oil coolers

[Sketchy]

ok people im doing a custom turbo install on my e30 323i BMW and i want to put a decent oil cooler in to offset any extra heat generated by the extra stress the engine will be under.

Theres a factory oil cooler on the 325i e30 but most wreckers want 200 bucks plus for a second hand one thats more than likely full of sludge and goop etc etc so i'd prefer to go new, but i dont want to spend heaps.

Lots of people talk about getting an universal adaptor to go over the filter mount and run lines from there but my problem is that i need one with about a thousand extra lines to provide for turbo oil feed and return, cooler feed and return as well as a remote oil filter mount. Does anyone know if such an adapter exsists and how much would it be with a cooler included or an i going to have to do some more custom funky stuff?

any and all info is appreciated

thanks in advance,

Phil

[Forg]

Stupid useless personal firewall stopped me from posting the message I typed & just lost it, but I'll try to summarise the essay that just went west ...

(*) The "universal adapter" should be able to sandwich beteen oil-filter & block. Often has thermal switch so oil is only cooled when it's hot; you don't want it staying cool at startup
(*) If the above is indeed a thermal switch, you can't run other lines off it because oil needs to go to filter & turbo at all times
(*) I wouldn't run the turbo oil-return line anywhere here, without checking with an expert - I'd be worried that there's not enough presure-differential across the filter, and what you've proposed would surely be feeding unfiltered oil to the turbo too. See if you can return the oil somewhere else, or even to the sump.
(*) The remote-filter adapter just replaces the filter at the block, then lines go to wherever you mount the filter itself. I'd take a line to the turbo from the output side of the filter; ie. tee-piece the line that returns from the filter to this adapter. Of course, check with others before doing this, but I personally believe it'd be better than running the turbo in parallel with the filter.


Does the above make sense? I can draw a little diagram of the turbo-conversion setup on my car, if that helps; dunno if it'd entirely be suitable for yours, of course. :)

[Jim]

Forg is pretty much spot on. I would like to add that an oil bypass cooler may be a better, chealer and easier idea. You dont need a cooler that needs to cope with such high pressure and you dont have to worry about pressure drops or differentials.

the oil pump bypass always allows oil to pass in order to regulate oil pressure (too much pressure blows seals). this is dumped from the oil pump straight back to the sump. you fit the oil cooler between the pump and where it drains back to the sump.

88 on corollas use a medium sized oil cooler which are as cheap as dirt, as do supras and early crowns. I would be inclined to grab one of these and use it as a bypass cooler. it means the oil in the sump is cooled, therefore the oil pump picks up cool oil instead of pumping hot oil thru a cooler.

not quite as efficient in the long run but a helluva lot easier and cheaper to set up.

[Sketchy]

yeah sorry guys i should have mentioned that the turbo return line will be run into the sump or at least low on the block.

what i had in mind was to run a remote filter adapter then into the oil cooler then into the turbo and back to the sump/block/whereever i can fit a large drain line for the cavitated oil.

IE. BLOCK>>>>>>REMOTE FILTER>>>>>>OIL COOLER>>>>>>>>TURBO>>>>>>>>BLOCK/SUMP

Is this a feasible setup or am i over looking possible pressure/drain problems with running the oil through a cooler before the turbo or even starving it of oil? the idea is to keep the oil as cool as possible to aid hot shut downs should they ever happen as well as extended track/mt nebo-glorious runs.

I am willing to admit i am a novice with this stuff but thats what you guys are for :D

[hungry6]

i got a setup which might be weird to some ppls , but it does a great job for me. i got a 3 rows part of an i/c with end tanks hanging of the bottom of my turbo return pipe before it goes back to the engine, as hot oils leaves the turbo it is cooled before getting return to the sump and pump throught out the entire engine. this has dramatically drop my oil temp and my oil is breaking down due to heat.

[ed]

secoh::

kinda new to this oil cooler stuff myself, and didnt realise there were two types.

ive actually got a chioce of bot as im using a turbo block in a NA application. i can use either a bypass configuration (as fitted on earlier na supras- i have the bits) or i can take the oil outlet and return pipes meant for the turbo, and redirect em to a cooler.

question is, which is better? am i going to lose too much oil pressure a running an outlet meant for a turbo to a cooler, or is the bypass cooler, whilst less effective, the simpler and more reliable option??

cheers
ed

[Jim]

Ed, for a race application you cant beat the effectieness of a full pressure oil cooler, but for street I prefer the bypass cooler, simply because I hate the idea of hot oil being squirted around at oil pump pressures from cracked or chafed through hoses or loose fittings which can occur on a road car. Also the bypass cooler is a heck of a lot easier to set up on the supra as it has all the fittings already, and you dont need a high pressure cooler for it.