-10AN to -12AN Oil Line Swap

[jhv48]

I've got the normal SPF remote oil filter and oil cooler with the -10AN braided oil lines.

If I should decide to upgrade the hoses to -12AN, besides the hose fittings and hose itself, what else would I need to change? Would the new -12 fittings still screw into my remote oil filter housing and oil cooler? Or do I need to replace the cooler with one with larger fittings?

[lippy]

I have 12 AN lines going from the block to my remote oil filter housing, and I just use the right adapters (I think they are NPT to -12 male). You could do something similar with your oil cooler. BTW, I have an oil cooler, but it is capped and not used because I want to keep my oil temp up. I might hook it up if I track the car, but not for the street.

[jhv48]

Does that mean that the new -12AN male and female hose fittings will screw directly onto and into the existing remote oil filter and oil cooler fittings?

[mrmustang]

Originally Posted by jhv48

Does that mean that the new -12AN male and female hide fittings will screw directly onto and into the existing remote oil filter and oil cooler fittings?

Yes, as they can be had with the same thread size as the -10AN fittings.



Bill S.

[David Kirkham]

Most coolers will accept both sizes. We use -10 on the 289's and -12's on the 427's. Same cooler. We use a Setrab.

David

[jhv48]

Perfect info!

I'll order the correct hoses and fittings this week.

[RICK LAKE]

jhv48 J here's something to think about, Unless you get high flow connectors, the line size will not change a thing with flow. All you will do is store more oil in the lines by going up a size. Can add an extra 1/2 quart of oil to the system with this change. Every adaptor you add to the system only slow and restricts flow. IF you are looking to increase flow enlarge the insides of the fittings. Even with #10 or #12 lines the fitting are about 3/8" ID. Same applies for the oiling system in the motor. Depending on what modifications are done to the block and heads. IMO the most important things are to get good supply of oil to the bottom end. Have limiters to the valve train but have enough oil to cool the valve springs. Clean the motor of casting for quick return to the oil pan. Depending on what motor block you have a windage tray add extra oil holes for oil return to oil pan or no tray at all. If you race alot, this very important. Don't idle the motor if you are running solid lifters or even hydros, with or with out rollers.
Last note look into a accusump for prelubing the motor and or autocrossing the car. 85% of all wear is done from startups. I add a bottle of Lucas oil suppliment to my oil. Make sure motor is warn and pour in slowly to get good mix. You loss a couple of HP but save the motor on startups. Good luck Rick L.

[jhv48]

My thinking is that larger hoses would help mitigate some of the oil pressure drop from having the oil travel from the engine to the remote filter and then through the oil cooler. Am I wrong here or should I just remove the cooler from the system and run a return oil line back to the engine from the remote filter?

[G-Pete]

With larger lines you drop the pressure even more.

[lippy]

You probably don't need or want an oil cooler unless you are spending a lot of time on the track. I kept my cooler in place but capped the lines.

[CHANMADD]

If there's chatter there is play . Maybe some silicone behind the pad ...it seems the pad is cocking .

[Phill Pollard]

Originally Posted by lippy

I have 12 AN lines going from the block to my remote oil filter housing, and I just use the right adapters (I think they are NPT to -12 male). You could do something similar with your oil cooler. BTW, I have an oil cooler, but it is capped and not used because I want to keep my oil temp up. I might hook it up if I track the car, but not for the street.

I have a ERA too (#446) and it has a clear plexi plate in front of the cooler so no air flows through it. It looks 'factory' but one of the previous owners could have installed it.

I know from experience with motorcycles that the 'rule of thumb' is, if YOU need a jacket, the oil cooler needs a jacket. If you DON'T need a jacket, the oil cooler doesn't either.

So on the hot summer days we have here in CO, I plan to remove the shield. It has 4 small velcro pads on the corners of it so it appears to be made to be easily removed.


Phill Pollard - Co. Springs, CO
ERA 427 S/C (427FE SO)

[jhv48]

Originally Posted by lippy

You probably don't need or want an oil cooler unless you are spending a lot of time on the track. I kept my cooler in place but capped the lines.

Did you run -10 or -12 lines to and from the remote oil filter?

[RICK LAKE]

jhv48 Jim ERa sells the kit with #10 lines. Can get a kit with #12 lines if wanted. Others have said to get max protection from your oil, it has to be in a certain temp range. Too cold is about as bad as too hot. Mine runs in the 195-215F range. This is with a SW gauge and not sure how correct the reading is. Other things are I run a HPHV oil pump with 35-40 psi idle hot and 75-85 at 2,000 rpms. We can skip the whys of this. If you want to use the cooler and look into a thermostat. The other thing is this There is no cooler fan, so only the air that goes through the cooler is cooling the oil.At a stop unless your radiator fan is running you have dead air flow. Best thing may be to take a trip and cruise and whatever speed you like and check the oil temp. Tell us what you have. A hotter day would be better. Have to remember that all fittings on the lines are like funnels. We never talked about your motor. What power numbers, compression and camshaft design, solids, hydro's or rollers? It might just be better to goto high flow fittings and change all the connectors and leave the lines in place. The swap is easy but messy. Have to remember bigger is not better, Only in HP and woman's curves Happy holidays Rick L.

[madmaxx]

Last year I had a fiasco with an oil pressure problem. It would pull back from 52 to 45 from 4k to 6 k rpm. after numerours "experiments" including bypassing the oil cooler / lines one thing was determined, the line sizes on the SPF are sufficient as I did not notice any difference in oil pressure when the engine was hot with or without the oil cooler and lines. when cold there was a 5 psi difference with the oil cooler in the circuit. In the end the issue was a sloppy made Mellon oil pump. I got a blue printed oil pump off a guy in CA and voila oil pressure increased from 60 psig at 4 k to 66 psig at 6k rpm with 10W40. I eventually went to 10w30 which went from 60 psig at 4k to 63 psig at 6 k rpm. You might want to spend your money elsewhere.

[Jim Kellogg]

I made the change from -10AN to -12AN on my SPF several years ago. I had spun a rod bearing (lost oil pressure due to broken pump drive shaft) and while the motor was out I decided to upgrade to -12AN rather than just replace the cooler components due to any possible debris.

I bought a -12AN cooler from Olthoff Racing that fit the SPF with only little modification. Upsized all the fittings and lines using as few elbows as possible, and I am using an oil cooler manual bypass to reduce the flow to the cooler in normal driving to help keep the oil temps up.

It works very well, but I probably wouldn't have made the change if it wasn't necessary for me to change the cooler due to my motor failure. The larger lines are definitely more noticeable from the outside (a plus if you want the attention), and take up valuable space in the engine compartment (a big minus you may have not considered).


This photo is with the -10AN lines and my "original" oil cooler temperature control :-)


And this photo shows the larger capacity cooler with -12AN lines. And hey, look!!! No salt :-)


Hope this helps,
Jim Kellogg