Nissan 370Z Forum - Hayden / Napa / Summit oil cooler kit. Anyone?

I went ahead and took a shot at trying this cooler. Napa in my area matched a price printout from SummitRacing.com so it was a pretty good deal for a local sale. I ended up also grabbing some wider hose clamps at the time because the kit includes clamps which are particularly small in size. I just used screw style clamps for this.

Install went well enough for a universal kit. I ended up not having to cut cut anything from the car at all, and routed the hose around supports and out of site; using zipties about every 6 inches. The cooler itself is securely tied directly to the radiator and condensor using the included special one-way zipties. The install looks very factory from the front of the car, and the cooler is right up against the condensor which makes it look clean. I should note at this point that the aftermarket coolers from our vendors usually place the oil coolers further in front than how I've installed this; meaning that my setup would be worse for heat disapation due to it possibly obsorbing heat from the condensor and radiator. Aftermarket coolers are closer to the bumper skin; similarly to our factory power steering coolers which is likely much better for cooling.

The two biggest note about installation is with the included 20mm adapter bolt from the kit, and also fitting the correct oil filter.

1. For whatever reason, the entire bolt mechanism is about 1/8 inch too long, which didnt allow the sandwitch plate to install securely. All I had to do was cut/machine about 1/8 of an inch off the nut/sleeve side of the adapter bolt and then the sandwitch plate could be tightened perfectly tight.

2. The oil filter was a bit of a concern at first, but after trying a few dozen in the napa isle I finally found a good fitting one which wasnt overly huge. I cant really post the number of the filter I bought, because they actually had three filters on the shelf all with the same number, but one of them was actually smaller in diameter! When looking to get the right filter, make sure the filter has a 20mm thread and not overly long. The adapter plate -REQUIRES- a filter which is larger in diameter than stock for a properly maited surface. Without this, you will spring some high-pressure leakes. I bought both filters that fit and will just have to keep this in mind when shopping for one in the future.

I have my worries and concerns about the absolute length of life of the included rubber hose. Although it is rated for 300psi, I really would not put 100% trust into that. In the future I may speculate purchasing about 8 feet of -8 AN hose, some good T-Bolt clamps, and fittings to attach the hose to 3/8 NTP at the plate.

The outcome is pretty good thus far. Atlanta weather was pretty hot this weekend, at ~80 peak. Crusing around I saw oil temperatures fluctuate between 190-200, whereas before I'm pretty sure I would have seen 220+. Merging swiftly onto the highway saw temerature of 205, but then ~5 miles up the road the temperature dropped back to 195.

The oil will still hit 220 degrees; if you drive really hard from stop light to stop light after about ~3 lights or ~10 hard pulls to redline in 1st/2nd/3rd gear. That being said I'd imagine most coolers would suffer from this, as the lack of airflow is a sure temperature killer. I might go buy a small cooler fan and see how she goes.

I do have an IR temperature gun, which always caught the cooler at about ~170 degrees.

Recap:

-Maximum temerature seen with Napa cooler: 220 w/o long term airflow (195 average)
-1/2 inch hose (-8 AN) could use some slightly better hose but its OK as it is
-Slice 1/8 inch off the adaptor plate bolt for proper fitment
-Oil filter needs careful size consideration (Possibly a manual effort)
-System may need/like a small electric fan to aid in faster cool-off

Final note:
I think this sytem is fine for daily driving use or short term spirted driving like Autocross. I'll have to get back with the outcome of a mountain run, but I'd say for almost sure that this kit would not be the right choice for turbo charging and track usage.