OK, let's talk oil coolers

[socal pat]

If you have a FFSC kit you know that the intake side of the engine bay is...uh, kinda full. So that brings me to the other side. I have the foglights and am happy to get rid of them. So if I use that hole to duct in some air on an oil cooler mounted forward of and below the header am I going to have any problems with flow because of the distance or position? What thinks y'all? TIA

[raceskier]

Pat,

I've added an oil cooler to my Coldside. Knowing that it was never going to sprout an intercooler of any kind (on mine anyway), I decided to put my oil cooler in the COOLEST possible air, in front of the radiator. Yes it blocks off a little of the radiator, maybe 5% of the area. I've also added the 37mm Koyo, so I think I have some margin there. The idea of trying to pipe air into an area already being fed with a lot of hot air off the radiator, just struck me as being a bit inefficient. One of my summer projects will be to add aftermarket oil and coolant temp gauges. I'll post temps when I get them in.

[Tom @ Fast Forward]

Mine is mounted behind the left fog lamp hole. The oil filter is mounted on the passenger fender area behind the headlight. It has been there since my hotside days. Seems to work OK. It is the JR kit. It has long hoses and I consider that just more storage space for more oil. The more oil, the better.

[liddown]

Not mine but here is one example....

http://miata.cardomain.com/ride/123091/12

[socal pat]

Thanks for the replies. I had seen Daz's and though I bow to his inginuity I was thinking of just a standard relocation kit like one of the Moss kits with longer hoses. So I guess the issue of pumping the oil the added distance is no big deal. 8) Ok, off to figure out how to spend even more money :shock:

[raceskier]

Pat,

I had looked at the Moss as well, before rolling my own cooler install. One thing to keep in mind in positioning the cooler and hoses is to orient both such that it is easy to drain all of the oil when you do an oil change. The pics of the Moss setup show the ports on the cooler pointed up, with the hoses going even higher than that. Makes getting all of the old oil out impossible without pulling the cooler.

[ThomS]

Guys is it important to have an oil cool if you live in the east, ( OHio )
Will be ordering the supercharger kit this week.
I have 02SE Miata. All stock except for dual exhaust.

[Tom @ Fast Forward]

Everything you do to cool the engine is an asset. Stock cooling is marginal and when you boost, you add more heat into the water and oil. Oil is the primary coolant for the engine as it sees the hotest parts first. Not mandatory but a nice addition as is a better radiator. Especially if you intend to track the car.

[Dr Evol]

My new 36mm Koyo goes in as soon as my new condensor gets here. The old condensor was trashed. It was almost completely filled with tiny rocks, they reminded me of crushed coral. I don't think much air was making it to the stock radiator. Although I have had no cooling issues, the temp has been below 75 since the install.

I will wait to see if I need the oil cooler. A few track days in the 80's will be a good test.