Nissan Motorsports Oil Cooler vs. Stillen Oil Cooler

Dustin@Z1 · 07-30-2009, 11:56 AM

Hello everyone,
We have had alot of questions about both the Stillen Oil Cooler kit as well as the Nissan Motorsports unit. The biggest question everyone has been asking us here at Z1 Motorsports is why the Nissan Motorsports unit costs to much more in comparision to the Stillen.

I figured the best way to explain why there is such a difference between the two respective companies kits, I would just do a piece by piece comparision.

The primary thing you will notice about the Nissan Motorsports Kit is that the parts are designed to flow and hold a much larger volume of oil.

Lets begin:

The heart of the oil cooler is the Heat Exchanger itself. The smaller Stillen unit of the Left is nearly 1/2 the size of the Nissan Motorsports unit. Both kits use Setrab Oil Coolers.

The next biggest difference between the two kits is the Oil Line sizes. Both kits use high quality AN Fittings with Stainless Steel Braided Lines. The Stillen Kit uses a smaller -8 (1/2") size line where the Nissan Motorsports uses a larger -10 (5/8") line.

The Oil Filter Sandwich adapters is the last of the major differences between the kits.

The Nissan Motorsports Kit comes with an awesome looking Machined Aluminum piece with smooth flowing channels and machined Heat sink fins.

The Stillen Sandwich Plate Adapter is a cast aluminum piece with a larger oil galley and includes a By-Pass ball in the event that the Oil Cooler gets clogged. The Stillen unit seems to be of either an Earls or Perma-Cool design.

We opted for the larger capacity Nissan Motorsports Unit for our 370Z Project car. Since the car will be driven alot both on the road and on the track, we felt it would be worth the investment of a larger oil cooler.

The Oil Cooler kits are priced as follows:

Stillen - $426.00
Nissan Motorsports - $795.00

The choice really comes down to what the car is going to be used for. If the vehicle is going to be used on a track alot, then I would recommend the Nissan Motorsports Unit over the Stillen.

shabarivas · 07-30-2009, 11:58 AM

Holy crap - I dont think that price is justified... a little too much - esp given that the parts are IDENTICAL except just bigger lol

Dustin@Z1 · 07-30-2009, 12:05 PM

Sorry..i accidentally posted the wrong price. Lol. Its not as expensive. My mistake, I didnt mean cause any heart attacks.

GMZ · 07-30-2009, 12:07 PM

Thanks for the pics, I hadnt seen the NISMO one yet.

Endgame · 07-30-2009, 12:22 PM

will that Nismo unit cause any conflict with the Stillen or Injen CAI design??

Dustin@Z1 · 07-30-2009, 12:29 PM

The Nissan Motorsports Oil Cooler will not interfer with the Stillen. I m not exactly sure about the Injen kit.

I thought the same thing at first when we got them in. When looking at the picture, you have to consider that the front crash bar is not in place which makes things look out of place.

shabarivas · 07-30-2009, 01:15 PM

Thats much better ... still on the high side but I would love to do the oil cooler right

Nice writeup

Faerus · 07-30-2009, 01:49 PM

What are the dimensions of both of the oil coolers?

import111 · 07-30-2009, 01:59 PM

Wow, I had no idea the NISMO was so big. If the Stillen larger core cooler is not out before I save enough $ for the NISMO, I might have to snatch up the NISMO.

platyperz · 07-30-2009, 02:29 PM

That is a great writeup on the comparison, thanks Dustin.

I'll probably go with the Stillen since I don't plan on putting my car on the track.

Dustin@Z1 · 07-30-2009, 03:12 PM

I ll post up the core dimensions later this afternoon. I meant to get them while I had the kits in front of me.

Endgame · 07-30-2009, 03:28 PM

Good stuff. Thanks!

Dustin@Z1 · 07-30-2009, 03:42 PM

BTW...this is not actually the NISMO oil cooler. There is "NISMO" one offered in Japan. But it is like $1600+. It comes with all of the aluminum air guides, etc. This is the kit the Nissan Motorsports has created for th US market. It is the same as the NISMO, but just does not have the Air Guides.

But we may be working on those.....

XwChriswX · 07-30-2009, 04:54 PM

Is there a reason why you put the fittings for the exhanger itself on top? What happens when it comes time to change the oil? Do you have a gas purge system?

Most people I've seen install this do it with the hoses coming off the bottom for better drainage?

So is the $795 price the correct price? Or the overprice?

Dustin@Z1 · 07-30-2009, 06:19 PM

No the $795 is the correct price. I accidentally posted some stupid price of like $1100. I was misreading my sheet.

I have seen kits on other cars installed both ways before too. As far as the purging of the system, the pressure of the oil pump should be able to purge the air. We DID pre-fill the cooler before installation though. I do not recommend installing any oil coolers without doing this.

07-30-2009, 11:56 AM	#1 (permalink)
Dustin@Z1 The370Z.com Sponsor Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: NLA Posts: 1,313 Drives: NLA Rep Power: 17	Nissan Motorsports Oil Cooler vs. Stillen Oil Cooler Hello everyone, We have had alot of questions about both the Stillen Oil Cooler kit as well as the Nissan Motorsports unit. The biggest question everyone has been asking us here at Z1 Motorsports is why the Nissan Motorsports unit costs to much more in comparision to the Stillen. I figured the best way to explain why there is such a difference between the two respective companies kits, I would just do a piece by piece comparision. The primary thing you will notice about the Nissan Motorsports Kit is that the parts are designed to flow and hold a much larger volume of oil. Lets begin: The heart of the oil cooler is the Heat Exchanger itself. The smaller Stillen unit of the Left is nearly 1/2 the size of the Nissan Motorsports unit. Both kits use Setrab Oil Coolers. The next biggest difference between the two kits is the Oil Line sizes. Both kits use high quality AN Fittings with Stainless Steel Braided Lines. The Stillen Kit uses a smaller -8 (1/2") size line where the Nissan Motorsports uses a larger -10 (5/8") line. The Oil Filter Sandwich adapters is the last of the major differences between the kits. The Nissan Motorsports Kit comes with an awesome looking Machined Aluminum piece with smooth flowing channels and machined Heat sink fins. The Stillen Sandwich Plate Adapter is a cast aluminum piece with a larger oil galley and includes a By-Pass ball in the event that the Oil Cooler gets clogged. The Stillen unit seems to be of either an Earls or Perma-Cool design. We opted for the larger capacity Nissan Motorsports Unit for our 370Z Project car. Since the car will be driven alot both on the road and on the track, we felt it would be worth the investment of a larger oil cooler. The Oil Cooler kits are priced as follows: Stillen - $426.00 Nissan Motorsports - $795.00 The choice really comes down to what the car is going to be used for. If the vehicle is going to be used on a track alot, then I would recommend the Nissan Motorsports Unit over the Stillen. zpower86 and giant881 like this. Last edited by Dustin@Z1; 11-20-2010 at 03:24 PM.

07-30-2009, 12:07 PM	#4 (permalink)
GMZ Enthusiast Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Virginia Beach Posts: 304 Drives: 07 V8 4Runner 4x4 Rep Power: 15	Thanks for the pics, I hadnt seen the NISMO one yet. __________________ Z-less once again

07-30-2009, 04:54 PM	#14 (permalink)
XwChriswX WFLYIDNNE Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: In The Fastlane Posts: 50,648 Drives: 02 GDB WRX Rep Power: 451	Is there a reason why you put the fittings for the exhanger itself on top? What happens when it comes time to change the oil? Do you have a gas purge system? Most people I've seen install this do it with the hoses coming off the bottom for better drainage? So is the $795 price the correct price? Or the overprice? __________________ Bonnie - Stage 2, Audio build coming this fall! R.I.P. Abby 3/29/10 - 3/30/14

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07-30-2009, 11:58 AM	#2 (permalink)
shabarivas A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 2,188 Drives: 370z MB 6mt Rep Power: 914	Holy crap - I dont think that price is justified... a little too much - esp given that the parts are IDENTICAL except just bigger lol

07-30-2009, 12:05 PM	#3 (permalink)
Dustin@Z1 The370Z.com Sponsor Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: NLA Posts: 1,313 Drives: NLA Rep Power: 17	Sorry..i accidentally posted the wrong price. Lol. Its not as expensive. My mistake, I didnt mean cause any heart attacks.

07-30-2009, 12:22 PM	#5 (permalink)
Endgame A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Phoenix Posts: 1,613 Drives: Nothing Now! Rep Power: 223	will that Nismo unit cause any conflict with the Stillen or Injen CAI design??

07-30-2009, 12:29 PM	#6 (permalink)
Dustin@Z1 The370Z.com Sponsor Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: NLA Posts: 1,313 Drives: NLA Rep Power: 17	The Nissan Motorsports Oil Cooler will not interfer with the Stillen. I m not exactly sure about the Injen kit. I thought the same thing at first when we got them in. When looking at the picture, you have to consider that the front crash bar is not in place which makes things look out of place.

07-30-2009, 01:15 PM	#7 (permalink)
shabarivas A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 2,188 Drives: 370z MB 6mt Rep Power: 914	Thats much better ... still on the high side but I would love to do the oil cooler right Nice writeup

07-30-2009, 01:49 PM	#8 (permalink)
Faerus Base Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: USA Posts: 1 Drives: Skyline Rep Power: 15	What are the dimensions of both of the oil coolers?

07-30-2009, 01:59 PM	#9 (permalink)
import111 Track Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Tucson, AZ. Posts: 622 Drives: 09 Nissan 370Z Rep Power: 191	Wow, I had no idea the NISMO was so big. If the Stillen larger core cooler is not out before I save enough $ for the NISMO, I might have to snatch up the NISMO.

07-30-2009, 02:29 PM	#10 (permalink)
platyperz Base Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: SoCal Posts: 81 Drives: 370Z PG A7 Rep Power: 15	That is a great writeup on the comparison, thanks Dustin. I'll probably go with the Stillen since I don't plan on putting my car on the track.

07-30-2009, 03:12 PM	#11 (permalink)
Dustin@Z1 The370Z.com Sponsor Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: NLA Posts: 1,313 Drives: NLA Rep Power: 17	I ll post up the core dimensions later this afternoon. I meant to get them while I had the kits in front of me.

07-30-2009, 03:28 PM	#12 (permalink)
Endgame A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Phoenix Posts: 1,613 Drives: Nothing Now! Rep Power: 223	Good stuff. Thanks!

07-30-2009, 03:42 PM	#13 (permalink)
Dustin@Z1 The370Z.com Sponsor Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: NLA Posts: 1,313 Drives: NLA Rep Power: 17	BTW...this is not actually the NISMO oil cooler. There is "NISMO" one offered in Japan. But it is like $1600+. It comes with all of the aluminum air guides, etc. This is the kit the Nissan Motorsports has created for th US market. It is the same as the NISMO, but just does not have the Air Guides. But we may be working on those.....

07-30-2009, 06:19 PM	#15 (permalink)
Dustin@Z1 The370Z.com Sponsor Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: NLA Posts: 1,313 Drives: NLA Rep Power: 17	No the $795 is the correct price. I accidentally posted some stupid price of like $1100. I was misreading my sheet. I have seen kits on other cars installed both ways before too. As far as the purging of the system, the pressure of the oil pump should be able to purge the air. We DID pre-fill the cooler before installation though. I do not recommend installing any oil coolers without doing this.