4age oil temperature

[Ninja25t]

I did a search and found some posts from back in 2006 on this topic but thought maybe people had more recent experience to share?

My question is - should I bother with an oil cooler? During occasional track days at Hampton Downs I am seeing oil temperatures of up to 140 degrees develop in my blacktop over a 15 minute session. It is a steady increase and actually appears to be plateauing and not continuing to climb, but it is obviously still pretty hot. Pressures are all good with only a slight decrease as temps increase, as you would expect.

I already have a remote oil filter set up so adding a cooler would not be a major but at the same time I'm not sure if this would end up with temps being too low under normal daily driving conditions? I'm just not sure if it is worth adding a cooler if I'm only doing 3 to 4 track sessions (or less) a year? I already change oil/filters regularly and use high quality synthetic oils...

Thoughts/experiences?

[GDII]

I've got a mate with a blacktop in his AW11 and he has oil temperatures rising just from spirited driving on the road.
Barry Manon (Bazda/MRP) sells an oil cooler setup with a thermostat to stop the oil getting too cold with slow driving and cold start ups.
http://www.mrpltd.co.nz/product/323/sandwich-plate.html
But I see you already have a remote filter setup.

[Bazda]

I've got a mate with a blacktop in his AW11 and he has oil temperatures rising just from spirited driving on the road.
Barry Manon (Bazda/MRP) sells an oil cooler setup with a thermostat to stop the oil getting too cold with slow driving and cold start ups.
http://www.mrpltd.co.nz/product/323/sandwich-plate.html
But I see you already have a remote filter setup.

Our thermo goes between the filter and adapter relocation block. So it can be run with the relocation plates.
That way you only need to add lines to the cooler and no re route the system you already have on the car.

This is how I run it on my car and many other customers have done so as well.

As for oil temps that hot I would def install an oil cooler.
Where are you measuring the temps from?

[Ninja25t]

Oil temps are being measured in the sump.

Thermo plate looks good but my preference would be to add the cooler into my existing return line from the remote. Can the sandwich plate be installed at the remote end instead? Otherwise I would probably be best to ditch my existing remote or I will end up with too many hoses to try and route around the headers etc. Although that would not be a problem, other than $$, as I have changed headers so I don't have a clearance issue with the factory oil filter location now anyway.

Cheers,

[Bazda]

That's where it goes on the remote adapter where the filter is screws onto.

[Flannelman]

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=92794

While this is not temperature related, its oil related.

Adding sump volume helps regulate temperature spikes. MRP larger sump could be a better option, as the vehicle is not a dedicated track car.

Either option will help keep oil temps in check.

[matt dunn]

and use high quality synthetic oils...

Thoughts/experiences?

What oil are you using, as some oils don't absorb the heat like others do.

[Ninja25t]

What oil are you using, as some oils don't absorb the heat like others do.

At the moment I have Penrite Racing10 10W 40 in it. But have not noticed any appreciable change in temperatures with Mobil 1 or Castrol equivalents. Some may hold up better at high temperature than others but does their ability to absorb heat change that much?

Adding sump volume helps regulate temperature spikes. MRP larger sump could be a better option, as the vehicle is not a dedicated track car.

It could help but I can get a lot of oil cooling for the same $$

Bazda - meant can it be installed at the other end of the remote like the following picture as an example?

[touge_ae101]

Oil starts breaking down at temps over 100deg. It can handle it for a certain period of time depending in the quality of the oil (your are using good quality oil thank goodness), the lifespan will decrease significantly.

Without an oil cooler I've seen temps of 170deg within 3 laps which completely screwed brand new mutul oil we had to change it for the next session..

Remember what your really worried about is whether the oil can take the load of the bearings while at that temp for a sustained amount of time. Think of it like this - any oil surges will cause more damage to the bearings at 140deg because the oil is already operating so close to its limit. If you can keep temps down then you've just got the extra loading capability of the oil up your sleeve if anything strange does happen.
I'd recommend running and oil cooler even if it was a street car. 9 row is too small to be effective, need 16 row and good quality don't get a cheapy, greddy is the best quality cooler we have found so far.
I've never run a thermostat in my cooler on the road and not been bothered by it, I guess it's just personal preference.

Flannelman - adding more capacity to the sump only increases the amount of heat capacity the oil has, not the rate at which it transfers into the oil. I think a cooler is the first step and if you need more then increased capacity is the way to go

[Bazda]

What oil are you using, as some oils don't absorb the heat like others do.

At the moment I have Penrite Racing10 10W 40 in it. But have not noticed any appreciable change in temperatures with Mobil 1 or Castrol equivalents. Some may hold up better at high temperature than others but does their ability to absorb heat change that much?

Adding sump volume helps regulate temperature spikes. MRP larger sump could be a better option, as the vehicle is not a dedicated track car.

It could help but I can get a lot of oil cooling for the same $$

Bazda - meant can it be installed at the other end of the remote like the following picture as an example?

Thats what im talking about. The Thermo adapter HAS to go where ever you put the filter.
It only goes onto the block if your not running a relocation setup.

[Ninja25t]

Remember what your really worried about is whether the oil can take the load of the bearings while at that temp for a sustained amount of time.

Yes, good point. Think I might add in a cooler and see where temperatures end up under normal daily driving conditions. If temps are too low I can always add in one of Bazda's thermo plates Cheers