What is the best way to reduce the oil temperature?

[atv12]

guys, it is not a secret that our cars warm up the oil to critical temp using on the track. so i think it is one of the first problems to be solved.. what way do you go? instal a water spray system or lager oil coolers or an additional oil cooler? thanks in advance!

[Hobbe]

What is the critical temp?

According to Castrol (we had a meeting with Castrol a while back) their engine oil products for BMW work well up to 140 degree C.
My car reaches max 125-130 degrees after being pushed hard for 30 minutes on the track (OEM intercooler replaced).
More or less the same temp as other BMW cars I race together with.
Hot? Yes, but not critical IMHO.

My old highly tuned MINI JCW GP reached 140 degrees rather quickly (small 1.6 L supercharged engine).
Adding an Mocal oil cooler (no OEM oil cooler on MINI) lowered the temp to 135 degrees.
Never had any problems with the engine even if the oil temp reached 135-140 degrees.
After five years and approx. 40000 km on local tracks the engine was still running great.
The best result was really to change engine oil every season, and to use the recommended SLX oil, which is what's recommended for 1M too.

[atv12]

interesting post. i used to warm up oil up to approx. 140 degrees celsius. so i think it would be great to lower oil temp for at least 10 degrees..

[atv12]

what viscosity do you use? 5-40, 0-40, 5-30, 0-30?
how often do you change oil and how much does it fade with track use?

[maupineda]

If you use the recommended spec (Xw-30) you may want to move to a thicker spec (Xw-40). That will certainly help. Before the last oil change I was reaching from 117 - 120 on normal driving from work back home, now with the new oil I am 110 - 112 on the same journey. I combined 4 liters of Royal Purple HPS 5w30 with 3 of 10w - 40 and added MoS2 can from LiquiMolly. Next time though, I will not put any 30 and go completely to 40 spec. IMO 40 is better for protection and the fuel savings from thinner oil are rather neglected, plus since the car runs above 100C the 40 oil will be thinner that the 40 spec suggest, and so does the 30. Not that it does a difference in the short term but a cooler engine is better of course.

[robertm]

Everyone becomes so focused on the resultant issue (high oil temps) that they forget about the root cause. Oil is not the primary cooling agent of motor. Water is what the motor uses to keep temps down. Increase the capacity of the cooling system with a larger radiator and your high oil temp issues will go away. This will be the 'best' way to reduce the resultant high oil temps.

[atv12]

Robert, are you sure with that? have you done it with your car? can you name any aftermarket water radiators for our car? desirable bolt on ones..

[atv12]

Originally Posted by maupineda

If you use the recommended spec (Xw-30) you may want to move to a thicker spec (Xw-40). That will certainly help. Before the last oil change I was reaching from 117 - 120 on normal driving from work back home, now with the new oil I am 110 - 112 on the same journey. I combined 4 liters of Royal Purple HPS 5w30 with 3 of 10w - 40 and added MoS2 can from LiquiMolly. Next time though, I will not put any 30 and go completely to 40 spec. IMO 40 is better for protection and the fuel savings from thinner oil are rather neglected, plus since the car runs above 100C the 40 oil will be thinner that the 40 spec suggest, and so does the 30. Not that it does a difference in the short term but a cooler engine is better of course.

i use the recomended castrol edge long life 01 x-30 and it fades away smth like 1 litre per 2000 kilometers of track use.. i change oil every 7000 kilometers..

[robertm]

Originally Posted by atv12

Robert, are you sure with that? have you done it with your car?

My 1m is my street car, not my track car. I occasionally take it out to the track but just to goof around. There are some serious 135 guys out there though that are club racing etc. Several of them have gone to larger radiators to solve their heat issues. If you think about it, it makes sense. Oil is intended to be the lubricant, not the primary heat exchanger.

Here is an old thread I found discussing the topic. I believe HP autowerks now has a custom radiator that’s suitable for heavily tracked cars. I would contact them and discuss.

http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=589983

[atv12]

i'm looking for a larger aftermarket water radiator then! thanks a lot! i talked to my mechanic and he agreed with this idea because there is a heat exchanger in our motor so water cools down oil..

[MDORPHN]

After regularly seeing 280-285 on the track, I had shop (RRT Racing) install the largest Setrab oil cooler that they could fit in place of the stock oil cooler and my temps have dropped 20-25 degrees.

OP, please note that the car has only one oil cooler (on the passenger side). The heat exchanger on the drivers side is an auxilliary radiator for the coolant system.

Neil

[atv12]

Originally Posted by MDORPHN

After regularly seeing 280-285 on the track, I had shop (RRT Racing) install the largest Setrab oil cooler that they could fit in place of the stock oil cooler and my temps have dropped 20-25 degrees.

OP, please note that the car has only one oil cooler (on the passenger side). The heat exchanger on the drivers side is an auxilliary radiator for the coolant system.

Neil

Hi, Neil!
could you please tell me the sizes of your setrab radiator and it would be great to see a couple of fotos of it installed..

[MDORPHN]

Originally Posted by atv12

Hi, Neil!
could you please tell me the sizes of your setrab radiator and it would be great to see a couple of fotos of it installed..

Don't have pix and car is currently at shop, but it was a custom job.

The best kit out there, IMHO, is made by ER (and it may use the same Setrab core that RRT used in my car) -- but I'm told it still needs some minor modification to work properly on a 1M.

Neil

[atv12]

were can i find ER in the internet?
actually we can do all the custom work easily. we just need the sizes of the radiator otherwise we will have to disassemble the front bumper and measure everything ourselves.

[ozinaldo]

Originally Posted by atv12

were can i find ER in the internet?
actually we can do all the custom work easily. we just need the sizes of the radiator otherwise we will have to disassemble the front bumper and measure everything ourselves.

You need to search. I think Neil is talking about this one:

http://www.evolutionracewerks.com/node/132

There are more items for 1M in their web site.

[atv12]

thanks mates!
does anyone know any productive bolt-on main water radiator?

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by atv12

i'm looking for a larger aftermarket water radiator then! thanks a lot! i talked to my mechanic and he agreed with this idea because there is a heat exchanger in our motor so water cools down oil..

When we had our Euro 1Addicts tour of Manhart Racing GmbH a few months back... Manhart showed us their solution for high temps. They offer an all alloy radiator, FMIC and oil cooler setup. I took pics of their radiator and FMIC(that also uses a step design much like the Wagner unit). All their "coolers" are plug and plug(PnP) with factory connectors, just much more efficient than the OE bits. They did not have an oil cooler for me to photograph. But they do offer one. It replaces the OE one. But their coolers aren't cheap! Here is their radiator and FMIC...



















euro 1Addicts visit Manhart Racing GmbH...
http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=732251

[atv12]

thats grate! can you give me any contacts of these guys?

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by atv12

thats grate! can you give me any contacts of these guys?

MANHART RACING GmbH & Co. KG

Linderhauserstr. 38
42279 Wuppertal

Tel: 02 02 / 94 62 44 45
Fax: 02 02 / 94 62 44 50

E-Mail: info@manhart-racing.de

[atv12]

thanks mate! l'll contact them!

[RimasRS]

Originally Posted by Dackelone

When we had our Euro 1Addicts tour of Manhart Racing GmbH a few months back... Manhart showed us their solution for high temps. They offer an all alloy radiator, FMIC and oil cooler setup. I took pics of their radiator and FMIC(that also uses a step design much like the Wagner unit). All their "coolers" are plug and plug(PnP) with factory connectors, just much more efficient than the OE bits. They did not have an oil cooler for me to photograph. But they do offer one. It replaces the OE one. But their coolers aren't cheap! Here is their radiator and FMIC...

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euro 1Addicts visit Manhart Racing GmbH...
http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=732251

Do you know price of IC ?

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by RimasRS

Do you know price of IC ?

It was a lot. You should contact Manhart Racing, but I think they said the radiator was like 1,800 euros and the Intercooler was like 1,400 euros. I think in the original thread someone said the correct prices. But that is what I remember being said to me. And I think the oil cooler was another 1,300 euros.

Just send an email to their sales manager... they will give you a quote. I do remember them saying they take VAT forms for US Military guys and they only charge 38 euros(w/o VAT) per hour for service work. They can also do ALL BMW services at their shop. I thought 38 euros per hour was dirt cheap since my BMW dealer charges 110 euros per hour!


Dack