Since you will never be tracking the car, a 19 row should be sufficient for a DD. However, since you live in SW Florida (where it can be equally hot and humid) I would recommend the 25 row if you are planning on doing any spirited back road driving. Although not on a race track, our shop 370Z went into limp mode on the Tail of the Dragon at the 2010 ZDayZ event in North Carolina. This came as a result of aggressive mountain runs in short bursts.

The decision of whether to choose a 25 or 19 row cooler really comes down to your budget. Personally, I would recommend a 25 row for your car. It would be added insurance to allow you the ability to "play" even during the hotter summer months.

In regards to the installation of our oil cooler kit on the NISMO, there are ONLY two things different between the two models:

1. Removal of the undershrouds and fascia to facilitate installtion will be slightly different.
2. The NISMO/Autech/Yamaha Lateral brace will need to be flipped 180 degrees. Placing the thicker end on the passenger side of the car in order to accomodate the oil cooler core.

Let me know if you have any further questions!

Here's a stupid question. I live in NJ, where the summers are decently hot (nothing like the south) and I sit in a lot of traffic (there have been times the car hits 220 when it's 50 degrees out in bumper to bumper traffic). I plan to track the car ~ 8-10 times per year as well as autoX and lots of "spirited driving". My question is, even if I go with the 34 row, will having the thermostat ensure that even when I'm not pushing the car hard and it's not really warm out that the engine will get a minimum oil temp that it needs to operate optimally? That is, does the thermostat ensure that the oil won't run "too cold"?

Or do I just need to go with the 25 row?

The thermostatic plate won't close all the way to allow the oil to get to operating temps, but some will still make it to the cooler. This is why some members have ventured out and made DIY's for Oil Cooler plates to block the airflow. It's a simple and inexpensive mod that has promise. Most of the tracking guys swear by the larger the cooler the better, so you can't go wrong with the 34 row.

Yea the more I think about it there's no sense in taking a chance with the 25 row just to save $100.

Especially if you follow one of the DIY's that uses different plates to cover up parts of the cooler, so essentially, you could make it a '25 row' or '15 row' cooler if you wanted...

Here is the complete explanation on how the Mocal Thermostatic Sandwich Plate Operates:

At low operating temperatures, the valve within the sandwich plate is actually OPEN 100%. This is counter-intuitive for some customers, which is why I wanted to explain it in detail.

Since fluid behaves just like electricity by taking the path of least resistance. By having the passage within the sandwich plate fully OPEN at low operating temps, the oil will actually divert itself into block, by-passing the oil cooler. More oil pressure is needed to pump the oil thru the lines and core than what is needed to simply divert the oil thru the passage in the sandwich plate (back in the engine block).

This serves a few purposes by having the valve operate this way:

1) Oil pressure is still allowed to prime the oil cooler when starting the car

(If the sandwhich plate did not operate this way, it would take until the engine was at operating temperature before your oil cooler would be allowed to fully prime itself. This would cause a possible issue with oil starvation to the engine until the oil cooler lines were filled. This is one reason why it is recommended to prefill the oil cooler as well, to minimize this time in which the engine MAY experience a loss of oil pressure during the initial priming of the oil cooler.)

2) This prevents air pockets from forming within the oil cooler in the event that oil drains from the lines while sitting overnight.

3) It allows the oil cooler core to gradually warm up (at a slower rate than the oil that is circulating in the sandwich plate adapter) in order to prevent any thermal shock caused by significantly cooler oil being introduced into the lubrication system.

Once the oil reaches the predetermined temperature, the valve will close causing the oil to bypass thru the oil cooler core 100%.

The addition of a block off plate is an old school trick used by many. You will see some factory Diesel vehicles even here in South blocking off air flow to their radiators to bring operating temps up. Road Race guys will even tape up their oil coolers during test & tune to dial in their oil temps, bringing them to their optimum range.

Both of these scenarios can be experienced by 370Z owners. Some northern or midwestern Z's located in colder climates will benefit from blocking off the oil cooler during these colder months. In addition, since the weather changes so often throughout the country (especially during the spring and fall), track conditions will change along with it. Some 370Z owners who track their cars may find that experimenting with blocking off varying amounts of the cooler will help them dial in their oil temps. The amount needed to be blocked off will vary on the track, track conditions, driving style, front fascia etc. This is why road racers will use a tape to wrap/unwrap the oil cooler cores an infinite number of times.

The exact oil temp that you want to shoot for varies with the oil grade and type along with the vehicle.

I think I'll be going with the 25 row. It's not hot enough in NJ and it's still primarily a DD, with 10 or so track days a year

So I plan on doing a single turbo build here in a few weeks. I do not road race the car, but I do drag race it occasionally. I also plan on going to ZDayz. I'm curious to know what sized cooler you had when the shop car went into limp mode on the dragon? Since I'm in central FL and will be FI, you suggest the 34 correct...even if I don't road race it?

When our car went into limp mode, we actually did not have an oil cooler installed at that time. That is when we learned how important an oil cooler actually was on the 370Z.

Since the turbo charger builds up so much additional heat that is soaked up by the oil during lubrication, it will only further exagerate the issue that already exists with these cars. A 25 row may infact be suitable for your driving needs, but I would honestly be concerned about it since you are going FI. Drag racing will build up alot of heat in the engine quickly. The 1/4 mile sprint you will be doing will put a huge load on the engine. Follow this by a slow, short return lap to the pits and a lengthy wait in the staging area/lanes. Depending on the outside track temp at that time and engine/oil temps this may cause your engine temps to continue building.

You will need a core large enough to be able to control the oil temps during the 1/4mile sprint and be able to extract heat quickly once you get back to the staging areas sitting idle.

I'm currently using K&N HP-1010 oil filters with my Z. Can I continue using that same brand/model with your oil cooler kit?

Thanks!

You should be fine. The dimensions of the oil filter appear to that they will work with the Mocal Sandwich plate. From looking at the model applications on K&N's website, that filter will fit the VQ40 engine of the Pathfinders/Xterras along with the VR38 GT-R engine. With that said, it should have no issues with oil pressure, etc in my opinion.

As far as height is concerned, you have plenty of room with the Mocal sandwich plate installed. It will be slightly tricky getting it into place, but it should fit without any interference issues. (This is as long as you do NOT have the factory Oil/Water Cooler found on the Austrailian and Middle Eastern model 370Zs).

oil cooler drain
 

Just inquirying if a drain valve is an option on your oil cooler for ease of changing the oil.

Since we recommend that the oil cooler core be oriented with the fittings on top, a "drain valve" installed on the bottom of the oil cooler core is currently not available.

From my knowledge, no one currently offers an oil cooler core of this type either.

Here is something to consider however....Whenever you install the oil cooler kit. We HIGHLY recommend that you pre-fill the oil cooler core. This will prevent you from over filling the oil pan (compensating for the needed oil to fill the core all at once) and/or briefly dry starting the motor while the oil pump attempts to purge and fill the oil cooler core and lines.

By having a "drain valve" on the bottom of the core. You would still have to remove one of the upper fittings to fill the core back up with fresh oil. This, in my opinion, negates any benefit of having a drain valve. In reality, you would be adding another potential leak point on the core in doing so. Even with a drain valve, the time it takes to go a step further and to remove the core itself from the chassis is only a matter of x4 (4mm allen head bolts).

I would honestly see more harm than good rsulting from having a drain valve on the bottom of the oil cooler core. Especially if owners are not fully aware of the extra steps necessary to properly service the oil cooler kit.

is a 200 degree plate available?

Unfortunately not from Mocal. The only temperature currently offered from Mocal is 180 degrees for both model lines. There may be other manufacturers who offer a 200 degree opening temperature, however none that I have found have the flow characteristics or compact packaging of the Mocal unit.

The oil temps will still get hotter than 180 degrees. That temp is only what the unit will bypass the oil up to. After that, the oil will flow thru the core 100%. Are you afraid of not heating the oil fast enough or maintaining the proper oil temp? Keep in mind, the oil temp will still get warmer than 180 degrees. Its up to the oil cooler core to regulate the oil temp from there.

We had to factor in a few things when picking out the Mocal unit:

1. Proper thread pitch for the sandwich plate (M20 x 1.5mm)
2. Proper OD/ID of the oil seal O-Ring
3. Proper flow/ Matching port size for the fittings. (Most fittings at the sandwich plate acted as a bottle neck and would be the restriction point in the system. Most sandwich plates only used a 1/2 NPT fittings or SMALLER. This is counter intuitive when you consider we are using a -10 AN line)
4. Price - some sandwich plates were ridiculously priced
5. Overall dimensions - Some were VERY tall, while others were so wide that they would actually hit the alternator or would cause poor fitting location.