gfacter

I am mostly done with this project, still need to bolt up a few bits, start the car and check for leaks. About a 1/4 qt leaked out of the stock cooler.

After seeing high (290+) oil temps at VIR a few weeks ago, I decided that I needed better oil cooling than the stock Z51 oil cooler.

I purchased the C6 Z06 Oil cooler and lines not 100% sure it would fit, thankfully it does.

You need to pull the LF fender liner and unbolt the upper bolts on the left Cat (just loosen the bolts at the H-pipe) as well as all the bolts under the front clip to get to the baffle,

Here are the new pieces



You need to remove the radiator baffle and drill holes to accept the oil cooler and lines, I did this based on the drawings in the shop manual. My shroud was already out since I have a Vararam intake and the precut shroud in place. The Vararam has to come out since it will interfere with the oil cooler. And will be for sale soon.

You can also order a Z06 Baffle if you want the holes pre-drilled.



The cooler and baffle in-place



The cooler from the front of the car



New lines in place

gkmccready

Can't wait to hear what kind of temperatures you see with this set up. I still see 220-230 just running down the highway. Hit 300 at Thunderhill on a 100+ day last summer.

gfacter

I am curious also, I can't run the car very hard on the street to get track like temps, but should see a change in cruising temps. I will just tape up the cooler in the Winter to avoid sludge

Norm_427

Are you still using the oil cooler that is inside the coolant radiator on your LS2 also -- making that two oil coolers?

I understand your logic, but I doubt if you need to cover up the Z06 external cooler in the winter time ... that's the way Z06s run. ?

gfacter

No I replaced the line, the cooler in the radiator is empty now.

Cobra4B

Nice... great option for C6 owners.

Norm_427

That should actully make your coolant temp slightly cooler then.

It's great the the Z06 cooler fits like a glove. Good job!

gfacter

Shake down run complete, after about a 1/2 hour of driving some back roads and some highway mostly easy driving with a few bursts to redline the oil temp topped out at 210 then stabilized around 200 with steady highway driving.

I was seeing 220's with this type of driving before.

The track test will be the true test however.

vettejockey

I installed the Vararam CAI which seems to fit in the same position as this cooler. Any thoughts on if this will fit with aftermarket CAI. I can't tell from the pictures.

gfacter

It might still fit, as the cooler is at the back of the shroud. I am too lazy to try and re-fit my VR back in now.

02impactblue

I saw 301 deg at VIR yesterday in my c6 z51. I was fixed on running down a c6 z06 and wasn't paying attention to the oil temps. I'm very interested in the same modification you did. Can you provide me with details on cost and time/difficulty of the installation? Did you notice what your water temps where when your oil temps where in the 290+ range? I wish I would have looked at mine when I hit the 300 range. Is it just an oil cooling issue or is the radiator not up to the challenge of track use.

gfacter

Cost was ~ 570.00 shipped from Gene at GMparts house

You need 15803358 Cooler, 15848590 hose and 4 bolts 11515755

It took me a few hours since I wasnt sure it was going to fit at first, I am sure I could do the whole thing in 2-3 hours now

It's mostly a bolt up job except for fitting the cooler to the shroud and guessing where to drill the holes. You can always purchase the Z06 shroud ($ 25.00) for the pre-drilled holes.

Getting the oil line out and in was a little fiddly, but nothing major.

I was out today for a few hours, did some hard drving on some WV mountain roads and only hit 217. Drove home on the interstate and the oil dropped to 181 the whole trip home

nolimits

Has anyone made this work and gotten around clearance issues mounting the oil cooler per std across the front location? Would it be possible to grind some of the cooler fins down a little to let the vararam drop down partially in front?

nolimits

Anyone with vararam and external cooler? How did you do it if so?

carlrx7

ttt its getting hot and oil temps rising!!

C6400hp

****, for only a few hundred more you can have the larger Ron Davis radiator with oil cooler.

Sparo2

Did anyone with a Vararam CAI install the oil cooler? If so, how did it work. I don't want to get rid of my Vararam. If it doesn't fit i guess the only way would be a new radiator.

gkmccready

I ended up getting the Ron Davis radiator+EOC+TOC combo unit. It's brought all the temperatures down to a very reasonable level, even running in 100F heat at Thunderhill!

JDIllon

You can probably install heat exchange cooler for the same or less $$$. Ron Davis sells them for $370.00 and is much more effective than an air type of oil cooler. Or as mentioned above a Ron Davis radiator with trans and engine oil cooler. On really hot days the Z06s still get very high oil temps also even with the Z06 cooler. JD

Joe_Knesek

Several posts mention temps below 200 degrees after adding or replacing oil coolers. A recent article in Grassroots Motorsports sited a minimum oil temp of 212 degrees is needed to properly burn off water & partially burned gasoline. Since water boils at 212 it seems to me that running below 212 would harm the motor.