DIY: Air conditioning for your Sump!.......
 

I found these vents I've had on the shelf for awhile. They are Pace trailer side vents I believe. Thought this idea couldn't hurt. It's a bit of a Goof, but additional cooling air to the hot sump sure cant hurt. This is mounted immediately below the sump for maximum effectiveness. Doubt I'll be able to document any differences as my Oil Cooler keeps things pretty much in line anyway. Should be a simple, cheap mod to get a little oil cooling though without any warranty issues for those of you worried about that.....

Lay out the cut right under the sump:
http://images30.fotki.com/v472/photo...MG_1854-vi.jpg

Mount the vent to the cover:
http://images30.fotki.com/v476/photo...MG_1858-vi.jpg

Enjoy the cool!
http://images30.fotki.com/v472/photo...MG_1860-vi.jpg

Adds an additional inch to the underside clearance but I'm not lowered and that panel will flex up 3/4 inch at that spot. Sure can't hurt for the 30 minutes it took to do though. I had the cover off anyway for my sway bar installl.

Stay cool!

What are the highest temps you have seen so far? I doubt these would make a noticeable difference but every bit is worth it to cool this oil down. Let us know if it gives any surprising results.

if no vent pieces laying around, Dremel some vent grids out in the panels

I had been kinda thinking about oil pan stuff anyways. A smaller oil cooler core might be plenty with some work on the oil pan itself. Either enlarge the capacity, or make one that has cooling fins on it, and then add in some ventilation like this. Our oil pan is a tiny simple piece of metal, I doubt it would be hard to fab up a replacement that was larger and/or finned. I haven't checked how much clearance we have to work with though.

I know they have both larger pans, and spacers that add 1 qt to the 350. Dunno if the shape is the same for the 370. With this, my cooler and the 1 qt that adds I have it well under control!

Interesting.

For clearance concerns, though, would a NACA duct work better?

these look cool

http://www.pegasusautoracing.com/Images/L/3629.JPG

Modshack, outstanding, very creative!

I am thinking the same way:

http://www.alteredatmosphere.com/mm5...acer(main).jpg

AAM Competition G37 Oil Pan Spacer

The item above is listed for a G37 so please anyone viewing this post—do not order this item for a 370Z without contacting the vendor and verifying fitment.

Do I smell a dare? My oil change and hopefully cooler install are happening in a week. If they have this in stock, I could grab one and test fitment then :)

I can't imagine the block and lower casting would be different.....I'd guess it would fit with no issue! Do it and we will bribe you with Rep points!!

You would have a 7 qt system!!!

This has "winner" all over it, and exactly what I would like to achieve—seven (7) glorious quarts of engine oil does wonders for an engine.

PM John@Altered to check if it fits, i'm betting it does

PM already sent, I'll be going for it assuming no snags in fitment or availability.

PM replied! Just like the older Z33/V35 chassis, the Z34/V36 Oil Pan Spacer is interchangeable!

Thanks,

Jon

Score! There ya go!

It's ordered, should be here in time for the oil change :)

I've been thinking about trying something like this out, especially with the vent combo.

custom heatsink extruded aluminum

It's pretty much a huge CPU heatsink and at only $26 it's worth a try in my opinion. Looks like this company makes custom sizes too .Easily installable/removable because you'd attach it on the bottom of the oil pan.

I had placed this post in one of Modshack's threads, but it was the wrong thread! Sorry, it's deleted from that thread.

ARC Cool Fin

Now people might think this is joke, but ARC is a very serious company.

http://www.arcinter.co.jp/english/ar...coolfin/00.jpg

Is there any reason to keep the bottom plastic shroud? Or even a better question, any other drivers out there who ride around without the bottom shroud installed?

i believe the bottom plastic shroud is there for aerodynamic reasons and also keeps the engine and under the car clean.

That ARC cool fin looks ghetto, but the reasoning behind it is sound -- there's nothing special about cooling fins, but they do make a big difference and these can be easily added onto a surface.

I might just try these out.

Pretty inexpensive experiment... ARC Cool Fin: Evasive Motorsports | PH: 626.336.3400 Mon-Fri, 9am-6pm PST

Thread Revival:

Decided to order the Arc Cooling Fins to see if they really work. Will post a full report here later :)

you are adding a vent to feed air over the fins, correct?

Possibly. Depending on how much clearance there is between the pan and the undertray, it shouldn't make that much of a difference. Drilling a few vent holes should be sufficient.

Guys, fiddling with the under-engine shrouding affects thge air-pressure behind the radiator and can affect the amount of air drawn thru the radiator .... you might be cooling the sump. but you may also be affecting the efficiency of the radiator .... take care to monitor engine coolant temps with mods like this.

I drove a Ford XR8 Ute (Oz spec "truck") with the hood unlatched (on the safety catch) for only 4 klicks having filled the washer bottle at a freeway services area several years ago, and was puzzled as to why the coolant temps were elevated ... had gone from normal 92DegC to 105DegC .... it was because air was going over the top of the radiator and pressuring ithe engine bay behind the radiator and radiator efficiency was compromised ... same thing can happen if you are letting air into the engine bay from below.

Hmm. Good point. I'll leave the underplastics intact then. I didn't think it would matter anyway -- the fins will still transfer heat away from the pan.

Based on hard Data this would not seem to be a concern. Very little air is being introduced at the sump vent and it is close to where air is being extracted from the rear of the lower cover.. I've monitored my water temps with an accurate digital Scangauge for over a year now and this engine typically runs pretty cool...178-182 thermostatic controlled degrees with or without the vent. I agree that propping the hood open from the front as you describe is not a good idea and does significantly screw up the designed flow pattern, BUT introducing some air at the rear of the hood can be very beneficial at reducing engine bay temps with no affect on engine cooling numbers. Removing the Gasket at the point the hood meets the rear of the engine bay promotes flow into the bay and out the bottom. My Digital datalogging on two cars now, an Audi TT that runs hot, and an LS3 Corvette, has shown a reduction in these bay temps af around 18 degrees, again, with no impact on engine water temps. I haven't logged the Z temps, but here's a chart from my Audi experiments. (Cold start-up, light traffic, country roads, and heat soaking idle upon return)

http://images46.fotki.com/v1483/phot...comparo-vi.jpg

On the Audi, this difference prolongs the Wiring and Vac lines (both problematic in this turbo'd car.

Gaskets on the Z:
http://images56.fotki.com/v1598/phot...MG_2498-vi.jpg

Finally got the Arc cool fins in the mail. Will affix them next oil change if not sooner. Will let you guys know whether they make a difference once I have a chance to get them on the bottom of the oil pan :D

Quick update -- I have the cool fins on. As soon as they were afixed, you could feel heat being pulled off of the oil pan.

Now I also switched to 0-w30 Castrol, so not 100% certain that the cool fins are soley responsible for this, but after romping on it very hard in 90* F FL heat, oil temps stayed below 220 the whole time :tup:

I'll monitor temps suring normal driving and report more later :D

Interested. Do you have any pics of the install. Where exactly did you put them?

It comes with a heat conductive double sided adhesive strip -- a small square that is exactly the same size as the fins. Two sets of fins covers about 3/4 of the bottom of the oil pan. Put the strip down, gently press on the fins -- done.

If you wanted to do the oil pan and, say, the diff case -- I'd order 4-5 sets of them.

Hey Jordo, I was just browsing around on this site and noticed you're also in Tampa...

I've been tossing the idea of buying myself a Z34 in addition to my TT Z32... Care to meet up and give me an in depth look at your 370z? I already have a few Z buddies around town and wouldn't mind one more.

What say you? I could try and get a meet going or something.

(Sorry for off topic!)

Keep us posted. I'm interested in seeing if this is effective. I know it's a pipe dream, but it would be awesome if these could be used instead of an oil cooler,

I'm pretty insanely busy these days, but shoot me a PM. If beer is involved, I can usually find time -- ha ha ha :tup:

Will do -- if it can even pull 10* F out of the oil, I figure it's worth it for anyone who hasn't seen insanely high temps. I've never seen mine go over 230*, so it should be sufficient for me, for instance.

You don't have to say that twice. I'll buy ya a round in order to check out the 370z and shoot the **** with a fellow Zer, no problem there. lol.

Let's meet up in a few weeks? I have a ways off fro buying my Z and it will be my first new car purchase so I'm taking my time... No hurry but if you're bored one weekend shoot me a PM and we can meet up. Just gotta tell my gf i'm gonna ignore her for a night and i'm good to go :)


And to stay on topic, this is def. interesting. If/when my purchase happens, I'd try this in a heartbeat... Especially in our heat.

Will do :tup:

So far I'm seeing crusing temps around 180 - 210, which is maybe 5-10* cooler than usual, but I'll know better during my commute tomorrow.

I suppose I might even slap on a few more of these on the sides of the pan.

Most of the heat going into the oil is from the engine, of course, so my guess is that this will drop temps AT BEST by 10 -15* F.

That said, if you aren't seeing temps over 230* F, that's pretty reasonable for ~20 bucks a set of fins and the easiest install in the world.

nice job with the fins!! do you have any pics??

No, sorry -- they are just stuck to the bottom of the oil pan. Next oil change I may add a few more and can get a pic then if anyone wants to see it.

I'd like to see what adding two more do -- so far it does appear to bring the averagetemp down < 10*F, but that's not too shabby for such a simple and inexpensive modification.

I added two sets of the ARC cool fins to my oil pan and cut out a small rear vent in the back behind the oil pan to encourage some air flow out. Also removed the top center plastic piece and adjusted the weatherstripping so air can flow in and out of the hood area in the middle.

Will have results soon. The top plastic adjustment and weatherstripping is completely reversible in case of a rainy day which is nice!