Oil Lines, Thermostat, Cooler

[nblumberg]

In my current setup, my oil line goes from the block to a remote filter adapter (for outlets, 2 IN and 2 OUT - 1 IN being used by pressure/temp?), and then out to the oil cooler and back to the block. I have a few questions, as I'm installing an Accusump, and considering the need for a thermostat. I mostly drive the car on the street, but also going to be involved in a limited amount of track use (road courses).

During these last few months, the car has taken a long time for the oil to get warm (it's been 60 degrees or less). Additionally, the operating oil temperature has been between 60c (140F) and 85c (176F). I have seen oil temps on a warmer day get up towards 100c (212F), however. I just spoke with a tech at Jegs and he told me there is no such thing as too cold of oil.

1 - Should I install an oil thermostat. From what I can see the tradeoff is more hosing, possible reduction of oil pressure (?), failure, etc. Or, am I better off with duct tape over the cooler when needed?

2 - If 1 is yes, could I use a sandwich thermostat and attach it to the remote filter (e.g., between the filter and the remote mount?) Or will I need to, or is it preferable to use an inline thermostat (I would imagine that I'd need more hose in my application.

3 - Is the stock cooler hose for the oil cooler 10AN? It looks like the diameter of mine is approx 3/4" which would be 12AN? I suppose the previous owner could have modified the lines, or the sleeve makes it that much larger.

4 - Given the wide range of temps, and that it takes a good 15 minutes or 20 minutes to get to operating temp, what weight of oil should I be using? I intend to jump over to synthetic at the next change... any suggestions?

Thanks
-Nathan