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Oil coolers, where is yours?

jon200 - 5/1/13 at 09:21 PM

I have one to fit but can't think where it should go to be most effective? Any pics or ideas floating about would be great if you have some. Seems not many people are running them??

jossey - 5/1/13 at 09:34 PM

Most people put them in front of the rad. I am putting mine behind the rad though but putting a cut in the side panel to guide cool air to the oil cooler......

There are a lot of pics if you search on google in the locostbuilders site search.

linky

[Edited on 5/1/13 by jossey]

bigfoot4616 - 5/1/13 at 09:35 PM

mine is mounted in front of the rad. its low down at the bottom of the rad so most of it is behind the number plate which stops it over cooling for road use, i just take of the number plate for track use.

i'm sure there is quite a few pics about on here of others installations.

rodgling - 5/1/13 at 09:41 PM

Mine is behind the rad. There's no ducting to it but it's very effective.

beaver34 - 5/1/13 at 09:48 PM

Space is an issue in mine as yours I presume?

You can just see mine in the pic behind the rad

TimC - 5/1/13 at 10:15 PM

jon200 - 5/1/13 at 10:26 PM

quote:
Originally posted by beaver34
Space is an issue in mine as yours I presume?

You can just see mine in the pic behind the rad

does it cool effectively there? I'm concerned about mounting mine in front or behind the rad. I have an intercooler to put in front of the rad so airflow will be restricted enough anyway. I was looking for alternative arrangements. I had been looking on google but nothing really jumped out at me and made me think, that's a good idea. Initially I though about putting it in the side panel(by the front wheels) and ducting air out through it but don't know if it will be effective enough. The other option could have been in the side or top of the nose cone so presurised air was forced through it as well as the radiator but not actually affecting the radiator.

would a fan be strong enough to cool it?

beaver34 - 5/1/13 at 10:33 PM

Yes fine, allways ran it there when it was n/a had no issues

Do you have oil temp issues now?

mark chandler - 5/1/13 at 10:52 PM

Behind intercooler, infront radiator.

coozer - 5/1/13 at 11:21 PM

On the shelf in the garage...

jon200 - 6/1/13 at 08:03 AM

Beaver- I don't have it running right now but will be doing tack days. I have the same engine in my 200sx with no cooler and the oil temps get up to 115-120 so with a smaller bay etc I can see it getting hotter. It's better to have one for the extra oil capacity too I feel.

[Edited on 6/1/13 by jon200]

snapper - 6/1/13 at 08:09 AM

I run a 16 row behind the angled rad, no issues.
Use a thermostatic take off and 5/8" pipe with swaged ends

Paul Turner - 6/1/13 at 08:56 AM

Mines with the bloke who bought it on e-bay.

Only ran it for a few months but in that time the temperature gauge never got above 80 degrees and the stat never opened. It was just extra weight and more chances of a leak.

25 years later still don't have an oil cooler and despite running several different engines and checking the oil temp gauge (began to wonder if it was faulty) the temp is still rock solid at about 80 degrees. Considering modern synthetics are good for 120 degrees (my old Golf GTi ran at 100 degrees constantly even with a cooler - was fine after 115,000 miles on standard semi synthetic and 10,000 mile changes) I think they are pointless unless you get high temps or race/trackdays regularly.

HowardB - 6/1/13 at 10:35 AM

very interesting on cooler vs no cooler, I'll try mine in, and then I'll try it out,...

oil cooler

before fitting the pipes,..

1600 zetec in Fisher Fury

snapper - 6/1/13 at 12:28 PM

Interesting views, cooler Vs no cooler, I aproached the problem from the other direction, I had overheating problems and needed a solution, an oil cooler helped.
The main pointer to needing a cooler is if the oil temp goes up and the oil pressure goes down.
Thus my reason for fitting a thermostatic takeoff plate
I may not need a cooler however if I do I have cooling capacity to spare

ashg - 6/1/13 at 12:36 PM

my oil cooler is bolted to the back of my steering rack mount bracket with an ali shield around it that stops the hot air of the rad hitting it and aslo scoops cool air up from under the car and forces it through the cooler. it made 10deg c difference to my oil temps while cruising, it also has a cooling fan on it that cuts in when im sitting in traffic as my turbo wants to constantly heat the oil up just for fun

jon200 - 7/1/13 at 06:51 PM

I can always wrap foil round it if temps are too low or get a thermostatic plate for it. It's a filter relocation kit too so another reason why I want to use it.

surrey_100e - 10/1/13 at 05:03 PM

Mines in front of the radiator, spaced far enough that any heat shouldn't effect things.

bigfoot4616 - 10/1/13 at 06:38 PM

quote:
Originally posted by surrey_100e
Mines in front of the radiator, spaced far enough that any heat shouldn't effect things.

i was told its better tight up to the rad as that is best for airflow

coyoteboy - 10/1/13 at 10:21 PM

My oil cooler is coolant cooled and is part of the filter housing. Not sure that helps here

limpetminer - 10/1/13 at 11:14 PM

the oil cooler which is normaly under the filter & is cooled by water from the water rad is more of a heater than a cooler as the water runs at approx 90 deg c.it will only be effective if the oil temp runs over 120 deg c .by then the oil will start to break down,so only effective way of cooling oil is to fit a oil to air type cooler.

ShaunB - 10/1/13 at 11:30 PM

One of the Locost racers has it mounted high behind the radiator sat at the back of a naca duct in the top surface of the nosecone, like the one in the bigfoot4616 avatar.

coyoteboy - 11/1/13 at 02:02 AM

quote:
Originally posted by limpetminer
the oil cooler which is normaly under the filter & is cooled by water from the water rad is more of a heater than a cooler as the water runs at approx 90 deg c.it will only be effective if the oil temp runs over 120 deg c .by then the oil will start to break down,so only effective way of cooling oil is to fit a oil to air type cooler.

It operates as both warmup enhancement and temp regulation. To assume it doesn't cool until it is too late is to completely misunderstand how heat exchangers work. Coolant/oil exchangers are far more efficient size for size than air cooled. Don't forget they are usually fed pre-block/head so on warmup they get water that is recirculated but once the stat opens it is fed with a mix of cooled and hot. Clearly depends on the whole system but usually if you stick within 50% of the engine designed output you don't have issues IME, showing they don't struggle!

[Edited on 11/1/13 by coyoteboy]