Thread: oil coolers
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Old 04-03-2007, 11:25 AM
RedBarchetta RedBarchetta is offline
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Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Yorba Linda, CA
Cobra Make, Engine: SPF w/392CI stroker
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The nice advantage to Rob Frink's set-up is that it's more compact and all fully integrated into a nice design. You can regulate temperature via the manual valve and if you track the car you DEFINITELY need to regulate your oil temperatures.

On the streets, I've rarely seen oil temps in the 225-230F range, which is actually close to optimal. Only on the really hot, 90+ days and stuck in traffic. Temps above 250 is where you start to have problems. With the recent addition of an oil thermostat (see my gallery), I'm now maintaining 210-215 degrees in 75-80 degree air temps street driving. That's enough to open the valve and circulate oil to the cooler (I believe the t-stat is set to fully open at 215). I also picked up 5-6 PSI on cold starts and the oil does warm up considerably faster than before.

Everyone loves the look of the oil cooler and dual lines...it's part of the Cobra culture from my perspective. But most of these set-ups should just have two dummy lines that end at the radiator support...most street-based engines would live longer as a result.

-Dean
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