oil cooler

[Gaz64]

Any "restriction" as in a predetermined additional orifice like a carb main jet etc placed inline to an oil cooler would simply lower the maximum pressure that can buildup in the system after the oil pump.

So if you do this, your oil pressure gauge sender and warning light switch, cutouts etc need to be after the cooler which is then truly sensing engine oil pressure, and not at the oil pump.

Myself, if my engine runs 80 psi cold, then a cooler that is pressure tested to say 200 psi should be enough.

A thermostatic bypass valve allows a small amount of oil to circulate through the cooler as the engine warms, and gradually opens to take more of the flow through the cooler as the oil temp increases.

Allows fast oil temp warm up to, and controlled temps under adverse conditions.

I rather run a custom sump and pickup, trapdoors etc, and run a little less than most do in the engine.

This allows the oil in the engine sump to warm up faster and boil off the acid from each cold start.

My 2 cents.

Gary

[SydneyChris]

The plan was to simply assist with the engine cooling process via the separate oil cooler.. who knew how multifaceted it was.

Mike.. look forward to a schematic if it can be found or scratched out easy enough.

Will test oil pressure pre and post cooler installation as per Gary's advice in the first instance and have the Improved Performance thermostatic unit fitted on the LS3 block.

Will.. thanks for the heads up.. I understand the thermostatic unit with min 10% flow will manage start up pressure, thermal shock and bypass requirements... as long as the pump can keep up with the resistance to flow for the entire system with the cooler in place.

The coil I have is 300PSI rated.. cost 3x the price of your ebay 'equivalent', but there is a good reason..

PS Bob.. it does look cool.. !!!

[bobcowan]

Interesting thoughts.

Race engine vs. street engine makes a big difference. Old vs. new also makes a difference. Most LS street engines seem to best around 200-210* water temp. But Fords seem to be around 190-195*.

I race with mostly stock/street type engine components - cheaper that way for my kind of racing. So I certainly would not argue with you about race engine components. Mike Pettiford told me his Corvettes run 300-350* in oil temp, which I found pretty amazing. My oil temps never get that high; I rarely see more than 210*. I hear some of the new Corvettes are running near 300* as well.

Non-racing Mobile 1 oil is not a true synthetic. Meaning that it does not start with a PAO base stock. What about the racing oils? I looked at the info on their web site and a few other places, but couldn't really find the answer. What have you been able to find?

Considering the heat and abuse that the engine gets on the track, I would only recommend a true synthetic oil to anyone; from a stock Honda to a full tilt racer. Just seems like cheap insurance to me. As you said, dino oils will die a quick death at those temps.

I use Royal Purple. It works well, and the UOA's show that it holds up well. And it's easy to come by around here. Other synthetics are tough to find locally.