Thoughts on FK8 Oil Coolers for HPDE

[fatherpain]

Comparison of the C&R Racing core upgrade (16) rows vs the HKS oil cooler core (8) rows.

Sideways comparison. C&R on left.

HKS oil cooler with C&R Racing core installed. Retains brake duct.

 

[Fountainhead]

aw heck, just run two one each side of the front and a 10 gallon oil capacity like a 911 and it'll never overheat.
LOL.

 

[Eugene_Fk8]

aw heck, just run two one each side of the front and a 10 gallon oil capacity like a 911 and it'll never overheat.
LOL.

I actually see someone mount 3 oil cooler before. One each side remove the water tank, and one at the center with cut open bumper. still overheats at high temp but seems to be fine with ambient below 90F.

 

[fatherpain]

Not an oil cooler, but cooling related. Swapped the bare OEM water pipe for a hard lagged one… which was a pretty involved to do…. But thinking wrapping this pipe with any kind of insulation would help as it passes right by the turbo, engine and downpipe.

 

[Dave B]

Ok, just to be the "devil's advocate", what oil temps are you folks concerned with? I am not sure what sort of oil temps hurt the engine but coolant temps seem to be the main issue triggering limp mode or pulling power, not oil temps. Obviously any additional cooling helps but it would make sense to me to maximize the effectiveness of the radiator by using an improved rad as well as adequate hood venting before adding an oil cooler. Certainly the rad is going to provide a lot more total cooling than a small oil cooler that is not vented particularly well. Some oil coolers for other cars run through one of the coolant tanks. Certainly not ideal but if the radiator is effective enough and is getting enough airflow, it is a much simpler system. I have used a Ron Davis radiator with integrated oil cooler on my C5Z06 Corvette with great success in the past but I am not aware of anyone building this type of radiator for the CTR.

Alternatively, if you have the coolant temps under good control with an upgraded radiator and hood venting, maybe a standard type oil cooler mounted in front of the upper part of the radiator might work better as long as it doesn't interfere with the intercooler. The total cooling package wouldn't be any better but the oil temps could drop at the expense of a rise in coolant temps.

 

[REDRAGN]

Dave...you're not wrong. The only viable solution for these cars is a comprehensive cooling solution encompassing venting/ducting, radiator, oil, and even heat shielding.
@fatherpain is on the extreme edge of most of this as are a few others (@Lust) who seriously track their cars.
I added the oil cooler first as it was easy and I didn't need to address additional coolant temp drops until next years summer weather track days. I will be adding a hood vent above the turbo/manifold and going from there.

 

[AlphaDigital]

Ok, just to be the "devil's advocate", what oil temps are you folks concerned with? I am not sure what sort of oil temps hurt the engine but coolant temps seem to be the main issue triggering limp mode or pulling power, not oil temps. Obviously any additional cooling helps but it would make sense to me to maximize the effectiveness of the radiator by using an improved rad as well as adequate hood venting before adding an oil cooler. Certainly the rad is going to provide a lot more total cooling than a small oil cooler that is not vented particularly well. Some oil coolers for other cars run through one of the coolant tanks. Certainly not ideal but if the radiator is effective enough and is getting enough airflow, it is a much simpler system. I have used a Ron Davis radiator with integrated oil cooler on my C5Z06 Corvette with great success in the past but I am not aware of anyone building this type of radiator for the CTR.

Alternatively, if you have the coolant temps under good control with an upgraded radiator and hood venting, maybe a standard type oil cooler mounted in front of the upper part of the radiator might work better as long as it doesn't interfere with the intercooler. The total cooling package wouldn't be any better but the oil temps could drop at the expense of a rise in coolant temps.

I suppose a big problem is, at this point I'm not even monitoring oil temperature which somewhat worries me. Personally, my thought process is - I want to monitor it because I plan on driving the car harder next year, why not put one in while using it for the sensor. I see more benefits to having one than not having one.

To be 100% clear there hasn't been an incident where having supposedly too high of oil temps has taken me out of lapping but addressing the issue before it occurs is a mindset of mine for many things, cars included.

I plan on at least 5 Hpde next year, BIR, Blackhawk, maybe even RA the rest TBD. I definitely want the car ready.

 

[Dave B]

I suppose a big problem is, at this point I'm not even monitoring oil temperature which somewhat worries me. Personally, my thought process is - I want to monitor it because I plan on driving the car harder next year, why not put one in while using it for the sensor. I see more benefits to having one than not having one.

To be 100% clear there hasn't been an incident where having supposedly too high of oil temps has taken me out of lapping but addressing the issue before it occurs is a mindset of mine for many things, cars included.

I plan on at least 5 Hpde next year, BIR, Blackhawk, maybe even RA the rest TBD. I definitely want the car ready.

So the question is, what oil temp is too high? Using LogR, which I really doubt is all that accurate and can likely be fooled by using different viscosity oils, my temp readings have hit 260 with Motul V300 0W-20 but no higher. I am quite sure those temps won't hurt the oil but have no idea what hurts the engine. For a reference, I believe the Nissan 370s go into limp mode when oil temps hit 280 and my LS6 engined Corvette didn't suffer any perceptible damage with repeated runs to 270F over a number of years. I know of other Corvette owners without oil coolers who had very reliable engines with oil temps repeatedly up to 300 F but have no idea of what the Honda engineers were thinking.

The concern I have with oil coolers and more so with double oil coolers is a drop in oil pressure.

 

[AlphaDigital]

So the question is, what oil temp is too high? Using LogR, which I really doubt is all that accurate and can likely be fooled by using different viscosity oils, my temp readings have hit 260 with Motul V300 0W-20 but no higher. I am quite sure those temps won't hurt the oil but have no idea what hurts the engine. For a reference, I believe the Nissan 370s go into limp mode when oil temps hit 280 and my LS6 engined Corvette didn't suffer any perceptible damage with repeated runs to 270F over a number of years. I know of other Corvette owners without oil coolers who had very reliable engines with oil temps repeatedly up to 300 F but have no idea of what the Honda engineers were thinking.

The concern I have with oil coolers and more so with double oil coolers is a drop in oil pressure.

Thus part of the reason why I decided to ask the question - What was the tipping point for some that made them run oil coolers.

I would expect that people were seeing high oil temps that made them add one, but what temp is too high is my question as well.

I have confidence in the 300v, but I also dont want to subject the car to too high of oil temperatures if it can be avoided, and an oil cooler isnt too pricey so it would be worth adding probably.

For the Mishimoto oil cooler at least, it advertises "minimal pressure drop with a 15 degree drop in oil temps" and thats for the 19 row oil cooler.

 

[Eugene_Fk8]

I mean the most point for 19 or before model to add oil cooler is for the oil temp and pressure gauge. Since I will need an sandwich plate for the gauge then why not just get an oil cooler with sandwich place for space to mount the sensor. WIn WIn

 

[fatherpain]

Not to derail… but since there is discussion about pressure sensors, here is a close up of the pressure sensor port on the HKS oil cooler. Thread pitch is 1/8 PT BSPT.

Salasko Racing suggested mounting the oil pressure sensor to this thin cross brace at the X then running a BSPT to 3AN adapter and 1’ long SST braided hose to it from the sandwich plate.

I have the sensor, adapter and hose, but am holding off because I can’t afford the Motec dash display yet and don’t want the electrical connectors to get damaged if just sitting there unplugged. Soon, hopefully. Maybe next year.

 

[metal_driver]

I’m running the USR Setrab 19 row oil cooler kit.
The advantage is that it’s beefier than the other 10-row oil cooler kits and you do not have to block off the brake inlet duct like the MishImoto kit.
Details here - https://www.civicx.com/forum/threads/jeffs-build-for-occasional-light-track-use.51054/

I would think that keeping your engine oil cooler has got to help with overall cooling and longevity. Seeing as engine oil is the lube that feeds the heart of your engine I would not be keen on letting it get to high while pushing your car/engine while on the track.

 

[chester]

I just completed my first ever track day, so I doubt my skills pushed the cooling system too hard. Even so, LogR showed a max coolant temp of 233° and max oil temp of 265°. Ambient temp was 87°, and average speed was around 77mph if that matters. The 265° oil temp worries me, and I believe it will get higher as I get faster.

Since I have a 2020, I'm concerned about getting airflow to one of these oil coolers in this thread. I don't have diamonds to cut out. Has anyone figured out what to do about this? I saw that USR makes a front mount kit, but it seems that location would increase temps in the intercooler.

 

[Eugene_Fk8]

I just completed my first ever track day, so I doubt my skills pushed the cooling system too hard. Even so, LogR showed a max coolant temp of 233° and max oil temp of 265°. Ambient temp was 87°, and average speed was around 77mph if that matters. The 265° oil temp worries me, and I believe it will get higher as I get faster.

Since I have a 2020, I'm concerned about getting airflow to one of these oil coolers in this thread. I don't have diamonds to cut out. Has anyone figured out what to do about this? I saw that USR makes a front mount kit, but it seems that location would increase temps in the intercooler.

If you don't want to modify the bumper, you can try the sirimoto one : SiriMoto Oil Cooler

If you are going to modify then its up to you.

 

[chester]

If you don't want to modify the bumper, you can try the sirimoto one : SiriMoto Oil Cooler

If you are going to modify then its up to you.

I'm happy to modify my bumper, but I don't know how to do that on a 2020+ model. I don't have the diamonds to cut out.

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