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S550 Radiator ducting

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Alright voodoo cooling experts….(ahem @5.2 liters of democracy and @honeybadger) I think the time has come for additional preventative measures. Hood vents did me good for a long while but yesterday at Buttonwillow I hit 270 degrees indicated oil temp. Granted, it was 85, sunny, a calculated (not true) reading, and we were pushing it hard but 260+ is definitely uncomfortable territory.

Shane, what do I need to plumb a 960? I’ll duct it like yours (guess I need the cad for Send cut send too) but I am keeping the AC condenser for now. Kevin, am I being dumb not touching the water/rad system? That is totally OEM.
 
Alright voodoo cooling experts….(ahem @5.2 liters of democracy and @honeybadger) I think the time has come for additional preventative measures. Hood vents did me good for a long while but yesterday at Buttonwillow I hit 270 degrees indicated oil temp. Granted, it was 85, sunny, a calculated (not true) reading, and we were pushing it hard but 260+ is definitely uncomfortable territory.

Shane, what do I need to plumb a 960? I’ll duct it like yours (guess I need the cad for Send cut send too) but I am keeping the AC condenser for now. Kevin, am I being dumb not touching the water/rad system? That is totally OEM.
Not those guys, but what was CHT?
 
Don't have the before and after but have some data post upgrade.
960 cooler infront of AC condensor and radiator. Radiator is triple pass thicker core.
Oil Temp OUT is picked up on inlet of Improved Racing Themostat/Filter housing. Oil RETURN is on return line from cooler. 212F/100C thermostat
View attachment 106682
Road drive one night. Air temp is a sensor in front of the cooler to get an idea of air start temp. Probably should have put one behind radiator as well in hind sight.View attachment 106680
Track session on a cold day.View attachment 106681
Same session with just oil temps and pressure.
Fair amount of time wide open.View attachment 106683
Shroud setup for cooler, rest stockView attachment 106684

Just started logging for that very reason. Wanted to find out what was happening and what actually works to improve it.

Ahhh. this is some GREAT data. thank you for sharing. I suspected putting coolers in front of the rad would affect efficiency and I think your data shows a lot of credibility to that. If im reading your charts right, you're under 10 degree difference between inlet and outlet. that's gotta' be pretty inefficient. I'm curious to see what I am measuring after adding more sensors. I'm planning on doing the same - measuring at inlet and outlet.

Would be super cool to try testing the oil cooler behind the rad too

Alright voodoo cooling experts….(ahem @5.2 liters of democracy and @honeybadger) I think the time has come for additional preventative measures. Hood vents did me good for a long while but yesterday at Buttonwillow I hit 270 degrees indicated oil temp. Granted, it was 85, sunny, a calculated (not true) reading, and we were pushing it hard but 260+ is definitely uncomfortable territory.

Shane, what do I need to plumb a 960? I’ll duct it like yours (guess I need the cad for Send cut send too) but I am keeping the AC condenser for now. Kevin, am I being dumb not touching the water/rad system? That is totally OEM.

I'm actually not too uncomfortable with 260+ oil temps with a high quality oil. I've run Amsoil Dominator in my car for years - before the latest build, I regularly saw 260-280 temps and my oil analysis never showed issues in 3-5 hours of run time. More than that and it started to break down.I analyzed every oil change, so I am fairly confident in the results.

That said, being in the 215-240 range with oil temps is ideal based on my testing. Wont stress anything by over cooling the oil and not hot enough to cause issues.

Re: water cooling. I think before I give any advice with confidence, I'd want to know what cylinder head temps you're seeing and what your real water temps are. Ideally below 200 degrees water temps, CHTs below 230, etc. Water temp needs to be measured separately of course since the OEM CHT sensor isn't exposed to water.

All in all, I'd be more concerned about water than oil at your temps. if you start seeing 280+ peaks during a session, then I'd get worried.
 
Ahhh. this is some GREAT data. thank you for sharing. I suspected putting coolers in front of the rad would affect efficiency and I think your data shows a lot of credibility to that. If im reading your charts right, you're under 10 degree difference between inlet and outlet. that's gotta' be pretty inefficient. I'm curious to see what I am measuring after adding more sensors. I'm planning on doing the same - measuring at inlet and outlet.

Would be super cool to try testing the oil cooler behind the rad too



I'm actually not too uncomfortable with 260+ oil temps with a high quality oil. I've run Amsoil Dominator in my car for years - before the latest build, I regularly saw 260-280 temps and my oil analysis never showed issues in 3-5 hours of run time. More than that and it started to break down.I analyzed every oil change, so I am fairly confident in the results.

That said, being in the 215-240 range with oil temps is ideal based on my testing. Wont stress anything by over cooling the oil and not hot enough to cause issues.

Re: water cooling. I think before I give any advice with confidence, I'd want to know what cylinder head temps you're seeing and what your real water temps are. Ideally below 200 degrees water temps, CHTs below 230, etc. Water temp needs to be measured separately of course since the OEM CHT sensor isn't exposed to water.

All in all, I'd be more concerned about water than oil at your temps. if you start seeing 280+ peaks during a session, then I'd get worried.
You rock, as always.
 
@Voodoo Stoned my man! I was just thinking of you the other day. Hopefully I didn't will any temperature-based anxiety into existence!

I feel similarly to Kevin regarding the temperature. I'd be curious how much worse those temps would be though if it were 100 degree day at BW but I'd still bet it wouldn't hit 280. With that being said, I'm going to do a write up on everything I used for my ducting which of course will still include free access to the files. What I did just find out is SendCutSend changed their tolerances so now I have to revise said files otherwise there are bend errors. Once I resolve those I'll probably start a new post since I've had several request in the last few days. More to follow!
 
Ahhh. this is some GREAT data. thank you for sharing. I suspected putting coolers in front of the rad would affect efficiency and I think your data shows a lot of credibility to that. If im reading your charts right, you're under 10 degree difference between inlet and outlet. that's gotta' be pretty inefficient. I'm curious to see what I am measuring after adding more sensors. I'm planning on doing the same - measuring at inlet and outlet.

Would be super cool to try testing the oil cooler behind the rad too



I'm actually not too uncomfortable with 260+ oil temps with a high quality oil. I've run Amsoil Dominator in my car for years - before the latest build, I regularly saw 260-280 temps and my oil analysis never showed issues in 3-5 hours of run time. More than that and it started to break down.I analyzed every oil change, so I am fairly confident in the results.

That said, being in the 215-240 range with oil temps is ideal based on my testing. Wont stress anything by over cooling the oil and not hot enough to cause issues.

Re: water cooling. I think before I give any advice with confidence, I'd want to know what cylinder head temps you're seeing and what your real water temps are. Ideally below 200 degrees water temps, CHTs below 230, etc. Water temp needs to be measured separately of course since the OEM CHT sensor isn't exposed to water.

All in all, I'd be more concerned about water than oil at your temps. if you start seeing 280+ peaks during a session, then I'd get worried.

Short log when learning, cold oil from startup giving 20deg drop across the radiator. So yes as the heat load in front increases the efficiency dives.
WARMUP 154747.jpg
 
@Voodoo Stoned my man! I was just thinking of you the other day. Hopefully I didn't will any temperature-based anxiety into existence!

I feel similarly to Kevin regarding the temperature. I'd be curious how much worse those temps would be though if it were 100 degree day at BW but I'd still bet it wouldn't hit 280. With that being said, I'm going to do a write up on everything I used for my ducting which of course will still include free access to the files. What I did just find out is SendCutSend changed their tolerances so now I have to revise said files otherwise there are bend errors. Once I resolve those I'll probably start a new post since I've had several request in the last few days. More to follow!
You rock!
 
I wasn’t paying super close attention to CHT - the oil temp reading had me glued to it - but I don’t think I noticed CHTs were higher than 235.

IMO, the water temp is a bigger deal than the oil. Water temp moves around quite a bit around the track, but the mass of the head gives a fairly clean signal and, ultimately, the CHT is what the ECU uses for knock prevention. I'd try to get that down to 200-210*. In doing so, you'll pull heat out of the oil, too. Reducing water temp will significantly influence oil temp, but reducing oil temp will have a smaller effect on water. Oil just can't transfer heat as fast as water.

It was pretty warm on Sunday. I was east of LA, not north, but it got a little miserable mid-day. If you can cool it in those conditions, you can cool it in about any.

If you're on track and have no other way of cooling, then at the end of the straight, lift and coast for 1 brake marker. Zero throttle and just coast. You'll find you can brake a little later. It takes temp out of everything, engine, tires & brakes. It's often a 1/2 tick faster if you're not on stickers.
 
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I would like the relocate the coolant expansion tank to help the airflow from the back of the radiator to the hood vents. Can’t find any decent online though
Have you spoken with @AJ Hartman about this. He has a kit for the S550. It might work or need a small tweak to fit yours.
 
Have you spoken with @AJ Hartman about this. He has a kit for the S550. It might work or need a small tweak to fit yours.
I have, he said the brackets won’t fit the s197. Didnt mention anything about the coolant plumbing/routing.
I don’t know if the s197 and the s550 use a similar coolant setup.
I’ve found a decent battery relocation kit which frees up the space needed
 
5.2 liters of democracy, Could you please send me the CAD file for the radiator shroud, I have oil cooler but I can make your design work, Looks great...
I tried to PM you but I guess I am NewBe and would not let me. Could you please PM me and I will reply, Thanks
 
run a radiator with quite a bit smaller surface area (but more depth) and my temps are crazy cool - like 180-200 head temps in max heat. I also dont run a fan shroud. Just a fan bolts on the back. I have to imagine running the big oil cooler with 280* oil in front of the radiator is killing efficiency.
Two quick questions.

(1) What is this radiator with a smaller surface area but more depth that keeps your car's CHT so ridiculously low on track in max heat? Does it drop right in, or did it require some fabrication?

(2) Do you run an oil cooler at all?
 

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