Oil Cooler/Temp issue (no it's not what your thinking)
 

So I think I am getting pretty decent at this :driving: thing and pushing the car to what I think it's capable of but..

I was at the track this weekend and the air temps were in the low to mid 60s the whole weekend. With a 34 row oil cooler the gauge was reading 260, same as it was when I had the 25 row cooler. Engine Coolant Temps Peak at 230F.

Is there something wrong with the oil cooler? It seems to be working when not at the track. Temps get to 180 and usually stay there so I think the thermostatic sandwich plate is working correctly. Maybe it's a flow issue? I really hope I won't have to add more cooling but I am suspecting I will.

Thoughts?

I tracked my car @ 95 F with oil temp reaching 260 F, but didn't went over that, using Motul v300 0w40. Started around 180 F first lap, reached 250-260 F during third lap and stayed there, in a long track (around 3.375 Mile long).

Here it is, temperature not clear and it is in celsius

https://youtu.be/mkiLf00FlmA


I have 34 row as well. in cooler weather, it is around 240 F at the third lap.


only some findings to compare with yours.

How long are your track sessions? Are they the same now as in the summer?

Couple of things that I can think of.
1. Air flow restriction. Check the cooler if there is anything covering it. Blow air through the fins backwards. If anything is stuck in the fins. This should help in removing it.
2. Thermostatic plate failing. Never heard of one failing to open, but there is always a first time. Would have to change to a new plate to find out. But it works ok on the street. So I don't think it would be this.
3. Your track sessions have gotten longer, and you never noticed.
4. You now have reached the point where you need to up-grade.

some people have had to run two coolers in succession to get adequate cooling. You're probably just killing it out there haha. keep on :driving:

I don't run a sandwich plate as it is always warm here in AZ and I had no problem with my 34 row until temps got up in the 90's but we don't have much humidity here. Rusty suggestions are spot on. I went to a 72 oil cooler and opened up my front bumper to get better air flow. Also, you may need a vented hood or hood vents to help get the hot air out.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4374/...b9e4a0b5_h.jpg

Well.........you need all those vents to keep the 600 squirrels cooled.:eek:

1st Lap 160 ->180 (warm up)
2nd Lap 180 ->220
3rd Lap 220 -> 240
4th Lap 240 -> 250
5th Lap 250 ~255ish before the lap finishes and stays at the same point the rest of the session.
Lap 2.25 Miles 1m37s~ average pace Sessions are from 20-25min

It might be the 2015+ nismo bumper lets less air through then the earlier version I had. I have to look at some of my earlier videos this year in detail and see what was going on then.

:iagree: I was going to buy a 15+ bumper and that was one of the questions I had asked Juan at Nissan Race Shops and he said that to stay with pre 14 Nismo bumper. I also had read in an article before Doran Racing left IMSA that they did not switch to the 15 design because of lack of air flow compared to the 14 Nismo.

I asked BJ when Doran Racing was going to change to the new ('15) body work. He said hopefully never. He said the aero is not as good with the '15 bumpers. Has alot of dirty air flow.

Like others have suggested, I would look into airflow issues first. I have found on mine that when I had an Air to oil cooler installed I would get debris build up between the core and the radiator. I have also found as much as 40 degree temp swings on track depending on the ducting being deployed around the radiator. Less ducting to keep air going through the radiator area quickly raised the temps.

It's defiantly an airflow issue, as much as I like the new style front end from looking at in detail over the last weekend the opening is significantly smaller then any other oem one. I will probably change to a stillen front end for the ease of brake ducting.

Hit limp mode in October, 80 degree weather with a 34 row setrab, temps were 260 and above. Drive hard enough even a 34 row can't stop that from happening. Dual 25's, 34's or a 72 row should do the trick

I have run into this engine oil heat issue as well. It seems that even with the 34 row coolers we can’t keep our temps down.

I Track mostly down in south Texas at MSR Houston where we have seen track surface temps at 120F-130F at the hottest with 90F summer days. Even on a 55F day I hit 240F oil temp while short shifting to keep temps down.

From what I have read around the forum I would need two 34 row oil coolers just to keep my temps at 240F-260F on a hot day. It Seems to me that the AAM Oil to water cooler would be best in most applications with tracks in the south.

Is there a reason this hasn’t been used more?

P.S. I understand that automotive oil has a goldilocks area around 212F +/- 10F and it seems that air to oil heat exchangers cannot properly cool our oil to anywhere within that range.

TL: DR : Why not use Oil to Water coolers??

Because it just moves the heat issue to the cooling system of the car. Aftermarket radiators are sketchy at best. They always spring leaks.

What you say is true, but is that assuming the stock radiator can’t handle the addition thermo load?

Going only by what I can see online it seems that even the FI TT kits and AAM TT kits don’t include Upgraded radiators. This seems to hint that the stock radiator can handle addition horse power well enough for a street application.

If it is true that the stock rad can handle a turbo application, it doesn’t seem too hard to believe a N/A 370z rad could handle the additional load from cooling the oil.

Now a TT 370z with an oil to water exchanger might need a rad upgrade.

TL: DR : If a TT 370 doesn’t require a rad upgrade why cant the stock rad handle cooling the oil?

What radiators are known to leak? (so I can avoid)

I'm with you - I think it would be the way to go (Oil/Water)... I am running the OEM Oil/Water cooler and for spirited DD on a TT car it doesn't seem to have any issues... neither does my OEM radiator.

Track use is a completely different animal, but I would be interested in hearing from some of the TT track guys on here if any of them are still using the OEM radiator... I'd speculate the additional load from the AAM Oil/Water wouldn't be enough to compromise the system.

You have to get the heat out from under the hood. Hood vents. We just had a group buy on here for them.

http://www.the370z.com/exterior-inte...trackspec.html

I run oem radiator and the deal is you need to move more air to the radiator if possible and get hot air out as Rusty stated. The only good aftermarket solution is a custom Ron Davis racing radiator which will includ deleting your ac, modification the radiator housing and the addition of heavy duty dual Spal fan. The radiator and fan go for about $2k.

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