@Midtenn Right thank you! These are the sorts of sense checks I need I don't mean to say that I used thread sealer as a way to not use o-rings.
I have o rings for the Orb fittings. They're not there in the Mocal located ones its true. I have just put it all together to make sure things worked... haven't filled yet.
The orb fittings in the cooler do have o rings too but I could and should put new ones and will do so.

 

Hard to see, but looks like your thermostat outlet is feeding the top port of the cooler. You’d want it feeding the bottom so the air pockets are easily purged from the top one. I’d just switch them on your next oil change at the thermostat.

 

@RunninOnEmpty in the photo looking straight on at the Mocal, the line on the left (rearward on car) goes to the upper port on the cooler, right hand line going to the bottom. Is wrong?

 

@slug_dub The rearward port is the outlet of the thermostat. When the oil gets hot, thermostat portion at the top will close, forcing all oil out the rear port and back in the front-facing port.

so you want the rear port connected to the bottom of the cooler.

hopefully this won’t get blocked:
https://vwparts.aircooled.net/v/vspf...che=1397903792

 

I’m just getting started on this thread, and looks like the Trackspeed kit which was highly recommended is now no more

any other all in one kit anyone recommends for the 1.8 for endurance racing?

 

I’ve installed a lot of mishimoto stuff, it’s not terrible if you don’t want to source all the parts yourself. Personally, I’d install a temp bung on the oil pan, and monitor oil temps for a race. I live in the PNW where we can get 100+ degree summer races, but not always. That being said, we campaigned a 140hp Miata without an oil cooler for a few years, never really had issues. Changed oil every race, but never monitored temperature. I’d install a sensor and make sure you’re cresting 260-280 before you get the cooler.

 

Another option besides adding a bung is to use a drain plug adapter with a 1/8" npt thread in the middle for a temp sensor. Just put a 2 pin harness or female/male connections on the wires so the wires can be disconnected for oil changes. It really doesn't make oil changes much worse than stock.

 

I will echo Curly, we ran a 130-140whp BP for years without an aftermarket oil cooler. We kept the stock cooler/heat exchanger in place. Just change the oil between each race weekend (14-24hrs total track time). Simple oil temp sender in the pan sump. We tried the stock MSM cooler (its larger than the standard 1.8 one) and didn't see a noticeable difference in the oil temps.

 

What were the observed oil temps? I don't think some spec miata guys runs oil coolers either FWIW. I know they do change their oil frequently though.

 

IIRC 240-250*F were the max temps we saw on the gauge. We ran Redline 30W race oil. Engine was torn down at the end of each season and inspected. Bearings were replaced, but only as a precaution since they are low cost, and we were down that far into the motor.

 

That's barely warm for oil temps, not hot at all. Good to know. Thanks.

 

Let's bump this thread for 2025. Show me your oil cooler setups for your turbo track cars!

I just finished reading this whole thread in preparation for building a setup for my car this winter. I'm leaning towards hornetball and other's "stack a larger-than-needed cooler behind the radiator" approach, just because of ease of mounting, safe oil line routing, and the purported success of people who use it. I like the idea that the radiator will warm the oil too, when colder, as I do drive mine on the street a lot (sometimes in the winter). I will be keeping the stock oil warmer as well for this same reason. The car has hood vents and ducting and coolant temps haven't been an issue on track.

With I/C piping I've found that the fender mount (I.E. TDR kit) is pretty tricky, and I don't like the idea of throwing rocks at it and running it over (as the Australian did). Plus I'll need to run a vent on the bumper to it, and optimally run some exhaust (fender vents?) as pulling air into that area is objectively bad for aero. That said, I haven't ruled this out entirely - it's my second favorite location that I've seen.

Other locations, and why I've ruled these out:

• In front of the rad - With a turbo car blocking the rad is bad. My I/C purposely is mounted low so airflow can go over/around it and hit the rad, I'd hate to stuff that by mounting the cooler in that space.
• Steering rack (FM) - Ignoring the too small (8an) lines, this location seems like a half measure. Just hot air in the engine bay with nowhere to go, undersized for serious track duty, etc. Cute little thing though and a cool idea for street cars.
• Bottom mount (L shaped behind the rad, etc.). An example of this is the mishimoto kit that vents under the car. From an aero perspective, I dislike this, but also an off track excursion makes this a vulnerable location as well.

Keep in mind for my setup I've got a stock NA front bumper so room is limited. That said, I'd like to see this thread revived with any and all oil cooler setups that haven't been documented here yet. And if there's some other magic oil cooler thread I'm missing, definitely point me that way!

 

I opted for a cooler behind the radiator approach where the 2nd fan goes. I used an old Mishimoto oil cooler kit I ran on my Honda. It has a thermostatic sandwich plate, -10an lines, and 19row cooler. The cooler looks like a setrab clone to be honest. We'll see how it holds up but at low 200whp I think it should hold up fine. I did a track day with highs low 60's and sunny, and temp only got to ~210F ish I believe which is cool. On hotter days and with a little more power I expect higher temps. More power = more heat. I am not running AC or PS, have ducted the front reasonably, and run hood vents. I had to hack the heck out of the IM bracket to make it fit but it's not bad. To remove the oil filter you need to remove the IM bracket but it's only 3 bolts. I had to shorten the -10an lines and change a fitting from a 45 to a 90 but it all fit well and seems solid.

 

The FM location by the steering rack has you cut a slot in the factory undert tray and gets it's air from there. I'll agree with you that it's both limited in size, and supply lines. If it's not big enough, you sort of have to re-do your entire setup.

I've done the behind-the-radiator oil cooler setup a number of times, it's great for track cars. Unsure if it's the best for a w2w turbo car, but that's another category. My friend recently removed his after my advice. He bought the car with a sizeable oil cooler there and only 140hp.

 

Thanks for sharing, I was looking at the mishimotos but for the price I'd get a real setrab. That said, I did come across these coolers, am I crazy for wanting to give one a shot?


on one hand the oil system isn't something you wanna cheap out on, on the other if it works, it works - and consumable costs are low if I ever lose a bearing and need to replace it due to contamination

 

Definitely cross shop the higher end derale coolers, they look like the same construction as the setrab for half the money. Derale has been around a long time. Also look at their trans coolers, same construction as engine without as kit full of parts you don't need

 

Ya I wouldn't buy a Mishimoto new, but had it sitting in a box in the garage so made use of it. That is cheap. I'm sure there are afforable Setrab knock offs (like maybe the one Bronson mentioned). Just depends how willing you are to roll the dice.

 

For helping anyone in the future, my 210 to 215whp w/ FM cooler in their suggested location saw 260F on a very cold day (30 to 50F) with the undertray cut to let more flow in. I'm head scratching what to do next and reading this thread to find out.

 

Isn't the undertray area low pressure, especially behind a factory chin spoiler? Air would be going out there, not in, I'd think.

My oil cooler airflow-out is in this area. My cooler is laid flat directly below the mouth, behind the chin spoiler. L-shaped in front of radiator, not behind it.

 

Tim is correct. That's an outlet.

That would be a dangerous place for me to put an oil cooler. I would destroy that often and collect debris on top of the cooler when I wasn't destroying it.