.

[crzyone]

How about running a fan on a temp switch?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/OIL-COOLER-ELEC ... 5d462a2ea2

http://www.ebay.com/itm/9-INCH-ELECTRIC ... 75&vxp=mtr

There are a lot of options. Probably better to just run a fan on a switch on the dash instead of relying on a temp switch. Only going to need it for racing anyways.

If a 9" is too big, there are a lot of 4 wheeler oil cooler fans which are smaller. They put out quite a bit of flow as well.

[Series8217]

There isn't enough room for a traditional fan.

[crzyone]

Even if you make it a pusher and not a puller?

[Series8217]

Even if you make it a pusher and not a puller?

A pusher might work but depending on thickness it might also turn into the lowest part of the car. I don't want the lowest part of the car attached directly to my oil plumbing!

[The Dark Side of Will]

Looks like there isn't much room for elbows off the top of the cooler, either.

[Series8217]

There's more room for plumbing than it looks like. Parts arrive tomorrow and I'll take some pics of how it fits.

[Series8217]

New bracket design:

Bottom/front:

Top/back:


The lower piece will be riveted to the side pieces.

The flanges with the small holes are for mounting ductwork.

[ericjon262]

looks good. how high were your oil temps going?

[Series8217]

looks good. how high were your oil temps going?

I don't have an oil temp gauge but the oil pan itself was 275*F after a cooldown lap, measured with an IR thermometer. So maybe as high as 300*F or more.

[ericjon262]

looks good. how high were your oil temps going?

I don't have an oil temp gauge but the oil pan itself was 275*F after a cooldown lap, measured with an IR thermometer. So maybe as high as 300*F or more.

Very good call on the cooler then! the new mount plan looks much better then the old one, I might do something similar on my car when I redo the turbo setup.

[Series8217]

Plumbed!

I used two Aeroquip Pushloc -10 AN 45 deg fittings (source: Amazon) at the sandwich adapter, two -10 AN 90 deg (source: Amazon) at the oil cooler, and a few feet of -10 AN pushloc hose (source: Amazon). 3 ft is enough.

I tried to take a pic showing the plumbing layout, but there's too much wiring and plumbing in the way. I guess it's time for me to deal with those other things now.

The sandwich adapter is oriented so the ports are pointing to the top right at 45 deg from horizontal. I had to put the oil pressure sender on a 45 deg pipe elbow (source: Amazon) and point it to the left toward the AC compressor so there was room for the sandwich adapter ports.

Here's the best I could do:



I'll take another photo once I've cleaned up the plumbing and wiring.

[The Dark Side of Will]

You still have the stock oil/water unit, right?
Obviously it was not adequate for the task.

[Series8217]

You still have the stock oil/water unit, right?
Obviously it was not adequate for the task.

Yeah I left it in since it helps warm the oil up.

After I installed the Griffin radiator and my coolant temps on track went down, my lifter tap pretty much went away. The oil/water unit might have helped with that, though it could have just been having a lower overall engine temperature that made the difference.

[The Dark Side of Will]

Yeah, lower engine temps = lower oil temps