The alternative oil cooler
#12
Thread Starter
Gave the car quite a beating this evening. Not as hard as a trackday but there was alot of redlining going on. Firstly the oil temperature without the cooler switched on got up to 110c (oil temp from sandwich plate) very quickly and was rising fast. Once it was switched on the max temperature i saw during the drive was 109c. I made a point of giving it alot of stick all the way home. When i pulled up on the driveway the temperature of the cooler coolant bottle was 77c.
Now this is quite warm and starting to get into the area of it causing the pressure release cap to operate. I don't think i will have a problem getting the temperature out of the oil as the OEM donut cooler seems very effective at that but i think i might have a problem with not enough cooling through my little narrow matrix 19 row oil cooler. Im yet to fit the fan thou which could make alot of difference but im still waiting for a fan to arrive that is rated to work in the wet so that it lasts a while. Previously the max temperature i have ever seen on track was just below 130c.
I will get the fan fitted and take some videos on track of the car without the coolant pump running and one with it running to show the difference in oil temperatures. I need to reprogramme the gauge at the moment because its flashing all the time when the oil goes over 105c which is quite distracting.
Now this is quite warm and starting to get into the area of it causing the pressure release cap to operate. I don't think i will have a problem getting the temperature out of the oil as the OEM donut cooler seems very effective at that but i think i might have a problem with not enough cooling through my little narrow matrix 19 row oil cooler. Im yet to fit the fan thou which could make alot of difference but im still waiting for a fan to arrive that is rated to work in the wet so that it lasts a while. Previously the max temperature i have ever seen on track was just below 130c.
I will get the fan fitted and take some videos on track of the car without the coolant pump running and one with it running to show the difference in oil temperatures. I need to reprogramme the gauge at the moment because its flashing all the time when the oil goes over 105c which is quite distracting.
#13
Thread Starter
Sorted myself out one of these.
http://www.spalautomotive.com/files/...A-A101-87A.pdf
Well worth the investment, it shifts loads of air and is cooling the coolant temperatures down massively. On the downside the 3 way t-piece isn't working. It keeps overfilling the oil cooler expansion bottle. It must be when the cars normal radiator pressurises and the cap vents it, it must be back feeding into the oil cooler coolant bottle.
I will drill the OEM coolant bottle and push the tube into the tank. That should stop any future issues.
Trackday on Wednesday, that will be the real test.
http://www.spalautomotive.com/files/...A-A101-87A.pdf
Well worth the investment, it shifts loads of air and is cooling the coolant temperatures down massively. On the downside the 3 way t-piece isn't working. It keeps overfilling the oil cooler expansion bottle. It must be when the cars normal radiator pressurises and the cap vents it, it must be back feeding into the oil cooler coolant bottle.
I will drill the OEM coolant bottle and push the tube into the tank. That should stop any future issues.
Trackday on Wednesday, that will be the real test.
#14
Thread Starter
Done abit of tweaking yesterday
Used a cone cutter to open up a hole in the water bottle large enough to push a grommit in and then used a wad punch to make a whole in the grommit so i could push the pipe into the coolant bottle.
Tested it last night and no problems of the oil cooler expansion bottle being filled up by the cars radiator venting its pressure out. I should of thought it out better really first time round. I forgot that radiator caps have a vacuum valve which would allow the coolant to go the wrong way.
I just need to powder coat some bits now and change the OEM spark plug cover back to black
Used a cone cutter to open up a hole in the water bottle large enough to push a grommit in and then used a wad punch to make a whole in the grommit so i could push the pipe into the coolant bottle.
Tested it last night and no problems of the oil cooler expansion bottle being filled up by the cars radiator venting its pressure out. I should of thought it out better really first time round. I forgot that radiator caps have a vacuum valve which would allow the coolant to go the wrong way.
I just need to powder coat some bits now and change the OEM spark plug cover back to black
#15
Thread Starter
Well i tested this tonight at Snetterton. The answer to whether it works is an overwhelming FAIL.
At the hottest point the oil got up to 130c. If you short shift abit then the temperature drops very quickly but the sustained VTEC puts more heat into the oil than the OEM cooler can to the water. Even checking the coolant bottle after a 20minute run the water is hot but its only at 50c so its not the coolant that is struggling to keep up with the heat.
Abit annoying but least i gave it a go! I will have to opt for an oil to air cooler. I really dislike the pressure loss thou. After a hot session i see 14psi at Idle and i dont really want any less than that.
Abit of head scratching to do about the way forward
At the hottest point the oil got up to 130c. If you short shift abit then the temperature drops very quickly but the sustained VTEC puts more heat into the oil than the OEM cooler can to the water. Even checking the coolant bottle after a 20minute run the water is hot but its only at 50c so its not the coolant that is struggling to keep up with the heat.
Abit annoying but least i gave it a go! I will have to opt for an oil to air cooler. I really dislike the pressure loss thou. After a hot session i see 14psi at Idle and i dont really want any less than that.
Abit of head scratching to do about the way forward
#17
Thread Starter
I have been looking at the laminovas and they do look great but they start at £280 and its not 100% that they will work well on the s2000 because of the highflow rate of the s2000 pump. I know the kraftwerks supercharger kit has one as part of it and people had been complaining of high temperatures.
Im just going to bite the bullet i think and fit the small air oil cooler just behind the engine fans as close to the sandwich plate as possible. I will ditch the OEM cooler and have gauge sandwich plate, oil cooler sandwich plate and filter. If i keep bends to a minimum i should keep the oil pressure reasonably good. I can stick the fan on it as well and have that on the switch to give me alittle bit extra cooling when on the track.
I will see how i get on.
#18
Well done for having a try Mark and thanks for sharing (and sharing a failure at that).
The obvious fix for hot oil pressure drop on track would be heavier oil. Not sure what the knock-on might be on a daily driver when it isn't hot though. Having said that 14 PSI isn't terrible - perhaps very slightly heavier oil would do the trick?
The other thought I had if you're willing to experiment is solid oil lines to the cooler. Should keep pressure up.
The obvious fix for hot oil pressure drop on track would be heavier oil. Not sure what the knock-on might be on a daily driver when it isn't hot though. Having said that 14 PSI isn't terrible - perhaps very slightly heavier oil would do the trick?
The other thought I had if you're willing to experiment is solid oil lines to the cooler. Should keep pressure up.
#19
What size lines did you use to your previous cooler Mark?
My pressure gauge is only a cheap one, but I can't say I've noticed a drop since fitting my cooler. When hot at idle mine reads midway between 20 and 30 psi (it only has 10psi increments) and reads around 90 or higher at higher revs.
That's using AN10 lines. I did drill out the adaptors that fit into the sandwich plate a little though as they had a smaller bore than any other part of the system.
I've done a track day today and with my temperature sensor in the sump plug the hottest I saw it get was around 110 degrees -that's about how hot I felt, it was too hot wearing a helmet today!
My pressure gauge is only a cheap one, but I can't say I've noticed a drop since fitting my cooler. When hot at idle mine reads midway between 20 and 30 psi (it only has 10psi increments) and reads around 90 or higher at higher revs.
That's using AN10 lines. I did drill out the adaptors that fit into the sandwich plate a little though as they had a smaller bore than any other part of the system.
I've done a track day today and with my temperature sensor in the sump plug the hottest I saw it get was around 110 degrees -that's about how hot I felt, it was too hot wearing a helmet today!
#20
Thread Starter
1/2 bsp on my lines but worked it out that it's just abit more than an8. I must fit an oil cooler now because the heat is getting too much.
Going with 5/8 bsp hose and fittings. Will measure up next week and just get it fitted.
What size cooler do you use? I have 19 row 115mm I can fit. The small fan makes a big difference. Only 20% of air flow makes it through a cooler according to mocal so fan makes the most of it
Going with 5/8 bsp hose and fittings. Will measure up next week and just get it fitted.
What size cooler do you use? I have 19 row 115mm I can fit. The small fan makes a big difference. Only 20% of air flow makes it through a cooler according to mocal so fan makes the most of it