I factored in his location (texas is hot as ****, people avoid going outside), and his future mods. An oil cooler is a good investment IMO. I will certainly agree that an oil cooler is not for everyone, but based on what I see here in NY (humid 90's in the summer) with my Z, its a good idea for engine longevity.

Im dumbfounded by this.........is this really true?

I know for fact that HP on the car goes down once the AC is on....

Anyone care to explain????? :excited:

To condense all the back and forth down to a simple few words:

Couldn't hurt, but isn't necessary.

There, that's really about it.

Oh...and apparently GM>Nissan :ughdance:

As import pointed out, its likely the secondary electric fan that kicks on when the AC comes on. It cools the engine more, which in turn would affect the oil temperatures.

Live in Louisiana. Same difference. Friend's Z does fine. Maybe OP should see what his oil temps actually run w/the mods before shelling out the cash?

My '95 TA would shed about 20-30* on the coolant temp when those fans came on. Ran with the A/C on in traffic and it was about 190-210* vs. 220-230.

It should be your first addition.

I agree. How did the convo turn to a Z06 vette? The Z06 is an 75k car.

BLA BLA BLA-highjacker!

Here it is in a nut shell.

Every motor is a bit different. Yes they all come out of the same plant, some run hot, others do not.

If you are tooling around the highway in 6th gear at 65MPH and your oil temps are hitting 230° you may want an oil cooler.

My car unfortunately does this. I can make it hit 260 with a short 2 minute run in the twisties where other Zs don't go over 220.

If your car runs hot buy one. If your car runs cool don't.

My Oil Cooler is coming with my supercharger.

I'm one of the owners not jumping on the bandwagon.
I've spent considerable time driving at high RPMs in 90°+ temps in traffic, on the highway and driving in the mountains. I might even be one of those obnoxious drivers that downshifts for no reason... although I think that the noise produced by SRM and a FI TDX CBE is a pretty good reason.
In all of these situations, I've only once witnessed my oil temperature get up to 230°. Most of the time it's right at 220°.

I don't think an oil cooler is necessary for a street driven car that doesn't go to the track.
I also think we wouldn't be having these discussions if we didn't have oil temperature gauge. Given the varying testimonials on what oil temperatures people are experiencing, I question the gauge's accuracy to begin with.

It turned to the corvette because the car had the exact mod (plate/fin style oil cooler up front) that people are so keen to get--and GM got rid of it. Spent a lot of money to do it, too. It is the only example I can think of regarding an oil-cooler except Nissan, whereupon Nissan refuses to install it, but that logic wasn't good enough for most people, so I went out of my way to post about a company PURPOSEFULLY getting rid of that type of oil-cooler.

Just thought there might be a reason for it and all that. 150-160* oil is bad. You want it 180-220 for normal driving, and if it spikes up to 260-280 on a track day, no big deal as long as it doesn't sit there all day. Of course, with the Z, it goes into limp mode at 260, so you are protected.

Then some people turned it into a GM vs. Nissan thing because that's what fanboi's do when someone mentions another brand.

I think there is a very logical explanation for this. Your license plate covers what, 30% of the air intake area for the radiator? Get it off there. (assuming your avatar is a picture of your car)

:iagree:

:iagree: It was mine. With a 34 row, I can still hit 220+ off track, but that is it.

I thought of that also. Moved it over 4 inches, no change. Then took the plate off, no change...

I have one of the cars that runs hot. Nissan :owned: me, but at least I can put in an oil cooler...

in your own words you state 185 - 200 is but then tell the OP not to get the oil cooler because GMs design didnt work? ? ? ? ? you make no sense dude, you just want to throw some knowlegde around about GM. Maybe you know your **** but you have a terrible way of getting your point across.

Engine tolerance are different now compare to years past, that's why cars tend to run hotter. Also oil are more efficient at higher temp, that's why it isn't all bad

I also have noticed that the A/C on, my oil temp is not as high.. Here in Houston we have had some nice days, so all I needed was the fan. I was driving hard and it got up to about 220.. I then turned on the A/C for the rest of the ride home and my temps went back to normal to around 200..

I have noticed 230-235 after a SHORT, spirited romp on several occasions already this year an it's not even hot yet. Concerns me a little that I may have an issue this summer. We'll see. I would feel much better hovering at 200 and hitting 220 when pushed. I won't hesitate to install an oil cooler if it continues. Babying this car to keep the temps down is not why I purchased it.

OP its an easy add on if you find you need it later. Budget for it anyway.

This is the only car I've had with numbers on the oil temp guage, for all I know all my cars have run in the low to mid 200's.

I think it comes down to how hot your Z runs already. As some have said their Z has higher oil temps than others and some run cooler.

Mine on a relatively cool day driving on the freeway at 75-80 runs around 200. On a hot day I run at around 220-225.

When I drove 12-15 miles or so on GMR (glendora mountain road) and was constantly in 2nd/3rd gear with rpms going from 3k-5k most of the time I hit 260 before I even made it to the top and had to take a break to avoid going into limp mode (280).

IMHO my Z runs a bit hotter than it should. I am considering getting an oil cooler myself but each situation is different. I can definitely attest that some Z's can very well go into limp mode and run hotter than they should without an oil cooler even when you don't drive them on the track.

i am not sure what nissan did, but my car ran hotter after my first oil change

:iagree::iagree::iagree:

subscribing :)

It's not "GM's design". It's what everyone used. A plate/fin setup that uses ambient air to cool (sometimes OVER cool) the oil. Depending on the day/driving being done, it's certainly not optimal, but if you get a bypass and thermostat, I think it would be okay.