Seeking Oil Cooler Advice
 

I'm done putting up with the soaring oil temps in hot weather and am finally pulling the trigger on an oil cooler. As I live in the Midwest and participate in a few autocrosses annually and am looking to cross over into a couple track days per year as well I've got my eye on a 25 row piece.

Was looking at a Z1 unit but with all the posts and comments about leaky fittings I'd prefer not to deal with this headache. Is the Stillen 25 row a better option? Are there others I should be looking at?

I've never heard negative comments about the Z1 ; everything i've read says Z1 and Fast Intentions are the best out there.

I would spring for the 34 row from either company and never worry about it again

I run a GTM 25 row cooler here in SoCal.

Have never had an overheating issue, even on a hot track day but, can't go wrong with a 34 row either.

The GTM has never had any issues. I got the GTM based on Seb @ Specialty Z's rec.

1) Don't bother with the 25 row, get a 34 row and be done. You can always make a removable block off plate for when you don't need the full cooling capacity.

2) I've had a Z1 34 row cooler for ~4 years with roughly 15 autox events a year and not a single leak.

I live in AZ where we first hit 90 degrees this year in February. I have the 34 row Z1 for oil and a 19 row for my auto trans. Never have had any leaks or problems with either.

34 row recommended. Fast Intentions. I'm happy with mine. There might be one up for sale at some point.

Thanks for the input guys. Is there any merit to getting a transmission cooler for a manual or is the gearbox good at dealing with high temps? Sometimes the clunky inputs concern me, but I don't know if it's just paranoia.

What's the better option between Fast Intentions and Z1 34 row kits?

Fast Intentions has the best kit. I have a 2nd one for my replacement Nismo. It will be going on the next oil change in 1000 miles. FI uses crimped on fittings with Teflon inserted braided lines. The lines will last a long long time.

Upgrading your oil pan is an alternative to an oil cooler...

No it's not. Increasing the oil capacity just means that it will take longer for the oil to heat up but once it gets hot good luck getting rid of the heat without an oil cooler.

Automatics use coolers as they have pumps, and can pump fluid through a cooler. Manual transmissions generally don't have pumps, they are "oil slingers". The gears just sling oil where it needs to go, and many of the bearings sit submerged (as do some of the gears), or at least partially submerged. Point being a cooler wouldn't really work.

Not to mention automatic transmissions use a much thinner fluid, which again is easier to pump through things like coolers. Pumping some 80w90 would probably take some pressure.

I'm using the Z1 25 row and it works great on my SC Z. I noticed a huge difference in cooling after some very "spirited" back road blasts.

What ever you decide, just put a cooler on the car, you will thank yourself later.

One thing that really impressed me about the Z1 kit is how well the hoses are made and protected. Nice kit! Oh, and you can stay with the stock size oil filter with the Z1 kit. Some of the others require a different filter.

34 row and be done with it. You can always add a cardboard but never extra rows. Z1 is great that i have on mine :)

Depends on your use. On the track, probably not enough. On the street? My temps stay under control in the florida heat, even when I am boosting all over the place. My oil pan is a big, heavy, cast aluminum heatsink in addition to the extra 2 liters of capacity.

Would an oil cooler be overkill for street and spirited driving? (No track)

No. I needed an oil cooler just to do an easy drive up big bear. Started going past 280 on the gauge

What do you guy think about the Mishimoto oil coolers?
https://www.amazon.com/Mishimoto-MMO...70z+oil+cooler

Found it on prime, but not sure on reliability.

Stay away from anything from that company. :eek:

Anyone who is thinking about an oil cooler. Get a 34 row from either FI or Z1 and be done with it. No 2nd guessing yourself if you went with a 25 row.

What about Setrab vs. Mocal cores?

They are both quality brands... Go with whichever fits your application/budget better.

Also - is the block off plate 100% necessary even with the thermostatic plate? Any differences in how well the plate works between Z1 and Fast Intentions?

A thermostatic sandwich plate does NOT block the oil flow to the cooler but instead highly restricts it in order to prevent thermal shock. With how cheap and easy a block off plate is to make, you might as well make one for you cooler to help with oil warming on cold days of casual driving.

Putting Mishimoto parts on your car is the automotive equivalent of voluntarily contracting AIDS.

I don't think so, especially where we live.

Do it.

In my opinion, whether you track or not, for the VQ engine a oil cooler is needed. Even on a mild day when you get stuck in traffic you will see the needle slowly climb up past the 95 degrees Celsius mark (Canadian eh).

I decided to go with the Z1 oil cooler with a Setrab core and thermostatic plate. Z1 does a bang up job with all of their products I would recommend them to any Z owner out there. When it comes to the row, I went with the 19 row oil cooler which is good enough for my needs.

I live within the Greater Toronto Area, our summer technically begins mid June (temps above 22 with humidity), couple that in with traffic and a little bit of spirited driving, temps rise quick.

I very rarely do hard accelerations nor do I go to the track so the 19 will cut it for me. Yeah, yeah, I know I'm a sissy at the throttle, say what you want, I love my baby.

Hello Everyone.

Hope you are all having an excellent day. I've noticed a few posts on this thread bashing Mishimoto without any facts behind their statements.

Mishimoto products as a whole have a less then 1% failure rating. We also back every single product we produce with a lifetime warranty.

If you or someone you know has had an issue with a Mishimoto product, we encourage you to contact us so we can get the issue resolved. We can be contacted by email at support@mishimoto.com or by phone at 302.762.4501.

Thank you
Mishimoto

There have been some very public issues on this very forum, and you guys did **** all to respond to it. I stand by my statement of your parts quality, and I can have a 1000 signature petition echoing my sentiments by the end of the week - And it's already lunchtime Friday. Your products are bad, and you should feel bad as a company, as car enthusiasts and as human ******* beings.

Chuck vs Mishimoto.

...a broken record I never get tired of.

Why do they keep coming around here after their own president came in here and publicly **** the bed? Do they not tell the new mouthpiece that they already poisoned this well with **** parts and indifferent service, and let him walk into a beating?

Excellent Chuck! Thank you for your unbiased opinion. When one is purchasing any aftermarket items, it is more important to consult with the folks that use or have used these items. Most manufacturers claims, statistics or scientific proof are all questionable as most anything a manufacturer states can be and is manipulated for their benefit. So far, the 'old-timers' on this forum have proven their knowledge above all questionable manufacturers claims. :tup:

Rather than offer to ship out a new o-ring at no charge, how about you offer to replace the blown engine that results after your sandwich plate o-ring fails and dumps 5 qts of oil on the road :shakes head:

It sure looks that way :icon17:

In case some of the newer forum members are unaware of how bad these assclowns are, I submit the following reading of a failure, their halfassed (more like quarterassed, to be honest) resolution, and their gem of a president Mike Sullivan making Challenger explosion jokes, see : http://www.the370z.com/engine-drivet...ich-plate.html

I got some compact baffled mishimoto aluminum catch cans that are really high quality. However, I think it would be almost impossible to mess up a catch can ... pretty sure anyone can get that right...;)

Well after reading all of the linked threads and talking to a few buddies, I for one will NOT be purchasing any mishitmoto components, ever.

I figured mishitmoto would chime in here sooner or later once something negative was said about them. :icon17: The new mouth piece didn't realize he was walking into a hornets nest. :rofl2: