I am experiencing oil temp problems in my car when I push it HARD. The water temp will run at 200 no matter what but the oil temp will continue to climb. I intended to install an external oil cooler this summer to solve the problem but after some research I am now considering an oil to water heat exchanger. Both PWR and Ron Davis feel that the heat exchanger is more effective than a standard oil cooler but Fluidyne doesn't agree . I am considering giving the exchanger a try but am curious if anyone else has ever tried one. Any input would be appreciated.

I have had them on circle track cars.. they definitely help.. How hot is the oil getting? You will be surprised hot hot it can get and still be good.. In my Super late model I would bury the gauge on long runs. Was never a problem, you just have to make sure you change it regularly.

on a side note. I bet the majority of people on the board, especially turbo motors are running some extreme oil temps, just don't have a gauge so they don't worry about it..

OK.. forget about what I said... I made some calls for you.. I forgot we took the exchangers off and went straight to an oil cooler. A heat exchanger does just that, it exchanges heat.. So if you have 200 water and 280 oil, there is a good chance you will have 240 of each with an exchanger.. You are much better with an oil cooler. If need be, you can put a small fan and knock a lot of temp out of the oil...

That is my exact situation 190 to 200 water and 280 to 290 oil. My concern is exactly what you mentioned, driving up the water temp. PWR and Ron Davis both claim that you flow 10 times the volume of water than oil and it would only raise the water 2 to 5 deg. I am just a little woried about that concept.

well, like I said, we took them off the racecars.. I forgot we had done that.. I would much rather the oil get hot than the water. Like I said. I have buried the oil guage all the way back around to zero and didn't hurt a thing. You get hot on the water you will hurt the motor.. and really 280 isn't that bad imho..

we run a cooler with a fan seems to work good for our ls2 the fan comes on when the rad fans do
you can see it where the limit strap ties into the frame

Heat exchangers are more efficient and consistent. But you need to have the coolant system to handle the additional load.

Keep in mind you can regulate the temp that an electric fan comes on and of at.


Blake

In your experience how much of an increase did you experience in water temp?

I'm taking my car in next week to add an oil cooler. Do you think having a oil cooler will help keep water temps down?

yea it will surf and dune how much that is the ? i would think you could bring down the water temp by 10 degrees or so but i am no expert

Cool, thats what I'm looking for. My water temp starts to creep up if I'm on a long fast run and its warm out.

yea as anyone's does ours will too if you have a oil temp gauge it will really tell you if your motor is getting hot at least our does we run our oil temp at like 230 if i remember right it could be off not sure and when it hits like 260 its getting hot so we back down

number could be off

unless your oil cooler cools your oil to temps lower then the water your water temp will proly still be dictated by the thermostat, radiator, fans, ambient temp, etc...look into a radiator style oil cooler and add a fan if oil temps are silly

MOst likely adding an oil cooler will add to the engines water temperature, oil temps run hotter than engine coolant temperatures. The heat exchangers they are talking about is a liquid (water) running into a seperate radiator with oil running through the core of the cooler. The temperature of the oil being higher, heats the water temperature via heat transfer, so the elevated engine coolant temperature is then cooled by the fan system on the engine. IF YOU ARE RUNNING HOT NOW, THIS WILL MOST LIKELY MAKE MATTERS WORSE.

Wouldn't cooler oil temps help your radiator keep up though?

The volume of oil moving through the exchanger is not near as much as the volume of water. The transfer of heat from oil to water won't even be noticed as long as you have the right size radiator.

cooler oil could help your water not get hot as quick, if the water wasn't doing the cooling. with the water doing the oil cooling it's heating up the water as it cools the oil. i would cool it sepratly from the water
long story longer. if you have cooling problems with h2o and oil. cooling you oil with water will compound your water cooling issues. if you cool with water one of the two is gonna stay hot.. great i just confused myself

yea but if he goes with a cooler like a radiator from oil to air cooling with a fan his water temps will drop too yea its not as effective but 20-30 degrees is alot

Thats what I'm hoping.

for sure.. run a radiator style oil cooler with a fan

What engine do you have??
The heat exchanger will only raise the Water temp 10 degrees but it will cool the oil significantly.
Your water temp can run at 220-230 all day long and the engine will acutally run more efficient and probably make more power. Its a fine line but engines do not like to run cold.

Run it you wont have any issues. I probably know of one for sale also if youre interested.

good thread, and some good posts,

Liquid to liquid coolers are very efficient. it also acts as an extra "resevoir" with a proper sized radiator, engine and tranny temps can continue to climb under severe duty. having a liquid to liquid cooler works to "maintain and stabilize" oil tempatures in these brief conditions. If you have high oil temps and your cooling system is working fine (fans cycling on and off) then you could add the liquid oil cooler without any issues, if the fans are continnually on and oil temps are high you should be considering only a liquid to air heat exchanger with a dedicated fan.

I've got a LS7 with a few extra goodies, but run pump gas. 600hp or so. I know people say they run fine at the temps you suggest. I'm just not sure why the fans come on at 185 if it should be run at 220. I am running a wet sump so I figured I'm not cooling the oil like I should. (These motors come with a dry sump)
95% of the time I run about 200, the other 5% when I'm on extended high speed runs the temps start to get about 215-220 so I back off slightly. Anyway cooler oil can't hurt.

cooler oil will rob hp but it will not break down as fast so you don't have to change oil as much i would run one if you can its not going to hurt anything and your motor may thank you down the line i know the ls7 are a pretty penny too $$$$

Your fans come on at 185 because thats what your tuner set them at.
Factory fans on any LS based engine come on at 228-232 and high speed will come on at 245

Run good oil and run at 210-220 and the engine will be happy.
Everybody thinks these new engines like to run like old small and big blocks.....They dont.

On a average ride I have no problem with water or oil temp but on a real hard ride ONLY the oil temp get hot. My car is very cramped on space and the heat exchanger would make instillation easy but I want to make sure that it is the right choice. If I use an oil to air cooler it is going to have to be a small one 9 1/2 by 11 and a 1 1/2 thick and I would be able to use a small fan. With the oil to air cooler having to be so small I am not sure how effective it would be?

Are you considering an oil to air cooler or an oil to water cooler?

This is what has been explained to by several people. I know of a few people that have an oil cooler built into the radiator tank with good sucess. A heat exchanger should be the same concept just remote mounted.

That is a good sized cooler, it will work just fine, especially with the fan

I considered both, but decided to go with the oil to air. I figured it would be the cheapest and easiest upgrade I could do. If I had it to do all over again, I would of had a bigger radiator with a built in heat exchanger. When I was building my car, I was getting a 500hp LS2. After it was all tabbed, I came across a smoking deal on my LS7. Long story short, I'm cooling another 100hp or so than originally anticipated.

Sorry, looked at my notes and it was a 7x11x1 1/2 that I was able to fit, It wouldn't be a radiator style but rather a standard cooler. Would you recomend this over the exchanger?

That still will do wonders, can you get a fan on it?, most places you would mount it won't get good airflow, this is a great option if radiator cooling is at it's max under severe driving, if you have zero radiator cooling issues then the liquid to liquid might package easier and requires no fan

Yes I could fit a fan. I don't have any radiator cooling issues at all and as you mentioned the heat exchanger would definately be easier to install. This is why I am researching them it would be a cleaner install I just want to make sure that it is going to do the trick.

i have a heat exchanger i will sell cheap. it is a fluidyne. i live in henderson, nv call me 702-595-6138