Dual oil coolers for serious track duty

[hcsi99]

I do have a sensor in the oil cooler adapter. It came with my Autometer digital gauge. The sensor works fine when driving on the street so that tells me Otha's something to do with the oil flowing through the adapter.

[hcsi99]

Here is some video from Friday. You can see on some turns and under braking the temp gauge will drop 100 degrees and even all the way to 0 for a second. I'm going to check my wiring and see if maybe it's loose or touching somewhere it should when I'm turning and braking. Keep and eye on the oil temp gauge mounted on the steering column. Sorry for the bad outside glare, it was sunny and late in the day. The outside temp at this point was in the high 70's with low humidity

[X25]

Originally Posted by hcsi99

I do have a sensorineural the oil cooler adapter. It came with my Autometer digital gauge. The sensor works fine when driving on the street so that tells me Otha's something to do with the oil flowing through the adapter.

This is very bizarre. I also do have the Autometer digital gauge, and it's installed at the oil cooler adapter as well. The oil pressure sensor (also Autometer) is actually installed on the line to the oil cooler. Both of these gauges work just fine everywhere. The oil pressure gauge climbs up in the first few seconds of firing up the car (which was very scary before I realized it's measuring the pressure in the hose), but oil temp gauge is spot on. It shows the ambient temp at cold start, and quickly starts warming up as the engine warms up, with no hiccups at the track.

Do you still have the OEM oil pan baffles, or did you install something better already? I never went to track without the baffling; perhaps it makes sure there is always oil in the pickup, so the readings are always good. After all, the oil cooler adapter is right after the oil pump, which scavenges it from the oil pan.

[hcsi99]

I'm still running the factory baffles but thinking of the improved racing baffle. I spoke with improved racing today and they think it's wiring because even with no oil on the sensor it shouldn't read 0 ever.

[X25]

Originally Posted by hcsi99

I'm still running the factory baffles but thinking of the improved racing baffle. I spoke with improved racing today and they think it's wiring because even with no oil on the sensor it shouldn't read 0 ever.

Makes sense. You'd also lose your engine anyway with that frequent loss of oil. OK good, sorry for talking scary

Check your ground connection(s)!

Also, for any connection you had to make, if you haven't already, you should always solder it, and use a shrink-wrap. This is mentioned with big letters in the how-to for Camaro, made by AutoMeter itself.

[X25]

Originally Posted by hcsi99

Here is some video from Friday. You can see on some turns and under braking the temp gauge will drop 100 degrees and even all the way to 0 for a second. I'm going to check my wiring and see if maybe it's loose or touching somewhere it should when I'm turning and braking. Keep and eye on the oil temp gauge mounted on the steering column. Sorry for the bad outside glare, it was sunny and late in the day. The outside temp at this point was in the high 70's with low humidity

Finally got to watch the video. Indeed, the fluctuation at the gauge is insane. With that much fluctuation, hopefully you can easily test it out at the street once you fix it, so you'd know it works for sure at the next event.

One thing I noticed is that the average RPMs (as far as I can hear) seem to be not too high, especially during long coasts through wide turns or during braking zones. It might be driving style, or might have to do with the track, or even the braking points, but I know that it will have a huge impact on your temps. Did you happen to collect RPM data through your OBD II port? Do you know your average RPMs? For reference, my average RPM hovers around 4500-4700 range in the local tracks I visit frequently.

[hcsi99]

My China made OBD reader didn't make it out of session one. When plugged in to the ALDL only one solid red light comes on and no data is being transmitted.

I try not to push the car to red line, and I'm sure there is at least 1 more turn I could have used 2nd gear but the car seems to have good low end torque in 3rd to get me out of the turns. I also improved my time by over a half second from my last visit here.

[X25]

Originally Posted by hcsi99

My China made OBD reader didn't make it out of session one. When plugged in to the ALDL only one solid red light comes on and no data is being transmitted.

I try not to push the car to red line, and I'm sure there is at least 1 more turn I could have used 2nd gear but the car seems to have good low end torque in 3rd to get me out of the turns. I also improved my time by over a half second from my last visit here.

Well, at some point, your gains will stop, and you'll have to push it up to the redline If you shift by redline, your next gear also starts at higher RPMs, so it has a cascading effect, too.

Anyhow, shifting points is obviously not the subject of this thread, but average RPM has a profound effect on temps. I'd expect you'd hit 10+ degrees F, if not more if you use all the way to the redline.

I did not experiment with lower RPMs on the 1LE, but I did so on my supercharged Miata (since it was literally overheating at the track when I first installed the supercharger), and it seems to be one of the major components of heat generated (and also fuel consumption).

[Woodsman44]

So here'e the setup I just finished installing. Running the coolers OrangeCrush used connected in series. -10AN with the 212 thermostat adapter. I made some calls and did some research and there are no issue running the coolers upside down but it did allow me to mount the coolers the way I did and have no more than a half inch gap. I considered using a check valve but that didn't seem like it would be necessary. I'm guessing I'll have 100% airflow to the top cooler and about 90% to the bottom one.

Downsides of this setup - the lower cooler hangs a little below the radiator so some of the air that enters the bottom of the lower cooler will miss the radiator and go under the engine. I might put something back there to funnel the air back up into the radiator. The hose connectors for the upper cooler will have some kind of effect on airflow but the hoses tuck close to the bumper bar, reducing their effect. And of course the dual coolers have a higher flow restriction than a single cooler.

It's going to be about a month or so before I can test this on the track and I'll keep you posted.

[tadams72]

Originally Posted by Woodsman44

So here'e the setup I just finished installing. Running the coolers OrangeCrush used connected in series. -10AN with the 212 thermostat adapter. I made some calls and did some research and there are no issue running the coolers upside down but it did allow me to mount the coolers the way I did and have no more than a half inch gap. I considered using a check valve but that didn't seem like it would be necessary. I'm guessing I'll have 100% airflow to the top cooler and about 90% to the bottom one.

Downsides of this setup - the lower cooler hangs a little below the radiator so some of the air that enters the bottom of the lower cooler will miss the radiator and go under the engine. I might put something back there to funnel the air back up into the radiator. The hose connectors for the upper cooler will have some kind of effect on airflow but the hoses tuck close to the bumper bar, reducing their effect. And of course the dual coolers have a higher flow restriction than a single cooler.

It's going to be about a month or so before I can test this on the track and I'll keep you posted.

Interesting approach. Post some more pics of line routing if you can.

Did you consider running side by side in the lower grill?

Looking forward to seeing your results!

[Woodsman44]

I'll see if I can post some more pics. Overall, the hose comes in from the top right to the right connector of the upper cooler. From the left connector of the upper cooler the hose goes to the left below the headlight then down near the brake duct then back in under the lower plastic shroud to the left connector of the lower cooler. Then it exits back into the engine bay from the right connector of the lower cooler to the right of the cooler below the lower plastic shroud. The oil makes a big counterclockwise loop essentially.

They wouldn't fit side by side - too wide. These are 16" wide. The ones hcsi99 used are I think around 14" wide which appear to be about the widest you can go to fit the two coolers side by side. He can comment more on that of course as I'm not sure on the model oil cooler he used.

[X25]

Originally Posted by Woodsman44

I'll see if I can post some more pics. Overall, the hose comes in from the top right to the right connector of the upper cooler. From the left connector of the upper cooler the hose goes to the left below the headlight then down near the brake duct then back in under the lower plastic shroud to the left connector of the lower cooler. Then it exits back into the engine bay from the right connector of the lower cooler to the right of the cooler below the lower plastic shroud. The oil makes a big counterclockwise loop essentially.

They wouldn't fit side by side - too wide. These are 16" wide. The ones hcsi99 used are I think around 14" wide which appear to be about the widest you can go to fit the two coolers side by side. He can comment more on that of course as I'm not sure on the model oil cooler he used.

In this setup, oil might slowly drain since it's in higher ground than the sump. I was told that oil pump, which is right behind the ports, would stop most of the flow. That said, if you don't use your car for more than a week, I'd highly recommend priming it. You can do so by cranking the engine. If you press throttle and clutch pedals all the way and turn the key, the car will crank the engine without ignition. Don't press the pedals half way, though. They need to be pressed all the way in

[Woodsman44]

Not a bad idea. I considered putting a check valve but decided not to.

[X25]

Originally Posted by Woodsman44

I'll see if I can post some more pics. Overall, the hose comes in from the top right to the right connector of the upper cooler. From the left connector of the upper cooler the hose goes to the left below the headlight then down near the brake duct then back in under the lower plastic shroud to the left connector of the lower cooler. Then it exits back into the engine bay from the right connector of the lower cooler to the right of the cooler below the lower plastic shroud. The oil makes a big counterclockwise loop essentially.

They wouldn't fit side by side - too wide. These are 16" wide. The ones hcsi99 used are I think around 14" wide which appear to be about the widest you can go to fit the two coolers side by side. He can comment more on that of course as I'm not sure on the model oil cooler he used.

What about staggered? 1 and 3 are connected, 2 and 4 goes to engine?

.......................+1------------------2+
.......................+.......................... +
.......................+.......................... +
.......................+---------------------+

+3------------------4+
+..........................+
+..........................+
+---------------------+