19 row v. 25 row oil cooler

[NYBladeZ]

I know it's been a beat to hell topic but the Mrs. is buying me a GTM oil cooler for my birthday. I'm regularly seeing temps as high as 240 after a little bit of spirited driving on the street. It doesn't help that NY has been warming up with increased humidity. I don't plan on tracking the car often other than an occasional run at limerock or monticello. Would you guys suggest based on these parameters to go with the GTM HD cooler or Competition cooler or the Stillen cooler as an "inbetween"? Looking to order this week so instead of flaming me and directing me to the search button either link a thread or answer please .

[AK370Z]

I do not have a oil cooler (yet) but if you're mostly going to be driving on the street, go with less fin maybe? You don't wanna overkill it you know. You won't need one for the street driving though, only in tracks. South Jersey residents here

[NYBladeZ]

I'm leaning towards the 19 row from GTM they are cheaper than Stillen and it seems that GTM has addressed the defective lines issue.

[m4a1mustang]

Well, most people have been reporting that the 19 row coolers are effective for street use but not good enough for track use. If you think you will be running the car on track, then the larger core would be better. You'll just have to fashion a plate to cover part of the core during the winter to allow the oil to heat up.

[NYBladeZ]

will the thermostat plate allow the engine to reach proper temps when its not as hot outside with a 25row? How hard is it to adjust, just trying to figure out the details before I order.

[cossie1600]

19r is for 250-300HP, 25R is for 300-350hp per Setrab

[NYBladeZ]

^^ that would make sense I didn't see the high temps until I put the test pipes in

[m4a1mustang]

Originally Posted by NYBladeZ

will the thermostat plate allow the engine to reach proper temps when its not as hot outside with a 25row? How hard is it to adjust, just trying to figure out the details before I order.

No -- you won't be able to get up to temperature on a cool spring/fall day or during the winter. You really just need a U shaped piece of sheet metal to slide over the top of the core during the cooler months.

[NYBladeZ]

any issue with the GTM competition kit and stillen g3's?

[Trips]

the bigger the better...

[labk888]

You can buy the components individually. This way you can get a thermostatic plate, that will route the oil through the cooler only when reaching a certain temperature. This will even save you some money. The only drawback is that you have to assemble the pipes yourself or have a shop do it for you.

[Modshack]

Originally Posted by m4a1mustang

No -- you won't be able to get up to temperature on a cool spring/fall day or during the winter. You really just need a U shaped piece of sheet metal to slide over the top of the core during the cooler months.

For street use use the smaller of all those selections. You WILL need to block off some if it in the winter. Hit my Oil Cooler DIY link and scroll down to the "cool weather" mod section..

[fstrnldr]

Why would you need to block off a portion of the cooler (in cooler months) when the GTM has a thermostatic adapter. If you are running a straight adapter like most of the cheap ones you find, then yes you can over cool the oil, but a thermostat is designed to open and close based on temperature. It will just be closed more often in the winter than the summer. That being said, i would go w/ the larger unit.

[m4a1mustang]

Originally Posted by fstrnldr

Why would you need to block off a portion of the cooler (in cooler months) when the GTM has a thermostatic adapter. If you are running a straight adapter like most of the cheap ones you find, then yes you can over cool the oil, but a thermostat is designed to open and close based on temperature. It will just be closed more often in the winter than the summer. That being said, i would go w/ the larger unit.

A thermostatic plate doesn't block all of the flow to the cooler. Say you are running a 180* thermostat, at temperatures below 180 degrees it is only about 90% closed.

This is going to make it very difficult for the oil temps to get to where you need them in the winter, so you want to block part of the cooler to reduce it's cooling ability and help get your temps up in cold weather.

[Modshack]

Originally Posted by fstrnldr

Why would you need to block off a portion of the cooler (in cooler months) when the GTM has a thermostatic adapter. If you are running a straight adapter like most of the cheap ones you find, then yes you can over cool the oil, but a thermostat is designed to open and close based on temperature. It will just be closed more often in the winter than the summer. That being said, i would go w/ the larger unit.

Apparently you did not bother reading the link I referred you to regarding how thermostatic plates work. External coolers with thermostatic plates are always circulating as Steve mentioned. From the Mocal site (and my oil cooler DIY):

Mocal oil thermostats are designed to regulate oil flow
through cooling devices until optimal (minimum)
temperatures are reached. Cold oil enters the
thermostat and is bypassed through the center of the
unit returning to engine (figure 1). During warm-up
the thermostat never closes off oil flow to the cooler,
rather, it offers a less restrictive path for the oil to flow*
allowing the cooler to acclimate to system
temperature. As oil warms to 180 degrees (200 in high
temp versions) the operating "waxstat" closes the
bypass permitting full flow to cooler (figure 2).
*percentage of oil bypass can vary up to the point
where the bypass is closed and full flow to the cooler
is achieved.

This is to prevent thermal and pressure shocks from compromising the cooler. Temps below 50 degrees or so will need a shield to keep the oil temps in a 180+ range. This is also outlined in my DIY.