Radiator with integrated oil cooler question

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Jul 29, 2004 | 12:40 PM

blackbullet

Thread Starter

Instructor

Joined: Mar 2003

Posts: 124

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From: Irvine CA

Radiator with integrated oil cooler question

Hi all,

I am working towards getting my car ready for road racing. My car has a few mods and I am estimating that I am running around 500FWHP+. I know that this is not as much as some of the folks of the forum but I am already having a hard time trying to keep the car on the track when I am racing it (i.e. autocrossing) with all the existing HP. I have seen oil temps as high as 260 degrees so far.

I have been doing some research and I am considering getting a radiator with an integrated oil cooler.

I have done some research in the forum and I have seen a lot of posts regarding Ron Davis, Dewitts and Becool radiators.

I was wondering if you could share with me some pricing information, ease of installation, old and new oil temps and your overall experience.

Thanks for your help. M.

Jul 29, 2004 | 12:46 PM

dmtnt

Safety Car

Joined: Nov 2003

Posts: 4,969

Likes: 2

From: Lake Worth FL

St. Jude Donor '03-'05-'06 & '12

I have the LG radiator/oil cooler and have been happy with it. Install was time consuming, but not overly difficult. Dropped my track oil temps 20-30 degrees.

Pricing was around $1k if I remember correctly.

Jul 29, 2004 | 12:54 PM

VetteDrmr

Le Mans Master

Joined: Dec 2000

Posts: 9,918

Likes: 1,880

From: Hot Springs AR

Any particular reason you don't want a separate oil cooler? I'm in the middle of putting in a Perma Cool oil cooler plus thermostat, and I'll be done for less than $500 in parts.

HTH, and have a good one,
Mike

Jul 29, 2004 | 01:10 PM

blackbullet

Thread Starter

Instructor

Joined: Mar 2003

Posts: 124

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From: Irvine CA

Quote:

Originally Posted by VetteDrmr

It sounds like a good option too but I do not know that much about lowering the oil temp. I was wondering if you could share with me anything you know about oil temp numbers, so I have something to compare with.

Also, have you considered a transmition cooler? I wanted to keep the set up pretty clean and I thought that an integrated oil cooler will help me keep things simple but I worry a lot about dollars too, so I like your proposal.

M.

Jul 29, 2004 | 04:56 PM

VetteDrmr

Le Mans Master

Joined: Dec 2000

Posts: 9,918

Likes: 1,880

From: Hot Springs AR

I haven't looked at putting in a tranny cooler because of the additional complexity since you have to run a pump, with the attendant wiring, temp sensors, gauges, etc. Ditto on the diff.

I'm going to be putting together a writeup as I get this done, and will (hopefully) post it when I get this install done.

Have a good one,
Mike

Jul 29, 2004 | 06:43 PM

trumper Z06

Melting Slicks

Joined: Sep 2000

Posts: 2,053

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From: Kennesaw Georgia

Three of us with 04 Z06's track our cars and we all had problems with high oil temp. All of us have installed the Doug Rippie Radiator/oil cooler combo with great success!

Jul 29, 2004 | 07:18 PM

tcmc5

Drifting

Joined: Aug 2000

Posts: 1,253

Likes: 3

From: Chapel Hill NC

I've got the DRM (Ron Davis) radiator/oil-cooler set-up and love it. I've been tracking the car over 3 years now most recently at VIR with air temps 95-100+. Vettes without coolers were typically reporting oil temps from 260 to over 300 depending on driving style. I drive very hard and my oil temps were in the 225-235 range. The other advantage to this unit is lower coolant temps which were running about 205-215. My car is also equipped with trans. and diff. coolers so the radiator/oil-cooler combo was best for me but separate oil-coolers work great too.