question about oil cooler placement

[Rick Kirchner]

I've been making some 3d printed inner ducts to replace the flimsy and unobtainuum VD pieces, with a hope of greatly increasing the airflow through the rad.

Designing them for the right side, but adapting them for the left will be impossible because of the oil cooler and associated plumbing.

This car has been converted to series flow - water enters the top of the left rad, crossed behind the fuel cell, enters the bottom of the right rad, and then returns via the water pump inlet slightly above. This setup greatly improved cooling when I first put it together in '09.

Oil cooler has always been in front of the left radiator. What might I expect if I move it on the other side? might have to make it taller and shorter in length to fit the available outside space.

[DanW]

Rick,

Have you ever considered an oil to water exchanger such as the Mocal laminova? Acts as an oil cooler and an oil preheater as well.

https://irp.cdn-website.com/e112be6e/files/uploaded/laminova24.pdf

[BeerBudgetRacing]

Oil cooler on my 94 and 01 (was/is) located behind the radiators.

I think the theory is oil temps are higher than water temps so even 'radiator heated' air cools the oil where as oil cooler heated air may be too hot to cool the water.

Maybe move the oil cooler behind. Would simplify plumbing too.

[BeerBudgetRacing]

What material did you print with? ABS? ASA?

[douglap1]

Oil cooler on my 94 and 01 (was/is) located behind the radiators.

I think the theory is oil temps are higher than water temps so even 'radiator heated' air cools the oil where as oil cooler heated air may be too hot to cool the water.

Maybe move the oil cooler behind. Would simplify plumbing too.

Rick:

My RF01 is set-up this way also, which I agree is best from a heat transfer perspective considering the oil temp should run a little higher than the water temp.

It looks like my oil cooler is about 1/2 the length of yours, and mine is mounted more perpendicular to the car centerline such that air flows perpendicular to the heat exchanger face out of the side pod. I am planning to change to a taller cooler over the Winter, as my oil temps are running a bit high in the middle of the Summer in Georgia, but I had not been planning to use a cooler as long as yours.

I am using the OEM Van Diemen sidepod air ducts, but mine are starting to look a bit ragged. If you make some that fit an RF01, I'd be interested in buying some from you.

[Rick Kirchner]

Paul - I'm using ABS. The design so far has an upper channel that attaches to the radiator, a 3-piece roof and inside wall assembly with glue strips to hold that together, and a front wall that ties it all together at the forward edge of the radiator and sidepod. It integrates my printed radiator screens as well. But F-360 can be so frustrating. Just had a design almost finished, took a couple of unwanted lines out of a sketch and turned the whole damn thing into a solid block instead of its thin walls....

I have not figured out how to employ blockers yet to dispense with tape when its cold.

Doug - I now have a method to design these things, but I need the side panels, floors, radiators, and sidepods to do the measurement. I'm not sure the design is even adaptable to another RF 94, because the position of the radiator within the sidepod floor channel, and the way the channels are mounted are critical aspects of the design - 16ths matter.

Art Smith has a late model chassis that's a FF. I might be able to make measurements off of his someday.

I do think moving the thing rearward, making it higher and more square - with the I/O at the rear instead of on top would probably clean things up a bunch.

Dan - I've considered contacting mocal or laminova to see if they could make a cooler that replaces the crossover tube between the two radiators. Placement of the I/O and internal baffles would probably be needed to really clean up the plumbing. I like the fact that you can disassemble those for cleaning.

[DaveW]

https://www.apexspeed.com/forums/sho...l=1#post666291

[Rick Kirchner]

Dave - so you have a water to oil unit below with an air/oil unit above?

[DaveW]

Dave - so you have a water to oil unit below with an air/oil unit above?

Yes. And you can see the placement of the components below.

The oil-water one is between the pressure pump and the filter. That has benefits in warming the oil as the coolant warms up and when the oil is hot does most of the oil cooling.

The air-oil one is between the sump scavenge pump (highest oil temperature in the system) and the dry-sump tank. It is behind the radiator to not compromise water cooling, and is oriented (in at the bottom and out at the top) to be a major part of oil de-aeration.

[Rick Kirchner]

mine is on the scavenge side as well

[10rmotor]

Yes. And you can see the placement of the components below.

The oil-water one is between the pressure pump and the filter. That has benefits in warming the oil as the coolant warms up and when the oil is hot does most of the oil cooling.

The air-oil one is between the sump scavenge pump (highest oil temperature in the system) and the dry-sump tank. It is behind the radiator to not compromise water cooling, and is oriented (in at the bottom and out at the top) to be a major part of oil de-aeration.

Dave, that looks like a custom heat exchanger, no?

[DaveW]

Yes, it is a custom piece.

Steve Lathrop installed that. I think it was made by C&R when we converted to Zetec in 2008.

Numbers on the heat exchanger are: CB 6-26-08 (probably made by "CB" on that date) W.O. 65719-01

It's 15" long w/o the water fittings on each end which are 1.25" dia x 1.5" long. It's 2.75" wide x 1.5" thick, plus the 2 oil fittings on top near each end.