best oil coolers ? help
 

I am ready to get a oil cooler . What are the best ones out there ? Does it make a difference ? what about these Racing Oil Cooler Kits
are these Good ? They seem so much cheaper than the named brands ?

The info that I've seen indicates that the Tru-cool units don't transfer heat as well as the units from Z-1 and Stillen, consequently you would need a bigger cooler to get the same results. I've been checking out coolers on-line and I've decided (just my opinion) that right now Z-1 Motorsports has the best kit for joe-average because it seems to have the cleanest installation and is composed of quality parts. The Stillen kit is very good as well and if they had a sale or promotion going I would consider it too.

+1 check sig, went with a Z1 unit here and couldn't be happier

There are tons of discussions about this on the forum. Plenty of folks have posted install and reviews...I'd suggest you just browse or search the forum. You'll get some good info from there.

Good Luck!

It also depends on what you are looking to do with the car. We bought 3 kits for our 370z and none of them could make it around the track more than a lap or two before the car went into limp mode from oil temp.

So we had to develop our own kit, and we still get complaints that our kit is a lot more than others. But we always explain that if you are tracking your car (or even spirited street driving), going into limp mode after two or three laps instead of on the first lap isn't worth the money for a cheaper kit. You might as well not buy one at all.

So I would suggest first figuring out what you want to use the car for, then find a solution that has been verified to actually work.

:iagree:
I plan to get the ae kit when I get mine. I hope it's enough for a tt z on the track

I got mine from Nissan and it has been a headache trying to get the fittings to mount up with the mocal. Save yourself the headache and get the kit from Z1 Motorsports. It is easy to install the kit. Maybe half a day if you are a decent mechanic and take your time. Whatever you decide to get make sure it is a thermostatic controlled kit.

central 20 oil cooler!:)

Thermostatic kits are not always necessary. They are there to make sure your oil gets up to temp quickly, as it can be just as bad if your oil is too cold vs. too hot. With certain applications a Tstat is the only way to accomplish that, but not for the 370's.

Slow warm up time is a common problem for oil cooler kits that use long horizontal rows. It takes the oil a lot longer to circulate back to the engine and in turn takes a lot longer for the oil to heat up. The oil is also physically in the core for a longer period of time which slows down the warm up process significantly as well.

Unfortunately the 370z's need a hefty amount of oil cooling, which in turn means big cores. Before we built our kit, we tried 3 different aftermarket kits (19row, 25row, 34row) and with the 25 and 34 we experienced slow warm up, and with all three we were unable to get more than 2-3 laps before we hit limp mode. But that doesn't mean you need a thermostatic kit. The Setrab 72 row core we use in our kit, utilizes vertical rows, which completely eliminates the issues that cause the slow/limited warm up. The oil isn't in the core as long and it circulates much faster which get's the car up to temp very quickly. We have kits on customer cars in very cold areas and we have had great feedback on warm up times even in extreme cold conditions.

The way we think about it is that it works better to utilize a core that works with the car (if possible), instead of trying to band-aid a core that doesn't quite work properly for the application. It also eliminates the need for additional parts and as most have experianced, with more parts, there's more things that can go wrong. That problem is also heavily exacerbated when you are going to the track as well.

So that's why we developed our kit for the people who want a tested reliable solution, that works great both on the track and on the street.

Thanks!

Yeah, we don't have the kit on a FI application as of yet, but we are going to FI on our silver car and we are confident that it is going to be sufficent. We have had our white car out at Spring Mountain in the 110º Nevada Desert Heat and it lasted the entire day.

I for one have been very happy with my Stillen 19 row street kit. warmup is not bad at all but I only street my car with some spirited driving. have not had my temps go up above 220 even in 107 deg temps. I agree with everyone that u should think about how u want to use the car and go from there.

I will be doing autoX and some track driving .My car now easily hits 240 temp with just some spirited driving . I may FI but that is down the road . I really want to learn how to drive my car ! ( track ) but the oil temps prevent that right now. once around the track before overheating will only get me wanting to trade her in .

I did some spirited driving with no cooler and ambient temp at 105 and it shot from 235 to 260. I got the cooler kit from nissan for $0 via nissan north america and installed for $0. I don't track my car but love me some canyon carving. After the kit being installed I filled the car up and went to my normal hills. I did a long run up the hill running about 95% and the oil never got hotter than 220. I came back from palm springs and again never hit over 220 and it was 109 out there. I need the thermo because of the cooler nights. Have heard from other experienced guys on here that it won't make too much of a difference at night when i go home with it being cooler i may have to block off some of the cooler.

So you mean to tell me my 34 row cooler from Setrab takes longer to warm up than your 72 row? Im not too sure on that one. I think you guys are using a different sandwich plate adapter. I looked at your kit and it looks really clean +1. But not too sure on the vertical vs horizontal flow. Also what degree is your thermo adapter set for?

Yeah, those are definitely good examples. With no cooler the oil get's too hot for any kind of aggressive driving. For most people who push it on the street, a smaller kit will work. For those looking to track their 370 at all, you need something more.

That's why we developed our own, because the other kits we tried didn't work on the track. But we daily drive our car as well and as such developed something that works on a daily basis too.

So what's the difference between your kit and the other on the market?

Definitely not what I am saying, haha, and we don't use a thermo adaptor. I am saying that our kit warms up quickly as well, but without the aid of a thermo adaptor. It doesn't really matter which is faster, it only matters that your oil gets up to temp quickly enough to not adversely effect your motor.

In your case, your car get's up to temp quickly enough and your oil temps stay cool on your canyon runs, so your kit works for you.

In our case, our car went into limp mode before we could turn three laps on the track with a 34 row core. So we needed something more and that's why we developed our kit. It get's up to temp quickly enough and it lasts all day on the track, which is what we needed.

It works about 90% good enough for me. If the ambient temp is low enough it keeps everything in check, but on hot days in the midday sun I'm still hitting 280 after 10 minutes of driving on track.

Oh hahahaha ok, but what about the exact opposite as far as cooler temps go? I am seeing 160 with no thermo and it being in the mid to high 60's. Have you compared your kit to a nissan kit?

The oil temp warms up quickly if the car is not moving or if moving slowly, if you are driving at highway speeds it can take a while to get up to temperature. When I drove through Canada at the end of August last year the temp got stuck at 160F on the highway. The air was just too cool. For driving that time of year I think a thermostatic plate would be helpful, in the winter only a block off plate works.

First big difference is the size of the core we utilize, which provides sufficient oil cooling for track use. Second big difference is the core design, which allows the oil to reach temp quickly without the use of a thermo adaptor, which makes the kit suitable for daily street use as well. Third big difference is the price, which is much higher, but is a result of the core needed to make our kit the most effective oil cooling solution for street and track use.

...Some other differences are in the amount of actual testing we do. We have driven with the kit more than 30K on the street with no issues of slow warm up or over cooling. We campaigned the car for the last season and a half of Time Attack as well. The oil never overheated, we went undefeated, set a new track record at each event and won the championship. Another example is that we also pre-assemble and pressure test each line to make sure they won't blow and in turn blow the car's motor. All of these things give us the confidence necessary to push the car and not worry about potential issues, which is how we want our customers to feel when they are pushing their car as well.

Im lookin at 15min warmup time. I start my car at 1140 at night, change my shoes lock up my shop and when i come out my car is almost 160 depending on ambient temp. By the time I hit the highway my car is at 180 but cools down to the low 160's. So I guess I misunderstood why ae was sayin no need for a thermo. I also forgot most people don't work 3-midnight like i do. That is why im goin with the thermo but I have heard also of having to do a partial block off on the 34row. :confused:

The thermostatic plate will allow 80-90% of the oil to bypass the cooler, but if it is cool enough then even running with just a 10% flow the core and still bring the oil temp down by a good margin (low flow rate but large temperature drop due to long time in cooler). In Riverside I think you should be okay with just a thermostatic plate added to the 34. If temps are regularly getting below 50F then you will definitely need a partial block off.

I thought there were quite a few tracking with 34R coolers with good results..

Hey chris thanx for the heads up on the temp below 50. It has been known to get cold here in the high desert part of riverside. I don't remember the lowest from last year but it will be interesting to see.

there are.

AE must have gotten a defective 34R cooler..:rolleyes:

lol. :stirthepot:

I would think they are pushing a little harder than your average Joe.

IMO build your own kit... the parts are readily available and it is easy to do. You'll save a good amount by bargain shopping... I think I built my 25 row setrab (with a series 9 which is thicker than the standard 25 row setrabs) for just about 350. I did get a used cooler however but from Z1 or any other outfit it would have been over $500 with the 180 thermostat (which I believe we need due to cooler climate in NJ). I was also able to go with a longer hose setup for that price so that I had routing flexibility. I used the factory intake ducts which means I avoided putting any holes in any part of the car.