Quote:
Originally Posted by jamestown
I have looked at improved racing's thermostat diagram for some time and it hurts my head a bit. As the entire thing is made of aluminum and the input and return lines are in no way thermally uncoupled I have to imagine that the thermostat spring itself is working on some average between the incoming and outgoing temperatures and would oscillate constantly until that average was > 215 degrees? As such I can't imagine how turning it around would change the results drastically - but I would certainly welcome being mistaken.
I'm about to pull the trigger on an oil cooler myself, having trouble deciding what size radiator to get.
Total aside, did you ever consider covering up the rad with something while you aren't on track to keep the oil warmer? I just looked at my car a moment ago and accessing the rad with the bumper on won't be the easiest, but that solution would probably work.
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The very reason why I bought the adapter with thermostat is to keep the oil warm at the street. As such, I never felt the need to cover the oil cooler's radiator in winter time. During my tests, it warmed up almost as fast as it used to with the water-cooled/warmed OEM setup (judged by difference in reported oil temps in dash vs. what I see at my own oil temp gauge) even when it's cold out. I should state here, though, Seattle winter is not as harsh as some of the other regions'.
In another build thread, it was mentioned that any thermostat essentially reduces the oil flow, and they avoided it. I don't know if it's really important, but wanted to mention regardless.