Doco21

I plan on putting a lot of long distance miles on the car. Has anyone added an oil cooler to their cars? I did a search for oil+cooler but nothing obvious came up.

IAMJAVEDG

iTrader: (5)

Mishimoto makes a universal one!

mdsbrain

iTrader: (9)

I'm wondering how a oil cooler will help with long distances? wouldn't the oil stay at a consistent temp that way? Rather then the trans shifting up and down?

t0e

iTrader: (1)

what about a transmission cooler also....

Byprodrive

iTrader: (1)

That will most likely do more harm than good unless you will be cruising at high RPMs say 3500 or higher. Just switch to Mobil 1 oil & be done with it

Doco21

Thanks for the responses so far. The reason for the oil cooler is to maintain the cooler temperature. The normal cooling system of the car works really well for majority of the time. However, most cars are not meant for long term use of the engine for long stretches. Like driving a few hundred miles a day everyday.

An oil cooler, has a valve that doesn't open until the engine reaches a certain temperature. In that sense, you use the engine's cooling system most of the time. For long trips or under heavy loads for trucks, the valve opens up and helps cool the engine. (Yes, w/o the bypass valve, you'll destroy the engine since it will not warm up the engine appropriately.) Long term heat is bad for anything so the cooler helps in maintenance costs.

I am going to look into a transmission cooler but I won't be shifting too much on the long trips to justify it.

Byprodrive

iTrader: (1)

Cars are designed for driving indefinitely at highway speeds at operating temp which is about 200-210 degrees, lowering that temp can reduce gas mileage. In normal operation cold starts cause the most wear & turning of the engine before allowing it to fully warmup causes buildup of carbon, corrosion, & sludge.

A external oil cooler also reduces oil pressure, makes it more difficult to drain dirty oil & adds several leak opportunitys.
In summary NEVER add a cooler unless testing has shown a need for more cooling capacity. This applies to trans also not to mention voiding your warranty

Kurtz

iTrader: (1)

Where would you even add a tranny cooler? It's a sealed transmission

And as stated zero reason for added engine oil cooling for long highway drives

Doco21

Byprodrive. You are absolutely right on the temperature and pressure drop. I have only started looking into this and haven't had solid numbers to justify doing this mod for my future travels. However, on my older car after one of my runs, I used a fluke thermometer and found out it was running around 240~250. "optimal temperatures = 210-220". I asked around and installed the oil cooler with the bypass set at 220. Its set high enough that it won't "kick in" normally but if the temperature gets high enough it will. I've had two cars with only 100k die with engine problems and the one with it, is still going strong after 150k (all well outside warranty).

Kurtz, thanks, I totally forgot that the IS has a sealed transmission!

BTW, I love my car so much that I might just get a beater car for the long trips!

Feirax

iTrader: (1)

Dunno if this will make you feel any better, but I did 430 miles of continuous driving (highway) on a 90+ degree day and never had my temperature needle swing past its normal position.

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

Oil/air coolers don't work well on street cars. If you're really concerned about oil temps for long distance driving (but not high loads) you'd be wisest to install an oil/water "cooler." The advantage is, it heats the oil up faster when cold and uses the cooling system's relatively stable temperature and thermal control to pull out excess heat. This is precisely the same method used by Toyota in the MkIV Supra's oil cooler, and the same method Lexus uses for cooling/warming the transmission. There is no better way to stabilize oil temperatures.

http://www.crracing.com/custom_built...nal_heat.shtml

http://www.racerpartswholesale.com/c...eat_Exchangers

Doco21

Feirax, I've noticed that too but I've noticed that it isn't as precise on subtle temp. changes. It tends to move off, on, quickly to crack your block hot. Maybe its because when the cooling system fails, it really fails?

Thanks for the tip Lobuxracer. This looks like a better system. I might switch it out on my "commute" car and test it out.