[pwildfire]

Hi guys,

Just wanted to show y'all what I did to eliminate any oil line concerns. I pulled the stock cooler, and it looked like a decent quality piece and about the right size, so I just made a mounting bracket and new lines and moved it to the passenger side engine bay air intake. I was able to place it so that it only blocks air flowing over the fender liner, so I am guessing that it will actually improve airflow over the engine as well. Note that the foam on the cooler seals against the clam and the fender liner.

All I needed was a simple bracket (made myself), the stock cooler, about 6' of 5/8 push-lok line, and 4x 90* 5/8BSp push-lok fittings. Total cost to me was around $100 (fittings were expensive).

I did not have to pull either clam, in the rear I was able to do everything from the bottom and by pulling the fender liner. I had to pull most of the mounting bolts for the front clam to get the old cooler and lines out, but since one of the bolts is frozen on my car I didn't pull the rest and was able to squeeze the cooler out. If you wanted to trim the fiberglass bracket that holds the cooler in place you could take it right out without pulling anything, but I want to be able to put my car back to stock someday if I want, so I did it the hard way.

Sorry for the crappy pictures, but hopefully you can get the idea. I can post more if anyone wants.

 

[+TSRAGR]

Old post, but I'm thinking of doing the same. Pat, how has this setup done so far? Any oil temp data from OBD2?

 

[Lotusmotion]

Nice adaptation of the OEM cooler. :up:

I went to the same oil cooler configuration (prompted by the oil line recall) but took a slightly different route by installing an aftermarket cooler that had more compact packaging (correctly sized for my car's h.p.) and dedicated ducting that includes an air duct mounted inside the side scoop that routes air via a 3 inch hose to a Mocal shroud on the oil cooler.

Per my oil temp gauge and over two years of use, in town the car runs around the same as the engine coolant temperature (185 to 195 depending on weather and ambient temp) and when hammered long and hard (track) it runs about 220 to 225 (or 20+ above coolant). I have a 190 degree thermo switch mounted on the inlet side of the cooler in case I want to mount a SPAL fan for better air flow at low speeds, but oil temps are just fine without it.

Now, both front clam oil cooler bays are vacant, so I am trying to figure out the most elegant way to block them to reduce aero drag (considering carbon fiber blocking panels).

 

[sturgeongeneral]

BOE has a nice rear relocation kit they sell.

 

[oldmansan]

Now, both front clam oil cooler bays are vacant, so I am trying to figure out the most elegant way to block them to reduce aero drag (considering carbon fiber blocking panels).

Wouldn't the panels just increase aero drag?

San

 

[cyow5]

Wouldn't the panels just increase aero drag?



San

Probably not since the oil cooler inlets vent inside the wheel arches. Reducing the air going in there is a good move.


Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App

 

[Exiged]

I was thinking CF panels as well. Should be able to glue them straight to the mesh

 

[Lotusmotion]

The inlet templates have been made and CF stock ordered! Blocking the inlets from the outside is the quickest and easiest solution.

What I'd really like to do to reduce drag as much as possible is create a CF panel that covers each entire inlet area and sits flush with the clam...the Australian V8 SuperCar Mercedes Benz has this set-up...but the Exige front clam has a lot of complex shapes in the front corners that spell "brain-damage" to me.

 

[oldmansan]

The inlet templates have been made and CF stock ordered! Blocking the inlets from the outside is the quickest and easiest solution.

What I'd really like to do to reduce drag as much as possible is create a CF panel that covers each entire inlet area and sits flush with the clam...the Australian V8 SuperCar Mercedes Benz has this set-up...but the Exige front clam has a lot of complex shapes in the front corners that spell "brain-damage" to me.

I'm sure Gabe (GB Composites) could make panels if enough people are interested.

San

 

[Lotusmotion]

Any mass produced CF goodie will require trimming for proper fitment. There is enough variation between the two inlets (and the surrounding areas) on my car to not make either inlet cover sides (or flush clam panel) interchangeable for best fit. They are very close in terms of symmetry, but the curvatures differ enough to leave gaps or be too tight depending on which template I use on a universal basis. Hence two templates.

For me, it is just easier to start with CF flat stock, trim to the templates and finish with customized fit for each side for the inlet covers.:up:

As for mass produced flush clam panels, they'd have to have some excess material for trimming to fit.

 

[+TSRAGR]

BOE has a nice rear relocation kit they sell.

Phil stopped selling the kit at some point and all previous links to it (on his site) were removed. Not sure what the reason was.

 

[pwildfire]

I have been waiting to do a really hot track day to update this, but I bought a dedicated race car, so I'm not sure when that will happen.

That said, so far this setup has been working great for me. I have been driving the car a little bit on the street in the 105+ temperatures we are having here and have not had any issues. I have also done several track days since this modification with no issues there either, although the hottest one was about 85F.

 

[ExigeTT]

Something doesn't stack-up

Hi pwildfire & lotus motion

Situation: I've followed your lead and in things like the BOE build, noting the huge horsepower on many cars with the cooler to the rear, and in response I rear-mounted a 13-row Mocal oil cooler on my NA Exige (13-row chosen as I am running NA) in the rear right of engine bay behind the scoop. I have not fabricated shrouding, as have not seen BOE cars running any in pics.

Problem: I am now seeing 140C (280F) oil temps logged on my Innovate Motorsports gauge after only three laps on ambient 25C (77F) air temp, and only 2 laps at 30C (86F), very common ambient temps here in Australia. A hot day will see 95F-104F ambient. The front coolers were working. For reference I am on the limit on this car[/URL]; winning most events I enter against boosted cars.

Question: It seems that many people do this mod in USA on boosted cars without problems (many BOE cars), but in your experience does this sound correct? If I ran a 19-row would this help? Would ducting help? I want to spend my money on Penske's from BWR, and eventually a BOE TVS, not screwing around experimenting with ducting that might not help. Should I just revert to twins at front?

Could my thermostat be non-operational? I've tested with an infra-red gun and the Mocal is at 280F also...so at least some oil is getting to it.

Reference - the thing is driven hard:

https://youtu.be/EVcKEh76xak

 

[jds62f]

If the front coolers were working, why is it that you changed something and now suspect that something NOT changed (tstat) may be to blame? Seems far more likely that your implementation is incorrect. Also, it doesn't appear there is track data supporting what was talked about here so it may be possible your specific scenario doesn't work for your specific implementation.

 

[Glen]

@ExigeTT - Did you create vents in the fender liner to allow hot air to escape behind the cooler?

Glen

 

[Lotusmotion]

My 13-row rear cooler ('06 N/A Exige) is placed in a Mocal shroud that is fed by 3-inch hose running from a NACA duct that is tucked inside the passenger side scoop. The shroud vents upward toward the rear hatch. Oil temps stay in the range of 220-235ish F when on track.

The BOE set up seems to work just fine for those using it (did not try it myself). Though, I wanted a more controlled route for inlet and outlet so I did some R&D and cooked up my own solution (see pics in post #3 and repeated in next post). All bits were sourced from SummitRacing.

 

[Lotusmotion]

Photos of shroud set up. The Mocal shroud attaches to the cooler brackets with zip ties to allow for quick access to the A/C ports in case recharging service is needed.

I blocked both front oil cooler inlets with carbon fiber panels that I cut from 1/32 inch flat stock sourced from dragonplate.

 

[ExigeTT]

Thanks LotusMotion. Did you remove mesh on the RH side scoop, or are you getting flow with it still in place?

I made some cardboard/race tape shrouding to the RH scoop to test if it improved situation but to no avail.

I also tried running without the scoop installed. No impact.

My cooler is mounted vertical in front of wheel arch but no venting in wheel arch.

 

[Lotusmotion]

Thanks LotusMotion. Did you remove mesh on the RH side scoop, or are you getting flow with it still in place?

I made some cardboard/race tape shrouding to the RH scoop to test if it improved situation but to no avail.

I also tried running without the scoop installed. No impact.

My cooler is mounted vertical in front of wheel arch but no venting in wheel arch.

No, I did not remove the mesh on the scoop. Air seems to flow just fine. Oil temp remains fairly stable and when it rises and falls it happens predictably. I have planned to do a yarn test with a GoPro watching the oil cooler exhaust air but haven't made it a priority since the situation is under control.

Originally, I had the oil cooler mounted in the same position but without a shroud, air hose and scoop for a dedicated and controlled air path. I had fabricated an air deflector (using ABS plastic and a heat gun) to kick air up toward the oil cooler. It was fine most of the time, but oil temp would climb in slow traffic in town and spike when at WOT for sustained time.

For those reasons I started tinkering with improving and controlling the air flow so that it would improve in traffic and on track. The scoop & shroud set up does collect air quite well at slower speeds (such as when crawling around Los Angeles in traffic) and provides more stable peak oil temps when hammering it. The scoop & shroud set up seems to have a maximum air flow capacity that peaks around 65 mph...based on my observation and no data collection.

For a cooler mounted at a slant in front of the fender liner (such as BOE), I think having an air exit route would make a difference in terms of improving air flow for cooling benefits.