yow

I've been encouraged to put a dedicated oil cooler in my c5z which will see a lot of track duty beginning this spring. Hopefully, it'll become a TT car down the road. I've searched and researched but it helps to be able to ask the pointed question(s) here. How should I put a dedicated oil cooler in my car while balancing the interests of effectively cooling the car and saving money?

There are combo radiator and eoc kits:
Dewitts combo with lines/adapter from DRM - best I can tell would cost about $1000
Ron Davis combo from DRM with lines/adapter - about $1215
(Could I even use the Dewitt Radiator and DRM lines?

The DRM standalone kit is $650.

For reference, I found universal EOCs at Summit for $238 and Jegs for $100-140. Jegs also has a universal hardware kit for $64. It seems like the cheapest route to go would be the universal kit from jegs. It's not as pretty as the DRM but I can't imagine it not functioning as well.

Ready....go!

Socko

I researched this a ton for the last 6 months on and off. If you want something legit you can go a bit cheaper but if the car is street driven the cheapest way to do it is to:

1. drm 625 kit(619 isn't big enough from what i have read) and an improved racing thermostat. together shipped its $715+210 so $925ish.

2. dewitts left side in radiator, this is likely the least cooling option but best packaged. Also will act as an oil heater in cold weather if you drive the car like i do, any day there isn't rain salt or snow. Fits with very minimal modification, and you use gm lines to attach the cooler. I talked to bunched of people including dewitts and on a c5z (what i have) it suposedly gives 20-25 degrees of oil cooling. Its $900ish before the sale.

I personally wouldn't use this with a standard block and lines that push all oil through it.(dewitts does sell one but they recomended the gm lines) It might get you a bit more cooling but there would be flow/pressure loss issues, and there are a number of posts on these forums that it likes to drain back and causes dry startup for a second or 2. The GM hoses have a bypass which limits the flow, and cooling, but keeps pressure drop minimized and stops the system from draining back from the best i can tell.

3. Ron Davis is about 1400 with a thermostat block. Requires some putzing to fit, but probably has good capacity too cool as the oil is on the right side(cold side) and doesnt require putting a cooler in front of the radiator.

4. I priced out my own 634 setup and i could do it for around 900 with the IR thermostat block and quality 10an fitting and hose. with the koul tool for hose assembley and the setrab brackets and using zip ties to mount, which i was not super happy about.

The dewitts is on sale till maybe the 26th, so considering that and the fact that 100 days a year the oil heater will be benificial, and I think I may be able to squeek by with the oil cooler on track. I went with the dewitts for $775 shipped. I figure if nothing else if it doesnt work i know i need a 634 or 172 at that point and will just build a huge stand alone. Also i will have a more than adequate radiator at that point so blocking/heating the radiator with a large stand alone oil cooler won't be a concern. And i only end up out $300, as its currently 15% off, actually only 255. SO its worth the risk for the minimal total cost even if i stop using the oil cooler and just go huge standalone.

Understand there is no correct answer to this question unless you have a trailered dedicated car that only drives on track. Then just get a huge standalone. For a multipurpose car that is actually driven hard enough to heat the oil high enough to be an issue, you have to decide what compromise you want to make. At this point i would rather compromise that i can currently run 10-12 minutes full on, i am thinking the dewitts will get me to 15-18. Relative to the gorup i run with and how they break up traffic, i am very fast in the street tire group or very slow in the intermediate group with many people running rcomps or slicks. So my chances of running unobstructed for 15+ miniutes are minimal. Having some ability to get the oil back down when I am stuck behind people will allow me to likely run without cooldown laps mid session. All year on the street it will allow my oil to get up to 180 in under 20 minutes as well. A 634 or 172 with a IR block would allow me indefinate run time i imagine, assuming it didn't block too much of the stock radiator to cause the water to overheat. From all i heard in any coldihs weather the ron davis is cold on the right side on the street, which makes me think with a thermostat it would work well. But it sounds like a pain to install as a number of things have to be tweaked to get it to fit and at the end of the day, i can do a standalone that i know for sure will work along side a dewitts for only a couple hundred more.

CHJ In Virginia

OK I'll provide some real world user experience here. I run in Virginia where I have seen 105 deg ambient temps in August and have experienced all the cooling problems on a C5Z car. As you get faster, there are several cooling items that will need attention on your C5Z. 1) Front Brake Cooling 2) Auxilliary engine oil cooler 3) Larger radiator
Your concern in this post is basically with engine oil cooling so I will address that. IMHO a stand alone engine oil cooler is best. It has to be mounted infront of the radiator for max airflow. Coolers incorporated in the radiator just do not remove enough heat.
I used the DRM kit and achieved excellent results. I would regularly reach 280-290 or higher at the end of a session at VIR and have to slow for several laps to cool the car down. After kit install I never saw more than 260 deg during a 30 minute run with ambient temp of 105 deg in August. This Kit Works !
Sure you can probably piece something together that will work but is it worth the effort to save very few $. The DRM kit has the cooler, all the fittings, hoses cut to length and the required front mounting bracket. It is all engineered, it fits and it works. ( I have no association with DRM other than being a happy purchaser of it's products.)
You will quickly find that front brake cooling rises on your to-do list. There are many threads about this - search. A Dewitts or similar dual core radiator is going to be next and after you get really fast you are going to have to do a tranny cooler. DRM also makes a great kit for this cooler.

Socko

Which drm kit do you run? Are you running a dewitts radiator as well?

CHJ In Virginia

I ran the DRM kit with the Setrab 625 cooler. I also incorporated a Mocal 150 Degree thermostat in line to help bring the engine oil temp up gradually on cold days. I ran events in March and October where it could get cold. Also ran the Dewitts radiator. Coolant temps never went over 215 even on the hottest days.

yow

Ok, the the DRM kit 625 is $714 shipped, at the moment. Sounds like I should just suck it up and buy the DRM kit and run the car. It'll be my first weekend in this particular car and on a new track (NCM). I will be on Rcomps but I can't imagine that I'll be fast enough in a weekend to really tax the car. So, maybe I'll run the DRM and make a note of temps, including coolant, before determining what more I need to do. I don't know if the factory thermostat has been replaced with a 160* one. That might be an easy step in the right direction(?). Then, if coolant becomes an issue, swap out the factory radiator for a larger Dewitts.

Question: Does the DRM 625 kit just bolt right up? So easy an idiot could do it? I'm pretty handy but I would like to know whether or not it's very complicated to install. I don't have a good 'race' mechanic nearby so it's all me.

Supercharged111

I copied Pfadt and put mine behind the front license plate horizontally. When on the street, I just plug it with the plate cover and my oil temps still hit 190-200. Takes longer to get there, but it gets there as it is still effectively a heatsink at that point.

Matt_27

So is the Improved Racing T-stat the right hose size so that you can connect the DRM 625 kit right to it? That sounds like a perfect setup to me.

touring2

FWIW, If you are going to be keepng the car long term, as I have, '01 Z06 bought in '01, and tracked maybe 12-20 days/year, it makes sense to do the full cooler setups. If you have little track experience right now, you don't need to be in a rush to add coolers, cuz you really will be slower than the car for awhile. I still am! do some more searches, there are a couple Corvette sites with lots of race and track day setup info.
The 96 Corvette had a stand alone oil cooler, but from 97 on, GM had a deal with Mobil oil to put the Mobil1 logo on oil cap, and not supply an OEM engine oil cooler. I ran 300's regularly and guys who race say that is safe, with the synthetic. Go to SCCA or NASA races and ask those guys what they do, cuz they run way harder than you do. They are really helpful. Have fun. Save the wave.

CHJ In Virginia

The DRM kit install is straight forward and easy to do. The hardest part is installing the line connection block on the engine - area is tight and hard to work in. The install took me about five hours total time working with jackstands, that included a beer break or two. It would be much easier if you have a lift to use, figure about 3 1/2 hours for a first time install.

yow

That's not encouraging at all!!!

What about this?
Mocal 25 row oil cooler - $194.50 http://www.improvedracing.com/mocal-...ductsearchusen
Or the Setrab 625 (25 row) - $236 (http://www.improvedracing.com/setrab...ler-p-252.html)

And the DRM Line and block adapter kit - $319
http://dougrippie.com/products/c5-bl...-and-line-kit/

Saves about $200...which you could then spend on a Thermostat, here - http://www.improvedracing.com/cooler...80f-p-209.html

The only thing that route loses is the mounting bracket supplied by the DRM kit. Surely it's not worth the extra $200? I mean, I want to get the DRM kit because that's what all the cool kids are running...and it's proven. But can't I piece it together and save the money?

VetteDrmr

Yes, you can. BUT, you now have to spend more time figuring out plumbing and fabbing brackets, etc. Is that a problem for you? It wasn't for me, although I don't even remember if DRM had their kit together back in '03 when I did mine.

HTH, and have a good one,
Mike

Socko

Getting the cooler mounted in a manner that it isn't going to destroy anything and that it actually works, is fairly critical. I had intended to talk to drm and see if they would pull the oil block from the kit so i could save the $130.(I got that number in my head, i may have made it up or they may sell their block seperate for 130?) imo their bracket is the most valueable part of the kit, as setrab states using their brackets you should use 2 and they are $25 each. Besides the fact that I have seen so many an hoses leak, it was worth it to me to get something preassembled and measured jsut makes it so much easier.

Matt_27

You can also get pre-made Brown & Miller Nylon Hose assemblies from Improved Racing, which should be quite a bit lighter than braided steel Aeroquip lines. I talked to a guy at IR and he recommended getting an oil cooler and a thermostat, then putting on the car and measuring how long you need the lines (plus a couple inches), then ordering them. Requires a bit of down time but if someone was to do it for a C5 and then post their results that would be very helpful. Also, Lingenfelter sells an oil cooler mount but I'm not sure if it works with the 625 or just the smaller cooler in their kit.

LPE mount:
http://www.lingenfelter.com/mm5/merc...9#.VL0uOxycefk

Joshboody

For bracket there's a good DIY on here for in front of condenser. I used thin steel pieces from home depot, formed them in vice and $10 welds at muffler shop... very sturdy, doesn't move at all.

Hey, I'm curious how the improved racing block works for everyone... the temp sensor port is 1/8 npt which doesn't fit the stock sensor. Do people relocate, adapt fittings, retap or aftermarket sensor? Because of this, I went with LPE and no tstat.

Matt_27

They have one for C5's: http://www.improvedracing.com/cooler...12f-p-500.html

M12 port. Maybe they just added it recently so you didn't see it before.

Joshboody

When I inquired they discontinued the m12... at least the 180. Maybe they had the 212 all along.

mgarfias

I did it myself with the RD radiator and integrated EOC. I think my setup might be a little better (remote oil filter, -10 lines instead of -8), but it was certainly a pain in the *** to put together and I'm still not entirely happy with it.

If I did it again I'd probably buy a stand alone cooler setup and the non-EOC RD radiator. Then make a block off for the oil cooler for the winter.

CHJ In Virginia

IMHO, I would NOT run the nylon hose assemblys. Braided stainless is the only safe way to go. There is a huge amount of garbage kicked up under the car under track conditions. With the exposed hoses, all it takes is a small rock and a pinhole leak and you are SOL ! Do it once and do it right. You can futz around piecing a kit together and fabbing your own brackets. My time is worth more than saving a $100 or so. I ran on a tight budget also.

yow

Heard that!