bjmsam

Great info. Thank you! Here is what I have in my RPS shopping cart:

Plus $204 for EGM-112 (track) or $214 for EGM-113 (street) Low-Profile Oil Cooler Thermostat for LS Engines with -10AN fittings. Not cheap, but arguably how it should have been from the factory.

Thanks (I posted in that thread here). I will be replacing the stock lines.

ccryder

Great info, thanks!
I will likely go this route too.
Please post up your results and install pics & tips.

Whis9

Subscribed

Josh B.

Thanks for sharing the progress and the part numbers. I bought a EGM-113 and plan on doing the same project, replacing factory lines with -10AN. Are you planning on getting a heat barrier sleeve for the outside of the lines? My headers are close to the lines so that is the only way I will trust them to stay cool.

Unreal

I would goto a store and have metal lines bent/made.

I ran hoses like that, with heat shield, and wrap, and still didn't like how close they were to the headers. Seemed like only a matter of time until a hose burst or cooked through. I took it off because of that. Sooner or later I'll add an oil cooler back to the car but for now even in 115F weather oil temps get to 225-235 and just stay there so that is just about perfect. Only upside to a thermostat is they would get there a bit quicker.

Josh B.

Metal lines would be nice. I agree with the concern for the headers melting a hose, that is scary business. Thanks!

Unreal

Losing a motor would be bad. But that close to a header I see an engine fire, loss of control, or worse. I'm not putting rubber lines back there. I ran them for ~2 months and when i pulled them off, even covered in tons of heat shielding the lines were brittle and hard with cracks forming. No thanks.

JoesC5

This is a flow diagram of the LS7.



As you can see, the oil flows through the filter first and then through the oil cooler.

bjmsam

My EGM-113 thermostat was installed today. The mechanic ordered the fittings above but had to make some substitutions when fabricating the hard lines (sorry, I don't have specifics). On the street, oil temps now climb quickly (though not as quickly as with the ZR1 cooler) and fluctuate between 180°F and 200°F. On the circuit, the cooler will kick in at 212°F and keep temps under control (without adding to coolant temps as with the ZR1 cooler). This was not a cheap mod.

Finally took some photos in May 2017 after changing the oil:

MTPZ06

That's too bad...it really shouldn't be.

bjmsam

Improved Racing now offers a kit: 2005-2013 C6 Z06/Z51 Corvette Oil Thermostat Upgrade. Their graph was generated using data logged from the OBD PID, which reads significantly lower than the DIC (if anyone knows why, please contribute to that discussion).

Josh B.

I installed Improved Racing's oil thermostat with poor results. My anticipated outcome was for higher oil temperatures, hoping that shutting off the oil cooler circuit would increase oil temperatures. Oil temperatures did not change in daily driving, at all. I even tried a different thermostat element from Improved Racing, nothing.

I discussed the issue with Michael at Improved Racing. He maintained that the oil temperatures in the dry sump tank were colder than the oil thermostat on the oil pan. I don't think the oil temperatures varied between either.

My personal theory is that they dry sump tank sheds a great deal of heat and essentially never allows the oil to go above 190 degrees or so, even with the thermostat in the closed position and effectiely closing off 95% of the oil flow through the factory air to liguid cooler.

If purchasing for increased heat in daily driving....this is not your product. I swapped in a ZR1 Oil Cooler and never looked back.

bjmsam

On the street at ambient air temperatures below 50°F, my oil temps never climbed above 124°F OBD or 158°F DIC, but with the 180°F thermostat I now see 162°F OBD or 187°F DIC.

Josh B.

Here is my post installation response to Improved Racing. Temperatures did not change between either the 87C wax element or the 100C wax element indicating that the oil was not hot enough to open either thermostat.

"I got it to budge above 190 during a one hour stop and go car cruise, but I could hit the same temp without the thermostat. This is in about 95 degree weather. Commonly, my temps are still 165 after 20 mins of driving. 70 mph sixth gear on the interstate puts it square at 162 in 90 degree weather. I'm hoping to get the oil to 195 at least and would like to explore other options. I just don't think the oil thermostat was ever able to operate as intended on the dry sump engines. Like I said, I think this is an exceptional product, but the large capacity oil tank mounted externally might be enough to cool the oil. I'd like the oil to be able to get at least hot enough to vaporize the moisture in the oil. I would argue that the position of the oil temp sender is not the reason why there is such a wide gap between the 16x degree readings and the 212 thermostat, as 2011 and newer Z06s with the Oil to Water oil cooler from the Zr1 are able to hit over 200 degrees in oil temp no problem. The position of the oil temp sensor is the same for all years. I imagine the oil is in fact cooler, too cool, on the early Z06 air to air engine oil cooler cars compared to the later year Z06s."

Unreal

So basically it acts just like my car with no oil cooler/thermostat, and just a $10 block off plate.

bjmsam

During the summer months at higher ambient temperatures of ~90°F, I have not seen oil temps dip below 170°F DIC at interstate speeds and have seen temps over 210°F DIC when driving aggressively. I suspect that on the street, the thermostat is typically closed and effectively the same as a block-off plate, which is certainly an improvement over stock for achieving adequate operating temperature, but not as effective as the ZR1 approach. On the track, however, I believe this configuration is best.

Josh B.

Yes sir

jimbob8915

Wow. This thread came back LOL. I actually pulled out my oil cooler an lines and put in the block plate 2 years ago. I dont track the car an just use it as a DD. I would still like to get my oil temps up faster an will eventually just put in a radiator with the built in oil cooler.

Josh B.

I wrapped one of these heater pads around my oil tank. Fits perfect. I laced the hooks together with thin wire. I hook it up to a cheap timer and it begins heating my oil about 3-4 hours before I fire it up to go to work in the morning.

180 degree oil available at fire up, makes cold starts MUCH easier even in 30-40 degree weather. Temps work their way down to around 110 after a couple minutes of driving after the oil mixes with the cold engine and oil in the oil pan, then work their way back up, quickly, to full temp.

One of my favorite, cheap mods. Potentially will help engine longevity from lessening the effects of cold start wear. I'll probably delete my ZR1 oil cooler for now and run a block off. Thanks for the input on that.

http://www.jegs.com/i/Moroso/710/239...1ikaAgcj8P8HAQ

bjmsam

I did the same (described here). The chart below reflects oil temps after 45 minutes of preheating (and the puzzling discrepancy between OBD and DIC values discussed here).