11 replies to this topic

[timothymckay]

As i was taking the head off last night i also noticed, a "cool" water line running to the oil filter housing, i had never seen this before, is this some sort of stock oil cooler?? I though oil coolers were only aftermarket stuff

[Doodson]

A couple of the Hondas come with these from the factory including the Acura Integra Type R

Doodson

[Davidov]

I don't think that is an oil cooler, most the coolers I have seen are just like radiators, except oil runs through it an not coolant.

The coolant passage may flow though the oil filter pedestal, or near it.

[sspcivic31]

I don't think that is an oil cooler, most the coolers I have seen are just like radiators, except oil runs through it an not coolant.

The coolant passage may flow though the oil filter pedestal, or near it.

nope thats the factory oil cooler. the US model integra 86-89 got them and i thought the si models got them as well but may be confusing the two. its been a long time since i've looked over an ew/d15a. mugen used to sell those exact same parts as a kit for the cars without them. ditch that POS and fit a real air to oil cooler its much more efficent at cooling the oil.

edit: service manual link there it is for fuel injected only.

Edited by sspcivic31, 27 January 2004 - 11:22 PM.

[Davidov]

Oops, my fault, didn't think about FI.

[bigk3000]

you think the canadian d16's have that? would be a great place to run to a oil cooler, and then into my turbo and back

[Greg Gauper]

The US FI's have this oil cooler as stock, and they can be fitted to the DX block, but you have to swap the coolant pipe as well. Like wise, if you remove it, you'll need to block the coolant lines.

Technically it is called a heat exchanger, not an oil cooler. It works by transferring heat from the hotter fluid to the cooler fluid. They actually work quite well. 180 degree water will cool 200+ degree oil. The other advantage (and the main reason I still run with the stock heat exchanger in addition to a traditional oil-to-air cooler on the racecar) is that it does help to bring your oil up to proper operating temperature much quicker to reduce wear and improve performance. Some of our spring races are pretty cold (and Sebring wasn't exactly T-shirt weather ) so it does help. I would think it would help a Solo car since those guys don't run long enough to get the oil to proper temperature, IMHO.

Personally, I would keep it unless you live someplace where it is always 90+ outside, or you are running a full prep race engine.

[gtpilot]

I got to back up Greg on this one - I have run the heat exchanger on all my motors (except full race) and they are a definite benfit! Warms the oil quickly and helps to keep it from getting to hot...

Kirk

[sspcivic31]

my problem with the stock cooler on the d16 was tht the sump temp would get to over 260 degrees after a short(45-60 sec) autocross run and stay there for quite a while. it would do the same on the highway if you layed into or cruised 80-90 mph for a long while. after i fitted the oil air unit the oil sump temp has been pretty stable around 215-230 degreees and will cool down quicker with a short drive through the pits after a autocross run. I do agree with you guys that it would help to warm the oil to operating temp quicker than with the oil/air unit(it does suck a little warming the car up for a few minutes before every run but it is nice that it cools between runs in a heat or in the heat). and i think it(oil/water unit) would cool the oil better if it had more area to it to expose more oil to the coolant like one of those setrab units that go in a radiator hose. or maybe my bad luck with it has to do with the environment in which i live more than the design and intended use of the part. Texas were supprisingly it's not 90 degrees today .

[gtpilot]

YIKES!!!! You really have oil tempertures that high!?! On my full race motors my normal oil temperature is about 185...195 is hot! I run 160 to 180 water temps too...that is in 100 degree weather at 6000 feet of elevation where nothing cools down. You need to get some duct work and shrouding around your cooler!

Kirk

[mordantly]

i don't mean to stomp on anyones toes, but wouldn't a tranny cooler inside a radiator function similiar to the heat exchanger setup??

[Greg Gauper]

They work in a similar way....sorta. The principle idea behind a heat exchanger (notice I didn't call it a 'cooler') is to exchange heat from a hotter source to a cooler source. Most people can't understand how you can use 180 degree water to 'cool' something. It's easy to visualize a radiator working to keep you coolant cold (180 degree water, 80 degree ambient temperature = 100 degree differential) The answer is that if you have another fluid that is significantly hotter than another i.e oil at 230 degrees or higher, that's still a 50 degree temperature differential. To put it in perspective, that's a bigger differential than you have between room temperature and the inside of a fridge!

The Si heat exchanger transfers the heat from hot oil to 'relatively' cooler coolant. It has the added benefit of working both ways....when your engine is cold on start-up, your water temperature heats up much quicker than your oil temperature, the heat exchanger will transfer the heat from the hotter water to the colder oil, which brings it up to optimum temperature & viscosity quicker.

Tranny coolers are a bit different. Even though they are built into the radiator, there is actually a sealed chamber that is seperate from the water coolant. The tranny cooler just uses the bottom section of the radiator to cool the tranny fluid using air, although there is some heat exchange between the coolant and tranny fluid.

You can run a radiator designed for an automatic in a manual trans car and leave the tranny lines disconnected and nothing leaks out. I have mine capped off just to keep corrosion down.

BTW, on my new race motor I removed the Si cooler for reliability for racing (it is something else that can fail/leak on a race car). I just have a conventional 13 row air-to-oil cooler and my oil temps are usually around 210-220 on a hot summer day after a 30-40 minute race. When I experimented with a blanking sleeve to replace my T-stat (and ran a cool, frosty 160 on a 90 degree hot, muggy day dwn at Indy) my oil temps never got above 200.

SSPCIVIC:

I'm with Kirk on this one....yikes! How do you manage to get the oil that hot in only 30-40 seconds? It takes me about 2-3 laps before my oil temp even gets to normal (180-200 deg) temps. Where are you measuring it at? Are you sure your gauge is accurate? You can test it in boiling water (should read close to 212, unless you're in the mountains. My old, tired, 50 race old motor with lots of leakdown would hit 250-260 after a long, long race with the stock Si cooler AND the 13 row conventional cooler. This was measured at the pan (hottest location).

OT - I am amazed at how quickly the oil temps drop when you take the checker and start a 'cool down' lap with lower revs and part throttle. My temps would drop from 250 down to 180 in about one minute!

Edited by Greg Gauper, 07 August 2004 - 08:29 AM.