| Message |
...oil only flows through the cooler at high oil pressures. Therefore, oil is not flowing through the cooler at all times. This may be good or bad, depending on the application, so consider your usage and decide if the cooler helps or not. If you spend most of your time just driving around town, then a bigger cooler *alone* may be the solution, because you probably don't want oil flowing through the cooler at all times - it might overcool. On the other hand, if you drive the car hard, a bigger cooler *alone* may not be enough, because the volume of oil that can flow through the cooler is significantly restricted by way of an 1/8" orifice in the return line from the cooler. I have previously posted in tech some options regarding what might be done in these situations. Temp "switches" - basically thermostats - are available, but I think that they are typically expensive. I have no direct experience with application of one, but in my own research I have found that they definitely are available. I also recall that they are not exactly compact, and plumbing one into the compact Z bay may not be an easy thing. If somebody has better information, please do tell. My opinion is that in a racing situation, the simplest solution is probably the best one, because there are fewer variables to consider when predicting performance or troubleshooting. The stock Z oil cooling system is a neat system, but there are too many questions about the performance in different situations/environments that are not easily answered without instrumenting the system pretty heavily. RSR
|
 |