Anyone Know If The Attached Is Decorative Or Functional?

[dickepoohp]

Free.
Can't hurt (like chicken soup)
MAY actually lower oil temp. AND
Looks "cooler" than a straight old filter wall.
Use it, and practise dropping comments like,"Oh....YOURS doesn't HAVE the Super Jet Portable Oil Heat Removal system???"
This approach will work exceedingly well on the ultra purists (usually driving a Buick) who will happily point out that you have an uneven number of rivets on the brace for the battery box or that your lug nuts aren't tightened symetrically with the faces equally spaced.
I recently offended one such who commented he could NEVER drive a Porsche which had desecrating FERARRI yeller paint on it.
He would really be offended if he discovered Ferarri giallo fly yellow was indistinguishable from Yellow Cab yellow;-).

TO simply remove and discard would be akin to dumping your Barney Knob.

[futureboy]

After learning about getting your oil up to temperature and keeping it there for prolonged periods, I'd say you'd be better off without the thing for two reasons:
1. Excessive wear is caused by sluggish / cold oil, and
2. Mayonnaise (acidic compounds and gunky sludge) can apparently build up in your oil if you don't keep the engine at temp for long periods (depending on how many miles you drive it at a time.)

Check out this thread: Oil Change - 80 911SC

Let's not forget that there's a thermostat inside the right rear wheel well that only sends oil up to the front cooler / heat exchanger after it reaches about 113 deg F (Bentley 911 Carrera 84-89 Service Manual, pg 170-4). This is so that the oil heats up relatively quickly to reduce wear on engine components.

I've always thought that installing an oil preheater would be a good idea. Owners of small piston airplanes in cold climates use electric & propane preheater blowers for their flat-6 engines. It'll take my car 5 miles or more to stabilize at "operating temperature," and I suspect that over the long haul a good portion of wear within an engine occurs right after startup.

So I would recommend NOT using something that took additional heat out of the oil potentially too soon. How much difference will it make? Probably not much, but then again, we're quibbling over the fun nitty gritty details, right?

[burgermeister]

Originally Posted by old man neri

Anyone ever stick one of those around a beer can to see if the beer gets cold quicker in the fridge?

One of the few things I remember from heat transfer class is that a beer can in the fridge will cool slightly faster if it is lying on edge, rather that sitting upright...
This time of year, I can just toss one in the snow, and it will be good and snow cold in a few minutes, no cool collar needed.

[BLEW911]

If I walked by your car and saw that I wouldn't say anything about it but I'd chuckle to myself.

[rgdalacrity]

I have one and I like it.

[gshase]

A heat sink (or heatsink) is an environment or object that absorbs and dissipates heat from another object using thermal contact (either direct or radiant). Heat sinks are used in a wide range of applications wherever efficient heat dissipation is required; major examples include refrigeration, heat engines and cooling electronic devices.

Everyone is using a heat sink like it or not. The question is does it displace enough heat to help save an engine. On my F250 that pulls a 11k lb. trailer sitting in direct air flow I have seen a decrease in oil temp. On my SC it was null.

[1968SWTs]

Originally Posted by Won

The air temperature inside the engine bay is not much higher than ambient temperature when the car's moving - numbers obtained with a temperature probe are documented in the Pelican archives.

I agree with Won- 120-130F in a non air-cooled compartment, with "post" radiator flow into the compartment and no pshielding from engine heat

But for this car... 40-110F max on top of the shroud, and possibly higher after a hard drive

[James Brown]

add a couple magnets and then your on to something

[ClickClickBoom]

I would install it just to issue noogies, without even trying!

[tazzieman]

Originally Posted by James Brown

add a couple magnets and then your on to something

The factory tried this .
What about fins around the oil tank? I guess the factory thought of that too , but then again .... they knew what they were doing!

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by ClickClickBoom

I would install it just to issue noogies, without even trying!

That's a valid point, but I maintain that if the good Dr. had intended us to have 'em then they'd be there already . Besides...I'm a firm believer in dropping weight on my fat Carrera pig, so she's been on a diet...that .5 oz hanging on the rear would have been the first thing to go! Besides...it might get your car all out of balance....

[McLaren-TAG]

Does it also add horsepower?