Oil for heat?

[porsche930dude]

Just pondering out loud here but why didnt porsche and vw use the hot oil to heat the car with a normal water cooled heater? Would it be possible to do it? the temperature should be about right. Pressure might be higher but maby not if its at the end of the cycle? I dont think it would even need full flow maybe just a bypass system plumbed in somewhere . Would be like adding an auxilary oil cooler same thing right

[Joe Ricard]

It would be as useless as a water system. I like having heat before I leave the 25ft long driveaway. I good system will cook you out quick.

Oil lines from the engine would take WAY to long to produce anything measurable. Plus you need the oil to get hot as soon as possible the way it is. putting an oil cooler used as a heater would slow the process even more.

[John Rogers]

Back in the 70s I had a custom Dodge van that was all customized and tricked out with inside paneling and a bed. To help warm up the back since it started life as a cargo van with no heat in the back I installed a generic automotive heater that taped into the regular heater water lines with tees. The lines ran under the floor boards. I bought it from good old J.C.Whitney and mounted it on the wall behind the driver's seat and it would warm up the back quite well for all sorts of party stuff!

For using a front mounted oil cooler, it would need some sort of ducting running to the air inlet box and some sort of flapper/diverter system to direct the air from the normal exit under the car to the air box area. You would also need a filter to catch all the dirt and clagg that gets sucked into the front bumper area but it would work I'd guess?

[porsche930dude]

yes john i see those auxilary heaters all the time at the junk yard in the backs of vans and bussed and stuff. but really a normal heater box from any old car would work . In my 67 jeep it just has a little shetmetal box with a heater core in it in the engine bay and a small inlet pipe from the grille area. then inside the jeep is where the fan is and the diverter valve for the defrost. So I was thinking i could even make a box around an oil cooler and work it in the same manner. As for it taking too long to heat up I know what you mean but really I only care about the heat when im going long distances anyway. I think it could work just as well or better than any of my other cars. Anyway If I should decide to put heat in my car I think thats what Ill try. sounds like a good expeariment.

[Nostril Cheese]

They didnt do it because the stock system works insanely well in a 914. Provided all the sheet metal is there.

Also, an additional oil cooler/radiator would require more pressure to run than a stock Type 4 can spare.

[TheCabinetmaker]

there is not as much oil flow rate on our motors as a typical water cooled car's water flow rate, so heat transfer will be minimal. water pumps are very large compaired to oil pumps.

an engine failure would contaiminate an extensively large oil system if it was used for heating. How would you like to replace the entire heating system if you car had bits of metal in the oil? (remember oil coolers (oil heatercore) are always run after the filter (down stream))

A high pressure oil heat system is more expensive and weighs more than a low pressure water system.

You think a leaking heater core on your floor boards is bad with water, try cleaning up a failed oil heater system.

many reasons why oil is not used for heat.

VW did have a solution for thoose that need more heat than stock (or for thoose that remove the heater boxes for headers) VW and porsche offered a gasoline heater, which is very very nice. I got two of them.