Anyone running a oil temp guage on their 1J? Just curious how well the stock setup cools or whether an oil cooler is worth the investment. Dont mind spending the extra, but only if there is a noticeable improvement.
Oil Cooler Needed?
- Thread starter csnow
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chris, honestly i think the stock cooler is fine for 90% of hte people on this board.. if you going to track your (road track) for any length of time I would consider it as the temp I'm sure will start to climb... but again I dont have a temp gauge..
Agreed unless you go to the track the cooler helps. You can run a oil filter relo kit, heard it helps cool the oil a bit as it needs to travel through the hose, filter and back to the engine not to mention it will be a LOT easier to remove the oil filter.
i think it was jdub, He has some suspicion about the 1J not having an oil cooler and the wear issues or braking issues with the CT12A's. I personally think he might be on to something there. I am not sure why the 1J doe snot have an oil cooler stock like the 7M but it would be a good thing if it did, i would imagine.
the 1jz/2jz have an 'oil cooler' sort of.. the coolant runs through the oil at the filter to 'cool' it when it goes over like 200*f it helps for the most part.. If your not constinatly beating on the car or tracking it, it should be plently to 'cool' the oil..
I ran an oil temp gauge with and without an oil cooler. I do autocross and it was worth it. Daily driving the oil temps stayed 5 to 10 degrees cooler (celsius) with the cooler vs. without it.
Honestly, this is one thing where i wouldnt cheap out on. Except for the fact that most oil aftermarket oil coolers are alike. I would search on summit racing and find one. For a whole kit (you may have to make custom lines) it should only be around $100. I would say anywhere over 350hp i would upgrade. Engine temps will sustain much abuse, and be in fact, more reliable. Just my 2cents
That's not true (the $100 part I mean). I had a setrab 25 row with -10 steel braided lines/AN fittings and it cost around $400 ~ $500 (oil relo + oil cooler + -10 lines + 4 AN fittings)
You can also get great coolers, AN fittings, and hose of all kinds at McMaster-Carr. They just wont come with a cool brand name sticker on them.
Using a cooler on a turbo motor is just good practice IMO. The turbine housing transfers a huge amount of heat directly to the center section...the oil running through not only lubes, but cools the turbine bearings. No cooler and the hot oil goes back into the pan. Hard driving is not the only problem...extended driving is too. It just takes a bit longer for the heat to build up...on hot summer days there is less ability to get rid of the heat, especially with no cooler.
Keep in mind the engine is designed to run with oil at 100 deg C (210 deg F) ...not more, not less. You want the oil to get to ops temp as quickly as possible to provide the flow to the bearings at the desired viscosity (10-11 cst). Below this temp, oil is thicker and does not flow as well. Above this temp, oil thins out even more and does not provide the film thickness designed for the hydrodynamic region the bearings operate. Oil needs to be at the "correct" temperature for the motor.
A full flow cooler set-up controlling flow to the cooler provides the best solution to this problem. A thermostat set at 190 deg F will direct oil flow back to the motor below that temp to get it to 210 deg F faster. At 190 deg F the thermostat directs oil to the cooler, allowing it to get "ahead" of the heat. The thermostat opens/closes to keep the oil at optimum temperature.
Excessive oil temps could well be a contributing factor to the turbo failures seen in the 1J. I can't prove it, but it is a suspicion I have. I do know that main/rod bearing do not like excessive oil temps. A common solution is to run thick oil thinking that it will thin out less at higher temps...to a certain degree this is true and it will hold higher viscosity above 100 deg C. But you are shooting yourself in the foot...the time it takes that heavier oil to heat up/thin out is time your motor is running with reduced oil flow. The oil is too thick to flow at the rate the bearings were designed for. The majority of the wear to the bearings will be in that 1st half hour getting the oil to ops temp. Then to meet the design viscosity for the bearings with the thicker oil, you will have to exceed the design temp of the engine. This is not good for the motor.
Keep in mind the engine is designed to run with oil at 100 deg C (210 deg F) ...not more, not less. You want the oil to get to ops temp as quickly as possible to provide the flow to the bearings at the desired viscosity (10-11 cst). Below this temp, oil is thicker and does not flow as well. Above this temp, oil thins out even more and does not provide the film thickness designed for the hydrodynamic region the bearings operate. Oil needs to be at the "correct" temperature for the motor.
A full flow cooler set-up controlling flow to the cooler provides the best solution to this problem. A thermostat set at 190 deg F will direct oil flow back to the motor below that temp to get it to 210 deg F faster. At 190 deg F the thermostat directs oil to the cooler, allowing it to get "ahead" of the heat. The thermostat opens/closes to keep the oil at optimum temperature.
Excessive oil temps could well be a contributing factor to the turbo failures seen in the 1J. I can't prove it, but it is a suspicion I have. I do know that main/rod bearing do not like excessive oil temps. A common solution is to run thick oil thinking that it will thin out less at higher temps...to a certain degree this is true and it will hold higher viscosity above 100 deg C. But you are shooting yourself in the foot...the time it takes that heavier oil to heat up/thin out is time your motor is running with reduced oil flow. The oil is too thick to flow at the rate the bearings were designed for. The majority of the wear to the bearings will be in that 1st half hour getting the oil to ops temp. Then to meet the design viscosity for the bearings with the thicker oil, you will have to exceed the design temp of the engine. This is not good for the motor.
I kept the stock oil cooler and put a sandwich adapter where the oil filter goes, then the sandwich adapter only opens up to the oil cooler when the temps is above 220 deg. F. So if the stock system cant take it, the cooler will. I think my setup is bad ass and only cost me $200 from Summitt Racing and cools better than those Greddy billion core oil cooler costing so much money. Besides, I wanted the oil cooler because I'm running a non-ball bearing single turbo that does not water cool.
once again, check summit racing. If they work great for a v8, they will work for any smaller motor.
Van Diesel said:
that's where I got all the lines/fittings. The oil relo kit was an egay special for about $80 + shipping. The oil cooler was from an rx7 project that I didn't need anymore...think my 25 row as $200 (paid more than I should have), but a good 25 row oil cooler with -10 AN fittings will still cost more than $150. You could possibly cut lots of the costs down by simply using regular rubber oil lines and barbed fittings/hose clamps instead of AN fittings. The most expensive part will always be the oil cooler.
I did track with my stock 1jz last year and i overheated after 5-10 min. This year, i put a oil cooler and a koyo rad.