[SeanS54]

In my quest to solve the dreaded limp mode which I've encountered on multiple tracks I finally decided to build my own Oil Cooler. It's sorta a copy of the Stett oil cooler but I'm using a 215 degree Improved Racing external thermostat vs the 180 degree Mocal thermostat that comes with their kit.

All in parts cost me about $900 but that's because I went with a huge 34 row Setrab oil cooler, Improved Racing External Thermostat, and very high quality industrial grade fittings and hose (long story). It could be $300-400 cheaper depending on options.

Even with the Mishimoto Radiator, I hit 270+ degree oil temps at the track. Cruising around town my oil temps were 240 degrees.

With new new oil cooler setup I'm now crusing at 215-220 oil temps! 20 degrees cooler is not too shabby. This, along with my vented hood will hopefully solve my cooling issues.

I have a track event next Friday Oct 9th so stay tuned for my report...

Enjoy the pics!

Tiny factory oil cooler next to the huge 34 row Setrab cooler. Can't fit anything bigger.
[IMG]OEM vs Setrab 34 row by Sean T, on Flickr[/IMG]


Crappy ebay hose... no one local sells the SS hoses or fittings that I needed so I had no choice but to buy all new industrial grade fittings and hose (very expensive but very highly quality).
[IMG]crappy ebay hose by Sean T, on Flickr[/IMG]

New fitting and new hose. The ebay hose could be pinched with your thumb and pinky; this hose is rock solid.

[IMG]industrial grade hose and fitting by Sean T, on Flickr[/IMG]

Oil Cooler mounted w/ my custom made bracket. I didn't even have to touch the metal bumper bar that Stett requires to be removed.
[IMG]custom oil cooler 2 by Sean T, on Flickr[/IMG]

[IMG]custom oil cooler by Sean T, on Flickr[/IMG]

Stett Thermostat Delete Adapter Plate... 10 AN hose and fittings throughout
[IMG]Stett Thermostat Delete Plate by Sean T, on Flickr[/IMG

Improved Racing 215 Degree External Thermostat... notice straight fittings in and out, no 90 degree bends here.
[IMG]Improved Racing 215 deg thermostat by Sean T, on Flickr[/IMG]

All buttoned up... fog still works and clears no problem
[IMG]custom oil cooler 3 by Sean T, on Flickr[/IMG]

Some extra ventilation in the fender liner.
[IMG]rear vent by Sean T, on Flickr[/IMG]


Cooler oil temps on the streets.... we'll see how it goes on the track next week.
[IMG]oil temp by Sean T, on Flickr[/IMG]

[naynay]

mad prop. how much did the project set you back!?

[abren]

Originally Posted by naynay

mad prop. how much did the project set you back!?

He said it was about $900.

[wdeerfield]

That oil cooler looks great and your fittings look like they are up to the job now.

Originally Posted by abren

He said it was about $900.

that was for parts only.

[SUHleen]

Nice man! Did you have to modify anything for the bigger cooler? And how did it mount up?

[just_dirty]

How the hell did you manage to fit a 34 row Setrab in there?! When i installed a 25 row i didn't see much more room to get a bigger cooler in there.

[SeanS54]

Originally Posted by wdeerfield

That oil cooler looks great and your fittings look like they are up to the job now.


that was for parts only.

Yup, w/ a smaller core or different brand cooler, no external thermostat, and cheaper fittings/hose it could be $300-400 cheaper. My setup was expensive but I'm happy that it's exactly the way I want it and I know it'll be "bulletproof."

Originally Posted by SUHleen

Nice man! Did you have to modify anything for the bigger cooler? And how did it mount up?

I trimmed some plastic underneath the head light and behind the fender liner opening for more clearance. It wasn't necessary but I felt more comfortable with more room.

I made a "F" bracket and bolted it using the existing bumper bar bolt and nut.

Originally Posted by just_dirty

How the hell did you manage to fit a 34 row Setrab in there?! When i installed a 25 row i didn't see much more room to get a bigger cooler in there.

Some creativity and willpower. That's the max you can fit in that space though.

[SUHleen]

Ok cool, that doesn't sound too bad. I'm pretty sure the Stett stage 2 uses the same Setrab 34 row oil cooler in their kit

[VMRWheels]

$900 isnt bad especially considering you used higher quality parts. Seems like a solid improvement!

[SeanS54]

Originally Posted by SUHleen

Ok cool, that doesn't sound too bad. I'm pretty sure the Stett stage 2 uses the same Setrab 34 row oil cooler in their kit

Yup, that's where I got my inspiration.

Originally Posted by VMRWheels

$900 isnt bad especially considering you used higher quality parts. Seems like a solid improvement!

[SeanS54]

by request, here's a pic of my custom made "F" bracket. Once you take your bumper off and have the cooler in your hands this sketch will make more sense.

It's basically a piece of 16 guage sheet metal (Lowes) bent and made into this bracket.

[IMG]OCC Bracket by Sean T, on Flickr[/IMG]

[classyfast]

Couldn't you have just used the lower temp oil cooler thermostat and a slightly smaller oil cooler? Just wondering

[SUHleen]

Originally Posted by SeanS54

by request, here's a pic of my custom made "F" bracket. Once you take your bumper off and have the cooler in your hands this sketch will make more sense.

It's basically a piece of 16 guage sheet metal (Lowes) bent and made into this bracket.

[IMG]OCC Bracket by Sean T, on Flickr[/IMG]

Sweet thanks man! I'm not sure if the Stett kit has a bracket with it or not I haven't really looked through the box cause the car has been in the body shop

Originally Posted by classyfast

Couldn't you have just used the lower temp oil cooler thermostat and a slightly smaller oil cooler? Just wondering

He probably could have, but why when this one fits? The more cooling the better especially with aftermarket parts and tunes on the cars...

[SeanS54]

Originally Posted by classyfast

Couldn't you have just used the lower temp oil cooler thermostat and a slightly smaller oil cooler? Just wondering

yes, but as they say: "go big or go home!"

Originally Posted by SUHleen

Sweet thanks man! I'm not sure if the Stett kit has a bracket with it or not I haven't really looked through the box cause the car has been in the body shop

He probably could have, but why when this one fits? The more cooling the better especially with aftermarket parts and tunes on the cars...

Stett includes everything but if your setup is used I'm not sure...

This is true!

[SUHleen]

Hey man sorry to bother again, what is the benefit of the improved racing thermostat over the mocal? The mocal has straight in and out so no 90 degree bends there either. But with it being 180 degrees vs 215 degress, wouldn't the Mocal be open longer thus mean better cooling?

[sirdaft1]

If you consistently track your 335, you may unfortunately still experience oil temp issues with only the one OC. Fingers crossed that's not the case, but the ER guys still had overheating even with a large OC and a small aux OC on their dedicated 135i track car.

I've run the dual competition OC setup at multiple track days with zero temp issues. So I'm curious to hear how your massive single holds up under some abuse. Regardless, uber impressive you fit that massive OC in the wheel well! I crammed a custom built 25 row in there initially and have no idea how you were able to fit anything larger! Impressive

From the ER website...

LINK: http://www.evolutionracewerks.com/node/133

The Dreaded Limp Mode....
Those of you who track your cars know what we're talking about. Many nightmares and sleepless nights. Plenty of days, waking up before the sun comes out, loading up your gear and heading to the racetrack (sometimes hours away) to go race only to be ruined by the dreaded limp mode on the very first hot lap. Hundred of dollars wasted on a track day you can't enjoy because your car can't make a single lap under full power. The disappointment. We felt it. We know how you feel. This was our life the very first year (2008) we started racing our 135i. Every single race, we fought it. The dreaded limp mode. Our driver would shift at 4,500 rpm and every other lap would be a cool down lap. Life was miserable. For those who don't know, limp mode is when your ECU detects something is wrong and cuts almost all power to the car in hopes of saving itself. What was causing it? Oil temperatures. We were easily seeing over 260F even on a cold day. By 265-270, limp mode would hit and that was the end of it. We did additional testing on a dyno by doing constant runs and datalogging what was going on which confirmed that oil temperatures were the culprit. Interesting thing was that when the car hit limp mode, power would drop to only 50whp every single time.

Once, we figured out it was oil temperatures causing the limp mode, we went straight to work trying to solve the issue. We started off first by adding a small auxilary oil cooler in conjunction with the factory oil cooler. This was a laughable attempt. This did absolutely nothing noticeable. The next race, limp mode just like before. Our next attempt, we thought maybe the factory oil cooler just wasn't really efficient. Thus, we changed that out to a new, larger unit. With the new oil cooler with the small auxilary oil cooler, we finally saw a slight drop in oil temperatures. However, it wasn't much and again, at the next race, limp mode. Our next attempt saw us building ducting shrouds to channel cold air to the oil coolers. Again, this saw another drop in oil temperatures and better ability to fight off "heatsoak" but still, not enough. The car would still limp at the track. Fustration was setting in for us. Many long days going to the track being ruined by limp mode. This was our 2008 race season.

With the 2009 race season looming, we decided to go all out. We were tired of limp mode. Tired of trying to get the car to do 1 lap under full power. Tired of finishing in the middle of the pack. This was when the twin oil coolers was born. We scrapped the small auxilary oil cooler and added an identical oil cooler on the driver's side. Thus, we had 2 large oil coolers, one on each corner. The first race, everyone though we were crazy running 2 large oil coolers., yet SUCCESS! Oil temperatures had dropped significantly. We were now able to do more than 1 lap under full power.

[SeanS54]

Originally Posted by SUHleen

Hey man sorry to bother again, what is the benefit of the improved racing thermostat over the mocal? The mocal has straight in and out so no 90 degree bends there either. But with it being 180 degrees vs 215 degress, wouldn't the Mocal be open longer thus mean better cooling?

Robc1976 on this forum has done a side by side comparison. The Improved Racing Tstat doesn't have any internal blockage and flows better.

Improved racing also sells a 185 Tstat but I went with the 215 because that's a more typical operating temp.

Originally Posted by sirdaft1

If you consistently track your 335, you may unfortunately still experience oil temp issues with only the one OC. Fingers crossed that's not the case, but the ER guys still had overheating even with a large OC and a small aux OC on their dedicated 135i track car.

I've run the dual competition OC setup at multiple track days with zero temp issues. So I'm curious to hear how your massive single holds up under some abuse. Regardless, uber impressive you fit that massive OC in the wheel well! I crammed a custom built 25 row in there initially and have no idea how you were able to fit anything larger! Impressive

The OC and vented hood worked great and allowed me to finish my session. However, ambiet temp was about 85 and I was running stock boost (JB4 switched Map 5 to Map 4; need to resolve fueling issues).

Late in the session my oil temps crept up to 270 ish but no limp mode. I think you and ER is correct in that you either need two huge oil coolers and perhaps a huge radiator.

I'm already running the Mishimoto radiator but I don't think it's helping.

Track video here.

[SUHleen]

Originally Posted by SeanS54

Robc1976 on this forum has done a side by side comparison. The Improved Racing Tstat doesn't have any internal blockage and flows better.

Improved racing also sells a 185 Tstat but I went with the 215 because that's a more typical operating temp.

Gotcha. I'm pressed for cash rebuilding the car (not motor) so I may pass on it for now. I'm assuming to swap it out in the future, I will just undo the lines and put the new one on? Maybe doing it during an oil change?

Two other questions:
1) did you use the air "tunnel" that goes from the fog light area to the cooler? Or is it just an opening there?

2) Did you have to do anything to "prime" the system, in order to prevent there from being a dry spot in the oil circulation?

Thanks for all the help man!

[Agent11br]

Solid inspired DIY project. How you fit that in there is truly impressive. If you ever have the bumper off again, you should take a pic from the wheel well to see your F bracket.

Thx for sharing!

[SeanS54]

Originally Posted by SUHleen

Gotcha. I'm pressed for cash rebuilding the car (not motor) so I may pass on it for now. I'm assuming to swap it out in the future, I will just undo the lines and put the new one on? Maybe doing it during an oil change?

Two other questions:
1) did you use the air "tunnel" that goes from the fog light area to the cooler? Or is it just an opening there?

2) Did you have to do anything to "prime" the system, in order to prevent there from being a dry spot in the oil circulation?

Thanks for all the help man!

Yup, you can always change the external thermostat later- it's easy.

The air "tunnel" was not reused. It's an opening with a piece of sheet metal directing air to and through the OC and into the brakes.

Did not have to prime the system but make sure you fill the oil cooler with oil prior to final mounting. After a few days of driving checking your oil level and you may have to add a little of oil.

Originally Posted by Agent11br

Solid inspired DIY project. How you fit that in there is truly impressive. If you ever have the bumper off again, you should take a pic from the wheel well to see your F bracket.

Thx for sharing!

I'll keep that in mind. I'm sure I'll have my bumper off again.

[Cloud9blue]

Originally Posted by SeanS54

Late in the session my oil temps crept up to 270 ish but no limp mode. I think you and ER is correct in that you either need two huge oil coolers and perhaps a huge radiator.

I'm already running the Mishimoto radiator but I don't think it's helping.

Track video here.

Oil coolers alone won't help that much. What you need is to upgrade the radiator for coolant. Much of the limp mode issue with this car is due to coolant overheating rather than oil.

I have CSF radiator, PPK Stage 2 aux. radiator, and just one 25 row Setrab oil cooler w/ stock thermostat. And my oil temp rarely goes over 260F. Btw my car is an automatic, running 17psi at the track w/ E85 backend flash, and I push the car hard for the entire 20-30 mins session at my local tracks in 70F ambient temp.

IMHO and for this engine, upgrading the radiator is a much more effective cooling solution than throw two large oil coolers, especially when you consider the CSF radiator is quite reasonably priced and is an easy drop-in replacement.

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1089057
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1121751

[SeanS54]

Originally Posted by Cloud9blue

Oil coolers alone won't help that much. What you need is to upgrade the radiator for coolant. Much of the limp mode issue with this car is due to coolant overheating rather than oil.

I have CSF radiator, PPK Stage 2 aux. radiator, and just one 25 row Setrab oil cooler w/ stock thermostat. And my oil temp rarely goes over 260F. Btw my car is an automatic, running 17psi at the track w/ E85 backend flash, and I push the car hard for the entire 20-30 mins session at my local tracks in 70F ambient temp.

IMHO and for this engine, upgrading the radiator is a much more effective cooling solution than throw two large oil coolers, especially when you consider the CSF radiator is quite reasonably priced and is an easy drop-in replacement.

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1089057
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1121751

Thanks for the suggestion. I just swapped out my Mishimoto Radiator for the CSF Radiator!