center mounted oil cooler

dsiegel360 · 10-12-2008, 08:57 AM

There are lots of oil coolers on the market. Which are the good, the less good, and the down right crap?

The opening in the valance I've decided on is 23 3/8 x 4.25. Is this a decent size?

Bit the bullet. No more stock valance.

cole930 · 10-12-2008, 01:14 PM

Doug,

Last week I posted a front mount cooler. It sold right away but it was a late
80's Mazda RX7 cooler. I have used 3 of them and they work very well. They
measure about 25 X 5 and would be perfect for your application. I bought the
first 2 off Evil Bay. If you look back 4-5 days in the classifieds there are pics.

Cole

Miguel Antonett · 10-12-2008, 01:18 PM

IMO Setrab and Mocal are the best ones for the front valance.

rsrmike · 10-12-2008, 01:27 PM

Here is a place that sells a lot of oil coolers for Porsche

http://www.batinc.net/mocal.htm

That is a good source for above mentioned coolers, fittings, and complete 911 specific kits even

If you go the used route, I would strongly suggest having it ultrasonically cleaned and pressure tested before installing.

Any debris lodged in the cooler stands a chance of finding it's way back to the oil tank and ultimately, your bearings

Simply rinsing in a parts washer is not good enough. I've cleaned the coolers in a parts washer before sending them out for ultrasonic cleaning, only to have them returned w/ a neat little baggie full of metal shavings that didn't rinse out for me. That was on more than one 930 w/ rod bearing failure

I use a place on the west coast called Lanfried but it's been a few years since I sent one.

dsiegel360 · 10-12-2008, 01:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rsrmike

If you go the used route, I would strongly suggest having it ultrasonically cleaned and pressure tested before installing.

Any debris lodged in the cooler stands a chance of finding it's way back to the oil tank and ultimately, your bearings

Simply rinsing in a parts washer is not good enough. I've cleaned the coolers in a parts washer before sending them out for ultrasonic cleaning, only to have them returned w/ a neat little baggie full of metal shavings that didn't rinse out for me. That was on more than one 930 w/ rod bearing failure

I use a place on the west coast called Lanfried but it's been a few years since I sent one.

Great suggestion. Considering the fact that I've already rolled the dice by installing a used fender cooler, one my wrench gave me the "ok" on....cleaned only with parts cleaner, I won't take another gamble. Had my wrench informed me of the risk, I'd have purchased a new fender cooler.

Since I've already done several hundred miles with the new oil cooler, I assume if there was junk in it, the debree would have made its way to the engine by now. You think I should pull it and send it to Lanfried?

88 Club Sport · 88 Club Sport's Garage

I went with a Setrab. I mounted it behind an RSR clone valance for a narrow body from: http://www.rennspd.com/ Looks as if they have one similar for the Turbo body here: http://www.rennspd.com/P_Detail.asp?PID=577&Task=STD

It keeps her around 230 degrees on high 90 degree track days. The only downside is on the street in traffic when there is little movement, that's when a dual carrera set up (one in each corner) with a fan would be beneficial.

A930Rocket · 10-12-2008, 05:01 PM

I want to say I have a Setrab A72F225.

Dims are: 6.5 x 22.5 x 2.0

WERK I · WERK I's Garage

Stay away from the Mazda's if you can. The oil line fittings are too small for our oil cooled engines. I second the Setrab's.

dsiegel360 · 10-12-2008, 09:05 PM

Dave, I'm going to get the same valance as yours. Is 2" the standard oil cooler depth for our cars? Will Setrab know which fittings I need?

On the previous thread Rocket mentioned the need to mount the cooler with a bit of air escape space behind it. How much space?

Ya'll rule. Thanks.

Nice pic Club Sport.

Doug

rsrmike · 10-12-2008, 09:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dsiegel360

Great suggestion. Considering the fact that I've already rolled the dice by installing a used fender cooler, one my wrench gave me the "ok" on....cleaned only with parts cleaner, I won't take another gamble. Had my wrench informed me of the risk, I'd have purchased a new fender cooler.

Since I've already done several hundred miles with the new oil cooler, I assume if there was junk in it, the debree would have made its way to the engine by now. You think I should pull it and send it to Lanfried?

If your wrench gave you the OK, he probably knows the history. There is nothing wrong with a used cooler as long as you know for sure it didn't come from a toasted engine at some point.

When someone mentioned a mazda cooler, I immediately had bad thoughts of a toasted rotory motor spilling it guts into a cooler, although I'm ignorant to those motors other than they have great horsepower to weight ratios, will rev like stink and run really high EGT's. That's about all I know about them.

I was just amazed at how much metal ultrasonic cleaning can remove even after a thorough rinsing. That little baggie full of rod bearing shavings made a believer out of me.

The fitting size is something to consider as well, I'm not sure what it is. It sounds like you need a long skinny cooler anyways.

Make sure you use -16 AN hose to plumb it and if you get a cooler w/ inlet & outlet on opposite sides, use a nice smooth 180 degree fitting on the drivers side for good flow.

I hope you get it sorted, BTW, did your wrench elaborate on whats wrong with pulling the oil temp from the top of the motor? I assume you mean the thermostat block off plate installed after removing the engine oil cooler, assuming you removed the thermostat on the engine

If your sensor is in the breather cover plate, I understand why he condemned it for oil temp readings...

Good luck!

rsrmike · 10-12-2008, 09:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dsiegel360

Dave, I'm going to get the same valance as yours. Is 2" the standard oil cooler depth for our cars? Will Setrab know which fittings I need?

On the previous thread Rocket mentioned the need to mount the cooler with a bit of air escape space behind it. How much space?

Ya'll rule. Thanks.

Nice pic Club Sport.

Doug

As much space as possible!! your valance will dictate where your put it, just get it flush w/ the face of the valance

Miguel Antonett · 10-13-2008, 06:35 AM

Here is my set-up, a Setrab behind the OEM modified valance. About 30* improvement with an inch between the cooler and tub.

dsiegel360 · 10-13-2008, 07:19 AM

Miguel, Great job! What size cooler?

Mike- my plx temp reader is near the oil breather. Thanks for the info. I may have more questions when I'm ready to order parts.

WERK I · WERK I's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by dsiegel360

Dave, I'm going to get the same valance as yours. Is 2" the standard oil cooler depth for our cars? Will Setrab know which fittings I need?

On the previous thread Rocket mentioned the need to mount the cooler with a bit of air escape space behind it. How much space?

Ya'll rule. Thanks.

Nice pic Club Sport.

Doug

Doug,
+1 on what rsrMike stated. 930Rocket also mentioned having sufficient air space behind the cooler so there is sufficient airflow through the cooler. The 930S front valence is nice, but the amount of space behind the cooler is marginal(1/2-1"). The problem is the chassis front cross member. Ideally, you could a cut a section out and create a channel which vents the air up over a modified front bonnet, but that's a lot of body work.

Have you considered a 934 like front valence? It appears the oil cooler is mounted a little lower which would improve air flow, plus you would have the added benefit of brake ducting if you decide to go that route. Maybe others that have this valence can chime in on its mounting location?
+1 on the routing of the oil lines. Make the path of the lines with as few bends as possible. See photo below on how Porsche minimized this.

rsrmike · 10-13-2008, 10:04 AM

Wow, that's a nice setup dave!
Was that a factory option on the slopnose?
I've worked on only a couple facory slopes and they all had 1 cooler in the right rear fender w/ a cheesy fan on the bottom??

WERK I · WERK I's Garage

In the early Special Wishes cars (pre-'87), the oil coolers were mounted behind the front valance. Nothing in the rear brake vents.

935TURBO · 10-13-2008, 10:41 AM

That's what I did on mine....with the stock "SE" version......

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/showthread.php?t=397345&highlight=935TURBO

A930Rocket · 10-13-2008, 11:10 AM

Have you checked the thermosts in the right rear wheel well to make sure its working properly? When the oil is up to temp or the car driven hard, are BOTH oil lines to the cooler hot? If only one is partially hot, then take a look at the thermostat. I had a faulty one I had to replace with these symptons.

Here's the set up on my front mount oil cooler.

dsiegel360 · 10-13-2008, 02:02 PM

Rocket- Seems that the thermostat is fine. Both lines get hot. Yet, I don't know if the fan works.
You had posted a pic of an oil temp gauge. Is the nearly invisible line between the 90* and 120* the 212*F?

Thanks for the pics gang.

Rocket- do you not run a fan on the fender cooler? If not, is it because you use this car only for track?
Dave- I wish I were skillful and bold enough to cut all that bodywork behind the cooler. Glad you posted the pic because I couldn't understand the description. You bring up important issues regarding airflow and the limitations of the RUF 930 S valance that I will consider. When running 3 coolers up front, should some or all be parallel?

Thanks,
Doug

WERK I · WERK I's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by dsiegel360

Dave- I wish I were skillful and bold enough to cut all that bodywork behind the cooler. Glad you posted the pic because I couldn't understand the description. You bring up important issues regarding airflow and the limitations of the RUF 930 S valance that I will consider. When running 3 coolers up front, should some or all be parallel?

Thanks,
Doug

Doug,
I would ditch the least effective of the two existing coolers and then mount the front and fender coolers in parallel.