tomiboy

I run HPDEs with an 09 Z51, some bolt ons (done before I started tracking the car), Carbotech pads, Castrol SRF, SS brake lines, RE-11s in stock sizes. Pretty stock stuff. I am fast in the beginners group (just for a reference of how hard I push the car). I have done about 7 track days in my C6 and my Miata. I see oil temps around 280 on 75-80 degree days. Is this normal? Do I need to replace my cooler with a Z06 model or what?

Thanks!

Painrace

You are "OK" if you change oil often. However, as you go faster temps will climb. You need a cooler. My suggestion is a Ron Davis or Dewitts radiator with a built in oil cooler. You get more water cooling capacity and much better oil cooling and the oil heats up faster when cold.

Best of luck.

Jim

RaleighSS

Lots of post on this topic and there are 2 options. As listed above go with the rad and oil cooler combo. Or add an external oil cooler. I went that path with my c5 z and have not had any issues. guess it is a preference as both do a good job of keeping oil cooler then the stock unit. One thing everyone will say agree on is the need for an additional / aftermarket oil cooler on a car that is tracked often.

I used this kit quality is great but price has gone up since I did it 6 years ago
http://www.tpis.com/parts/view/234

stevensa

cruzin2

Like many things, many of us have different thresholds. I run my car until it hits 270 oil temp and then take a few cool down laps. I have run allot of laps and only seen this temp once with an ambient of 95 and was pushing the car pretty hard. I have an 09 Z.

Canam

You can buy oil coolers with their own fans also that operate on a switch. They work well keeping the temps down while idling in the pits, paddock, and hot pit waiting to go on track and the cars not moving. That translates to longer life on the track.

taken19

When I went from stock Z51 radiator (integrated radiator, oil and tranny cooler) to an external Z06 cooler, I dropped about 15-20 F on the track. You can find a cooler on the forum for under $400 and it's a good intermediate step in both cooling ability and cost. Other options are mentioned above, but Dirty Howie has had good luck with the Finspeed cooler- it's a direct replacement for the Z06 cooler and he posted that he got 15-20 F lower temps over the stock Z06 cooler. They run about $600 but you would be able to sell the Z06 one for $250-300 to recover costs.

One more option for you.

Canam

The cooler I use is a Derale and you can get it at Summit
PN DER-15820. You can also mount in anywhere so your not blocking part of your rad. Remote switch and you can turn it on and off at will.

Werks

Jim's probably just about the most experienced racer on here and knows his stuff. I'm running a Ron Davis unit and I think that the highest temp that I was seeing last time out was in the low 260's on a 90+ day with high humidity at the tail end of a 30 minute session.

tomiboy

Thanks for all the advice!

thatonedude1

I also have the 09 Z51 and push hard (for a novice) on stock tires and was seeing high 270's after about 20 min, at which time I backed off a lap. I was thinking the Z06 cooler, but if you're going to keep tracking, take the advice of painrace and werks and do it right the 1st time with the Dewitts radiator route w/built in oil cooler. As Jim stated, that way, the water heats the oil when the car is warming so the car won't take 10-15 minutes to get oil temps up. And on the track, you probably have a 30-40 degree advantage over stock, which is all you need. I myself started running 5-40 Mobil 1 for track days, as it maintains a slight but significant viscosity increase at very high temps. I believe when I checked, the 5-40 oil at 270 degrees, had the same viscosity as 5-30 at about 250 degrees.

argonaut

Just to be clear, for anyone who is considering an EOC, whether built in or not, the car will run cold on the street unless you have a thermostat in the oil lines. I have a DeWitts with built in EOC and do not have any thermostat. On the street, even in warmish weather, the temp stays around 170 at highway speeds and only a little warmer around town. I've even covered the EOC portion with cardboard and it doesn't help much. This produces a ton of condensation in my catch can. For anyone who uses their car on the street and is considering getting an EOC I recommend you think about installing a thermostat along with it.

kingfish

Like you, I have stock motor 09 with Z51. Last Aug. oil hit 295, h2o hit 230s. 1st I added a Z06 cooler which lowered oil temp 10 degrees but increased warm up times 10 min. Then I added DeWitts radiator with trans cooler but no IOC. Last week at Barbers long last session with Chin {ambiant 90} oil hit 284 h2o hit 218. I am running a little harder than last year but still have only lowered temps a small amount. Also using h2o wetter and cleaning condensor and rad externally each event. I have total 25 track days and in intermediate group with Chin. Wish I had started with better oil cooler than Z06.

moespeeds

The oil you run can also have an effect. I switched from M1 15-50 to M1 0-40 and it looks like I've got a 10-15 deg drop in avg temps. I was able to get the 15-50 as hot as 270 with an average around 250 when running hard on an 85 deg day. This past weekend with the 0-40 I couldn't get it past 240 despite running faster times, and pressures looked to be similar. I keep a detailed log with driving conditions, temps, pressures, etc for each event.

thatonedude1

Argonaut, I wonder if you're running a 160 deg stat, and if now that you have the dewits you should swith to a 180 deg or so to get the oil hotter. I'm thinking the cold radiator is overcooling the oil. Obviously a thermostat bypass would help as you mention. And if your getting water in the catch can, that confirms it.

Kingfish, I have heard similar about the Z06 cooler only lowering temps a bit, but I heard more like 20-25 deg. It's a much bigger cooler, so that would imply that airflow is not that great over the cooler.

Moespeeds, that is very interesting. I'm thinking that the lower viscosity oil has better convection coefficient, and therefore better heat transfer. And the lower temps helps keep oil pressure up.

mesospeedy

Not to hijack, but I have a quick question on this topic. My'11 GS has the stock front mount oil cooler (apparently the GS didn't get the new style heat exchanger like the ZR1) and my oil takes forever to get warm on thw street. It rarely gets above 160° and that takes time, even in 85° heat. Can a thermostat be added to the stock lines/cooler setup?

fred_S

I have a 05 Z51 with DeWitts radiator with TOC and EOC. Just did a track weekend on the Zolder track, the temps never went above 239. Last year with the OEM radiator and similar conditions the temps went as high as 285.

Fred

froggy47

I would wrap the OC when needed to remove air flow. If you put a thermostat (restriction to flow) in you may not be happy with how it cools when you really need it.

RX-Ben

Earl's t-stat works fine and oil temps are still good.

The cooler temps with the thinner oil is what I would expect. I use 10w-30 with a big cooler and usually see 223F during a session.

mesospeedy

Thanks Froggy47, that sounds like a simple fix! I think I have some of that high temp foil tape left from a previous project, maybe a few strips of that across the cooler will do the trick.