Oil cooler

[Hottrodder427]

How important is it to have an oil cooler, I'm in southeast Louisana. I like the way they look. Just not sure if I should spend the dollars

[mikeinatlanta]

For street? Not at all unless you are running a lot of HP.

[BobCarter]

If you are running an automatic transmission you will need one.

[Bob Cowan]

Oil is heated by rpm's. Lots of rpm's. As in lap after lap of rpm's. Unless you're on a road course, oil temps are really not an issue.

On the street, oil coolers are often detrimental. Even with a thermostat, it's common for the oil to stay well below water temps. Oil just doesn't get hot enough to work well.

[CDXXVII]

What would be considered the ideal oil operating temperature? My engine coolant operates at approx. 195 and my oil under some load (steady climb up a canyon for 10 miles) gets up to 220. No oil cooler, and no hood for now.

Ford Racing 427 with the Z Heads

[2FAST4U]

Oil needs to be above boiling temp for water to boil off the condensation that develops in the crankcase. A quality conventional motor oil will tolerate oil sump temperatures of up to 250 degrees, but starts breaking down over 275 degrees. The traditional approach is to try to hold oil temperatures between 230 and 260 degrees.

[Bob Cowan]

Oil needs to be above boiling temp for water to boil off the condensation that develops in the crankcase.

This is a common misconception, and simply not true. Water will evaporate at any temperature much above ambient. It does not have to be above the boiling point. If that were true, your kitchen floor would never be dry. Think about your DD in the winter. As you commute back and forth to work in New England in February, do you think your oil is consistently above 212*?

The optimum upper limit is apparently a trade secret. Finding that exact information from an oil maker is difficult. From what I can find out, it seems to be around 200* or so.

Max temp depends on a lot of factors. Any decent SAE oil will handle 220* for short periods of time. After a while, it will start to break down, and then you need to change. Better oils will last longer. A true synthetic oil will withstand temps above 300* for a few hours.