In light of oil cooler leaks...

[boro92]

Uh wow, 300f even with the cooler.
Ok our cars need oil coolers real bad, regardless!

Wintersucks - what is your trepidation around running an air to oil cooler? It's standard fare on many cars, and is the only way to go for proper oil cooling.
It looks like water to oil coolers is only used in street applications (to my knowledge). Any sort of properly setup car will have an air to oil cooler. I've never seen one fail, and ran one for many years on one of my past cars. IMO the likelyhood of a cooler failing is much less than the rad and all associated hoses failing.

 

[2012-Boss]

Take a look at these threads:

http://forums.themustangsource.com/f813/cool-tech-oil-cooler-now-available-503600/

http://forums.themustangsource.com/f813/track-temps-cool-tech-llc-update-498788/

http://forums.themustangsource.com/f813/frpp-boss-302-air-oil-cooler-now-available-504360/index2/

https://trackmustangsonline.com/index.php?topic=3175.msg51292#msg51292

Basically, Cool Tech tested one of the medium sized 9-series Setrab coolers and it did not do the job by itself. I can not find if it was a 920, 925, or 935. I just read the thread again this past weekend too....

Anyway, my impression of the Cool Tech write-up is that the 72 row 1-series is a maybe proposition without the oil to water cooler. It really comes down to the driver, OAT, and altitude.

I think that either the Setrab 660 or 948 are capable of doing the job alone, but will you get enough airflow when mounted?

I am thinking hard about an air to oil cooler myself and am debating if I can ditch the water to oil cooler in the process.

 

[WinterSucks]

boro, I guess I am just too cautious. I am warming up to the idea of a air to oil cooler, but I am not sure the track time I will get in the next few years is worth the investment. I think I can make the stock unit reliable. I like to troubleshoot.

 

[boro92]

Wow - thanks for those threads.

So what I gather from those posts are....that the stock water to oil cooler is highly effective once you put a good grille on. In fact, in those particular track sessions, the stock cooler + no grille was more effective than a water/oil cooler delete + air to oil cooler combo. That makes me think twice about removing this thing.

Do the 302S cars still retain the water/oil cooler? If they retain this - then it cannot be as big of a hazard as I think it is.
Now to revisit the other thread and see why the water/oil cooler is failing (wintersucks suspects swaybar)... I gotta take a closer peak at it from under my car.

 

[boro92]

Oh and I guess for those with only air/oil coolers - what kind of oil temps are you seeing at the track and what is your elevation?
Cooltech, who tested at MMP continued to see high oil temps even with their cooler (72 row!).

 

[cloud9]

Oh and I guess for those with only air/oil coolers - what kind of oil temps are you seeing at the track and what is your elevation?
Cooltech, who tested at MMP continued to see high oil temps even with their cooler (72 row!).

I have both coolers so not the exact example you're looking for, but my oil stays in the 230s peaking in the low 240s at ambient temps up to 100* at 2,000 ft above sea level.

 

[WinterSucks]

cloud9,
Do you have any other mods that are helping with cooling besides the oil coolers?

This is my list of things we can do (in order of less costly, IMO) to lower temps.
- Modify stock grille to improve airflow (free)
- straight water and wetter
- Larger coolant reservoir. I find all kinds of aftermarket billet "expansion tanks" but NO SPECS on how much they add over stock...seems pretty dumb to me..
- A/C delete (might improve airflow, less engine load)
- 302S grille
- 2013 Boss hood (should be able to buy cheap from owner who buys a Tiger hood)
- DIY air-oil cooler in addition to stock cooler.
- separate reservoir and small radiator for stock oil cooler
- FRPP air-oil cooler
- Cooltech air-oil cooler
- 302S/Tiger hood
- Just buy a 302S

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

cloud9,
Do you have any other mods that are helping with cooling besides the oil coolers?

This is my list of things we can do (in order of less costly, IMO) to lower temps.
- Modify stock grille to improve airflow (free)
- straight water and wetter
- Larger coolant reservoir. I find all kinds of aftermarket billet "expansion tanks" but NO SPECS on how much they add over stock...seems pretty dumb to me..
- A/C delete (might improve airflow, less engine load)
- 302S grille
- 2013 Boss hood (should be able to buy cheap from owner who buys a Tiger hood)
- DIY air-oil cooler in addition to stock cooler.
- separate reservoir and small radiator for stock oil cooler
- FRPP air-oil cooler
- Cooltech air-oil cooler
- 302S/Tiger hood
- Just buy a 302S

https://trackmustangsonline.com/index.php?topic=6673.0

 

[cloud9]

cloud9,
Do you have any other mods that are helping with cooling besides the oil coolers?

This is my list of things we can do (in order of less costly, IMO) to lower temps.
- Modify stock grille to improve airflow (free)
- straight water and wetter
- Larger coolant reservoir. I find all kinds of aftermarket billet "expansion tanks" but NO SPECS on how much they add over stock...seems pretty dumb to me..
- A/C delete (might improve airflow, less engine load)
- 302S grille
- 2013 Boss hood (should be able to buy cheap from owner who buys a Tiger hood)
- DIY air-oil cooler in addition to stock cooler.
- separate reservoir and small radiator for stock oil cooler
- FRPP air-oil cooler
- Cooltech air-oil cooler
- 302S/Tiger hood
- Just buy a 302S

I have a billet style grille, 302S radiator, 2013/14 GT500 fan and Tiger hood. In order (in addition to the FRPP air-to-oil cooler), the best bang for the buck is a much more open grille, the fan and the radiator. I have no evidence the hood helped my cooling but I'd buy it again for the looks and aero. I had Moroso aluminum expansion tanks on my GT500 and found no noticeable improvement in cooling. There's no doubt in my mind that removing the A/C condenser will greatly improve cooling since it sits directly in front of the entire radiator reducing air flow to it.