Oil Temperature Issues
 

Hello Fellow Z Car owners,

Just recently I purchased the Z1 Motorsports 370Z Oil Cooler Kit.

The kit includes:
# 1x Setrab Oil Cooler Core (19 Row Standard; Additional sizes available)
# 1x Z1 -10 AN SS Oil Cooler Line Set (Optional protective sleeving available pre-installed)
# 1x Mocal Sandwich Adapter (Non-Thermostatic Standard; Optional Thermostatic model available)
# 1x Setrab Oil Cooler Lower Mount
# 1x Z1 Motorsports Oil Cooler Upper Mount
# 1x Z1 Motorsports 370Z Oil Cooler Install Hardware Kit
# 1x Z1 Motorsports 370Z Oil Cooler Installation Instructions
# 2x Setrab (-10 AN to 22mm Port) adapter fittings (Cooler)
# 2x Mocal (-10 AN to 22mm Port) adapter fittings (Sandwich adapter)
# 2x 13/16" Rubber Seal (Sandwich Adapter)

Some friends and I recently installed the same kit on my good friends 2010 370z. It works amazing on his car both on the street and on the track.

However, with mine its not the case. This past weekend I went to Streets of Willow and had some serious Oil Temp issues even with the Cooler installed. I know its working because I never have a rise above 180 degrees driving on the public roads. Yet, when I started driving on the track the temps jumped from 180 all the way to 260+ Thus making the car go into limp mode. Basically the car was running the same as when the Oil Cooler wasn't installed. Which makes no sense when my friends is working properly with heavy tracking.

Does anyone else have this problem, and if so what measures should I take to resolve this immediately! Thank you all in advance, and looking forward to hearing everyone's feedback!

Thank you!

Jason

You are in south cal, the 19R might be too small for you. Short shift by 500RPM, that will help lower the temperature for the short term.

Thanks for the quick response, it's much appreciated. I was just thinking the same thing, now I am seriously considering upgrading to the 25row core. A good friend of mine also asked me what my RPM range was while tracking. I think running the RPM's high will definitely increase the temperatures. I'm just hoping my car doesn't have a serious issue. We are going to Streets of Willow again this coming weekend, I really hope I don't run into the same problem again...

Hi Jason, hope u can get your problem solved. U might wanna change or get your car checked out before going to track. This weekend will be hotter than the night event.
This is Ricky btw.

Id just go with a 34 row and call it a day :)

I've been on the canyons on 90+ days and have not had any issues with oil temps.

It's odd that we both have the same oil cooler and I did not have the same issues at the track. I was running a little above 230-240 car felt great all day. Of course I don't have any bolt on mods.
BTW this is walter :)

Yea 19 is to small. The standard should be at least 24 25 row. I run a 24.

^^There's another car running exact the same oil cooler that had no issue whatsoever. If 19 is too small, then how come the guy has the same cooler could run all day long without overheating?

What did Z1 tell you when you called them?

but were they running the same lap times? The harder you drive, the hotter the oil. Just like fuel starvation. Novices on stock tires get it around 1/2 tank or less, more advanced drivers on sticky tires get it before hitting 7/8 of a tank.

The op couldn't even run 4 laps straight. I don't think he ran hard enough to make the difference.
My guess is the oil cooler or hose or some hardware problems.
Also, I drove an Z with the same cooler set up for 20 min straight in 100+ F hot day. No issue.

Jason,
For a track'ed Z, we recommend atleast a 25 row core. In your case, given your local, I would even go so far as suggesting a 34 Row core if you plan on doing repeated track events. I hate that you had an issue with your Z.

Did you speak with anyone here at Z1 prior to you making your purchase? Let me know if you decide to upgrade to a larger core. I will do what I can to get you the best price shipped so that you can make the track this weekend. I have both 25 and 34 Row Cores instock and can ship today. Via standard ground service I can get you a core by Thursday/Friday without requiring any expedited shipping.

Was it one of our kits? I would be VERY impressed to hear about this! Are you sure it was a 6 series 19 row? Or was it a 9 series 19 row core?

The 6 series 19 row is very small in comparison to a 9 series 19 row. A 9 series 19 row will have a similar surface area as a 6 series 25 row oil cooler core.

Dustin, you guys might think about offering a duct kit that directs airflow from the OEM front fascia to the core... using that setup, I've been able to run summer events in Arizona with only one setrab core... I'd guess it saved me ~20F. Mike B is also running this setup. Another thing you might consider is to reduce the gap between the oil cooler core and the radiator - I was told by some racing buds in AZ that a smaller gap there will make the leading core more efficient because it will help pull air through... no science to back that up, of course, so take it with a grain of salt

OP, you can mock up your own air flow duct/diverter to this core and try that as a next step... just go to ace hardware and buy some thin sheets of aluminum, cut to fit and mount up using rivets or frankly duct tape + velcro... the goal is to build a "box" leading up to the core so air has to go through the core and can't get around it

Thank you very much Ricky!I need to take care of this asap... especially for next weekend! Btw: your going to be coming out this coming Saturday right?
I posted some photos of your GT-R on my flickr! Enjoy friend!
Flickr: d3capmode's Photostream

Jason

Thanks for the information! Hopefully a 25-30 row can fix this problem.

Thanks for letting the community know Walter. I'm confused as to why an exhaust and intake would cause much more temperature issues.

Hi Dustin, it was your kit I'm the other guy that has the same kit no issue.

I ran this kit at Big Willow ran perfectly.

Hello Dustin,

Thank you for your timely and kind reply. I'd be very interested in purchasing your 25 row core. Do you have a direct number or e-mail where I can reach you with z1 motor sports. I'd like to take care of this issue as soon as possible. Especially considering I will be tracking this coming weekend. You can reach me at 714-366-3347, or e-mail me at decapdesign@gmail.com

Thank you for your help!

Jason

Hi Travis-Thanks for the ideas, I always dig mcguyver solutions. :) I'll keep you all posted as to what I decide to do.

Awesome pics!!! Thanks Jason!!

Did you guys install the cooler in the same location? Airflow can make a huge difference. What kind of oil were you running too? (Type/weight)

Do you have more or less miles?

The Setrab Brackets supplied in the kits can only be installed on the Driver's side of the core support. The combination of the A/C Dryer and OEM Power Steering Cooler hinders installation on that side unless you have a custom bracket made (..or relocate the factory PWS Cooler).

The question is, based on thoughts mentioned by TravisJB, is whether both cores are mounted close to the core support or not. I see that EventHorizon (Jason) mounted his close to the A/C core. I am not sure about GTKiller's install though.

GT can you chime in on this. I am curious to see if that may be another affecting variable.

We installed the oil cooler in my friends GT Garage. I agree about the airflow. I have 42,000 miles on my car, and my friend has around 15,000 miles. I'm running Motul 300V 10-40W Racing Oil. :)

To answer your question I mounted the Oil Cooler on the driver side using the mounting points your kit suggested. BTW great kit! I ran this kit at track events with outside temps above 100F never did my car go into limp mode. The highest oil temps I've seen during track events were 240+

The only difference is he has an intake and exhaust and mine is stock.

If you have the thermostatic bypass I would check that it is operating correctly as it could be stuck in bypass mode. You can put an infrared thermometer on the cooler and the intake, outtake hoses and see what you're getting for temperatures there.

This could be a possibility. The design of the Mocal Sandwich plate is a failsafe one. If the thermostat fails, it will always flow oil, but it may do one of two things:

1. Fail to direct 100% of the oil to the cooler, thus not providing adequate cooling.
2. Fail to bypass the oil while below operating temp and effectively acting as a NON-thermostatic sandwich plate.

I MAY be possible that this could be the cause. Do both of you have thermostatic Sandwich Plates? I apologize, but I can not search past orders since I am working on screen names and do not know real names :tup:.

Lol...Jason. I did not mean installed AT the same location (i.e, garage, home, etc.) I was referring to the orientation of the core. Do both cars have the oil cooler cores positioned close to the A/C Condensor?? <-- Guess I should have phrased my question differently.

Dustin, we don not have the thermostatic sandwich plate. Both our oil coolers are mounted on the driver side on the mounting point your instruction illustrates.

With all things being equal, it looks like your ECU just isn't compensating for the intake/exhaust... and you're leaning out!

Unless you had it tuned for those mods?

That's a bit of a downer. I think certain production cars had the exact same problem. RX-7s, S2ks, Evos to name a few?

just installed oil cooler today, everyday temps 220F down to 190F!!