Dirty Howie

Understood


DH

injfuel

Ok let me simplify my concern , but you did answer my question for the most part , I have AHP heads , I also have the oil cooler set up as it came from the factory , will it hurt my car to continue to run it this way or should I install the block off plates , I will NEVER track my car , my driving styles are normal driving around with some spirited acceleration and during the fair weather months I regularly roll race my car

Dirty Howie

Thanks. This has been around for quite awhile. I also frequent BITOG forum and have a thread regarding this oil with 110K views:
https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forum...30#Post3843373

Here is my report



DH

ssbowtie1

FWIW I just finished the Dewitts radiator install and I'm still trying to get used to seeing my oil temp at 180-200!

grcor

As several forum members have mentioned, the block off plate should work well for your use. Just monitor the oil temperature and if you see more than 260 degrees, you will have to look at some form of oil cooling.

spy2520

I bought this and DID see a difference.

Les-10

Want to go with the ImprovedRacing Block-off:

http://www.improvedracing.com/oiling...kit-p-774.html


but also want to leave factory cooler flange/hoses adjacent (zip-tied to something or attached to Block-off attachment bolts somehow???). Question, is there enough space for this when using 1-7/8" ARHs?

MTPZ06

^ Doubt the room is there. I Probably wouldn't want those lines in there anyways.

gsflyer2011

Would you share/ quantify that difference with us all. Please? I an trying to see if the results would be worth the time and money. Thanks!!!

spy2520

My oil never got above 180 regardless of ambient temps. Except one time during a 3 hour drive when i got caught in some stop and go traffic. I used to drive 15-20 minutes to work and the oil would still be about 130 when i parked it.

Now it will sit reasonably at 175-195 within 15-20 minutes of driving depending on weather. This is all normal driving experience. It will occasionally go above 200 but mostly just under, about 195.

This is with the 212 thermostat.

Les-10

Thanks, that's what I was thinking. The block-off kit is in route & I'm gonna pull all the cooler stuff out.

MTPZ06

You could just pull the lines and leave the cooler in place if you plan to go back and forth with some regularity.

Sox-Fan

I have often wondered if the temperature sender for the gauge being in the lower end of the oil tank rather than in the engine is skewing perception of how hot or cold the oil is or rather, should be.

spy2520

Probably so. I'm no scientist, but i imagine there could be a 10* difference between what a c6 z06 setup reads vs what maybe an LS2 sees with the sensor near the oil filter. Unless of course the ecm is somehow compensating. I haven't found much on what this calculation is.

gsflyer2011

Thanks spy. This is exactly what i get now with my oem set up in my 11 GS. Temps, times and distance wise. However my commute is not on hwy and i live in fl. I still like to see the oli warm up quicker than 15 minutes. I wonder if anyone ever covered their oil cooler with just a aluminum wrap, the stuff we use in the kitchen. I am going to try that soon and see how it works.

Les-10

Pulled the cooler flange / hose assy & installed block off kit. I am going to reinstall heat exchanger upon cam/heads reinstallaton as suggested, just in case.

tommyc6z06

old thread...sorry. I’m new and fortunate to be able to learn instead of experiment on my own.
I’m about to buy the Improved thermostat kit (to use with the stock oil cooler in my case), but I also have 4” brake ducts coming through this area from the grill.
So, I will surely have the same problem with interference.

Do you happen to recall what angled fitting you used?
Perhaps I can even get this from Improved at the get go, rather than struggle with this snag during installation.
Thanks

Mordeth

Yeah. I used this:

DF-045-10Hose end, double swivel, 45-degree, -10AN

Improved Racing can swap it for you when you order, so the fitting is already installed. It is the OUT line (EC6-600-02).

tommyc6z06

Thank you Anthony!! 😊

tommyc6z06

I finally brought my car home from winter hibernation and installed the Improved Racing kit.
Your information was perfect Anthony, as the 45-degree Hose Ends left ample room to snake the 4" grill mounted brake ducts through. So big thanks again!


45 degree fittings

I found the kit to be both well made and engineered, with good instructions for someone who is unfamiliar with these cars and admittedly only possesses moderate mechanical skills.

The biggest problem was getting the new thermostat bolted to the engine. My car has stock exhaust with the catalytic converter right in the way.
I don't know if its easier with headers, but I just couldn’t get the 2 Allen bolts started in the very limited space. There's tension on the thermostat block from the thick oil lines and in the very tight space (yes, I ground down an Allen key) they just wouldn’t start threading in.

I struggled with this for a very long time, only able to turn the Allen bolts about 15 degrees each time, then reinserting, dropping my Allen key, only to discover they weren't going in and the gasket kept slipping out. Over and over and over. UGH!
Frankly, I was ready to give up and try fresh again another day. My hands were already scraped up and raw. Or, maybe even abandon the project altogether. Very frustrating

But then...brainstorm! I checked out the OE hex head bolts that held the stock oil cooler block on and noticed that they were 'pilot tipped'!
So, thus inspired, I spun a die up onto the kit's Allen bolts and ground the threads off their ends to give them pilot tips, like the originals.
Then, I threaded the die off (a bit back/forth) to make sure the threads would start easily.
And bingo! Worked like a charm! Easy peasy!

If there is any suggested improvement to the kit, I would say that the supplied Allen bolts should be pilot tipped.
It would have saved me a lot of grief, as frankly, I was ready to give up.

Regarding functionality, I've read all the conflicting thoughts about the benefits, and at this point I've only taken one quick drive with the car.
Oil temp 'may' be warming up a bit faster (it's under 40f outside). But no, I don't have any hard data to support this (I have a larger Lingenfelter oil tank so I guess that doesn't help in this regard).

However, after brief warm-up idling, oil temp no longer starts dropping down immediately when I start driving, or ease onto the highway about 2km from my house. It actually continues warming up!! So for me, that's a big win and certainly makes it worthwhile for a street car that also sees some limited track use.

Yes, a pre-heater setup is surely better for street, but I've seen 280f (and climbing) with my totally stock car during a spirited 25min session at Mosport last July, and I'm guessing this would only be higher with a pre-heater system.
So, for the relative cost of this kit, my feeling is its well worth it...especially in light of this lapse in development by the factory.

Just wish it would have had pilot tipped Allen bolts