Here is my new oil cooler. My engine was fine btw. The old oil cooler broke and I lost 2 quarts of oil. The new one is from Setrab, I had ordered a Mocal, but it turns out it was too big, so I ordered a smaller Setrab. The system uses the old adapter plate from the Moss Mini oil cooler, Aeroquip hose & fittings, and a Mocal thermostat. The cooler fit without real issues, the brackets are custom made.

 

Clutters up the engine bay a bit too much for me with those hoses going all over, but looks like it was fairly easy to install. Functionally how is this different than the stock oil cooler?

 

For one thing, it actually cools the oil. The stock heat exchanger was more effectinve at warming cold oil and did nothing but heat the engine more as the oil got to higher temps. By the way, Aeroquip hoses are a real pain to work with. The tape on the hose is to keep it from unwraveling. Im to cheap to buy the $75 tool that lets you attach the fittings with ease.

 

nice! i was hoping for someone to show one of these installed... im getting mine whenever madness gets them back in stock

 

Nice install, but I have a question. Doesn't the way that it's mounted cause the heat from the oil cooler to be absorbed by the radiator?

 

Im not sure where the Madness cooler fits. I did this on my own with no instructions.

As for the radiator absorbing heat, I guess it does, but then again the entire radiator is coverd up by the a/c condenser. But ive never actuall felt the a/c condenser after running a/c on max all day. My freon leaked out some time ago so I have no a/c. I might just remove the condenser and a/c pump to save weight.

The stock oil heat exchanger heated up the antifreeze directly, my oil cooler is just air blowby. The negative is far out weighed by the positive of optimal temp oil. More over, my cooler covers far less of the radiator than the people with converted trans coolers. I guess coopers with CVT might have a problem too.

One more thing, as for changing the oil filter, the lower hoses after the thermostat have extra slack in them so that it can be pulled out and the filter can be accessed.

 

What kind of temps are you seeing that you need an oil cooler?

 

Nice setup!

How much does it cost?

My oild cooler broke on me last week and it leaks oil... I need a new unit asap and this solution looks good.

 

Before this I had no oil temp gauge. My old oil cooler (from Moss) broke from a minor front end incident involving frozen chunks of ice and low ground clearance. If you are not familiar with the Moss mini oil cooler, its some flexible hose and metal pipe crimped together, the radiator element is a simple two pass design. The metal hose got dented and increased oil pressure enough to pop one of the crimped hoses some miles later.

I added an oil temp and an oil pressure guage at the same time as this new mod. Only the temp works at the moment. Any idea how to get the stock oil sender off? When I drove around today I saw temps as high as 202º. I didnt really push the car (under 5k RPM) and the ambient temp was about 77º.

This entire set up, minus the gauges, was about $380. The cooler itself was around $110 or so. The hose was pricy $54 ($6 per foot), as were the fittings 4 straight, 4 90º($10 each for straight, $23 each for the 90º). The thermostat was around $100. The brackets and bolts were under $6. Oh. Zip ties, they were cheap, I forget how cheap.

 

What is the "optimal temp oil"? And why doesn't the stock setup achieve this optimum? What happens when the oil temp is non-optimal? Answers to these questions will help me understand why you did this, thanks.

 

I have always understood that optimal temp was just above 100 C. This allows any contaminates to burn off. The high threshold would be determined by the oil used, but it is normally around 120-130 C. My OEM oil temp gauge will reach a max of just about 125 C after some extended hard driving. This is running Mobil 1 5w30.

 

All my temps are in ºF unless stated otherwise. Oil coolers are good for hot weather and for those who drive hard.

 

Any reason you opted to mount it so high and not lower down?

 

The thermostat I've used opens at 180F/82C-seems to be fairly common number browsing a couple on the web. That sets the floor temperature so that water evaporates out. You need a thermostat. Once the thermostat is open, it's up to airflow/ambient/humidity and how much heat you're dumping in to the oil to know how hot it's going to be.

Running here in Texas in August in stop n go traffic or at the track someone would see a higher temp than somewhere else. So once you know how warm your oil is getting, you can keep adding cooling until it drops below some number you have in mind. Someone that never stresses their motor probably doesn't need a cooler at all.

Personally I try to keep mine below 250F/125C or so during traffic or harder driving. I don't worry if it goes beyond a bit for short times. But I start thinking about a cooler if it's getting up there very often, or if the max gets too high.

The Mobil1 website says maximum constant temperature of 356F/180C, short term to 392F/200C before the oil is damaged. Obviously you want to stay a long way away from that.

 

I mounted the oil cooler up high because it was ice in the winter that damaged my first one. You know, that middle of the road snow and ice that forms from peoples tire tracks? There were a couple of big hits this winter. My bumper and a/c condenser are damaged from it. No, I'm not going to get insurance involved. They would cancel my policy (long story...) At any rate, I want this oil cooler to be protected from future snow and ice. This car is my only winter option most of the time.

 

To put it in somewhat simplistic terms, the need for an oil cooler mainly relates to high performance driving, such as on a track, where there are extended periods of time at high load / high RPM's. This extra stress upon the engine makes it more difficult for the engine and engine oil to stay cool. This can make it more difficult for the oil to remain in its "optimum" temperature range to properly lubricate the moving parts.

The stock setup does just fine under most conditions, as the many posters here who run have run trackdays/auto-x can attest. But for someone that is running trackdays frequently and spends alot of time on the track (especially in warmer climates) it is extra insurance against engine wear/damage.

 

Sounds like nabeshin did not bother to establish a baseline or establish real need by actually finding out oil temps before this mod and now if the mod is actually effective it will actually keep oil temps too low? (below 212F or 100C)

 

"Sounds like nabeshin did not bother to establish a baseline or establish real need by actually finding out oil temps before this mod and now if the mod is actually effective it will actually keep oil temps too low? (below 212F or 100C)" -planeguy

That is what the thermostat is for. It allows the oil to come to temp before opening up. If I feel the need, I can get the 200ºF thermostat and simply switch them out. My old oil cooler didnt have a thermostat, so this is a step up. I had the old oil cooler for quite some time. Winter temps got to like -5ºF here on some days. So there is a posibility my oil was too cold all winter. It might have been too cold for the whole year I had that old cooler. I dont know since I didnt have the temp gauge. But now it's better. Out side temp was maybe 60ºF here today, and my oil got up to 210ºF. Summer temps here can get up to 104º, there should be no problem getting up to the magic 212º. Winter is a long way off, and I wont be driving my car from about Sept. to Dec. since I will be in Japan. The 200º thermostat could be my winter option, 180º for summer.

About my driving style, I always go to redline in first gear when the speed limit allows and floor it all the time. In town I usually only use 3 or 4 gears and keep rpms above 4k all the time, the engine sounds so sweet. I could care less about gas milage.

 

You don't actually have to get the oil above 212F for the moisture to leave the oil. Evaporation works without boiling. It'll leave the oil if it's 180F just slower. (and boiling point changes with altitude anyway) Think of dumping water on the sidewalk. If it's 50F, it evaporates real slow, 80 faster, 104 even faster. If you were to get the water boiling, it's not instantly evaporating either.

Once the thermostat is open, it's open. So if your oil is at 210, there won't be any "memory" in the system of whether the thermostat opened at 180 or 200. So for your summer driving it shouldn't matter which one is in-your max temp won't change. Once the thermostat is all the way open, it's dumping all the heat it's going to.

 

Exactly. That's why I think nabeshin should get a 200 degree thermostat. The faster you can get the oil up to temperature, the better. In the summer, it will open in less time but the effectiveness won't be any higher than with a 180 thermostat.

 

Are we solving a problem that we don't have here? I read the threads on oil temperature, and this one on oil coolers, and wonder.
And with that extra radiator in front of the water radiator, what about more heat being transferred to the intake manifold, which sits right behind both of these in the airstream? Is the (dubious) benefit of lower oil temps greater than the documented cost of higher IATs?

 

i like the way the moss adaptor brings the hoses to the top. the madness is fine but up top has some benifits too . i tapped right to the bottom of the bumper with 1/4 20's and rubber isolation . so i'm in danger of one of your episodes . but rather than hit chunks head on i kinda weave `. minis aren't really THAT GOOD IN THE SNOW. stupid cap lock .

 

Hello
Good mod

In my MCS JCW I use Castrol SLX LL04. With high exterior temps (30º) and driving hard my oil goes to 120º. This is normal or is better install a Oil Cooler?

Best Regards

 

i've got the madness set up and have found that after 160 f the pressure stays the same all the way to 215 f in hard city driving , bumper to bumper traffic and such . so i'd say the optimal temp is 160 f . it's where the pressure starts to be constant . and no there are no contaminants in the oil . also the oil's never gone above 215 f . they work .

 

Why don't you check this and give an opinion?
schäfer clubsport oil cooler