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BEST FC3S oil pan upgrade???

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Old Nov 25, 2010 | 06:39 PM
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BEST FC3S oil pan upgrade???

Looking to beef up my oil cooling and want to know who sells the best pans/kit. I want to try to increase the capacity and hear a baffle is good too. What is the cost on these. Have a leaker here and want to resolve it for good.
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Old Nov 25, 2010 | 06:47 PM
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the only one i can think of is this..from Pineapple Racing..
http://www.pineappleracing.com/fcaluminumoilpan.aspx
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Old Nov 25, 2010 | 06:57 PM
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http://www.jegs.com/p/Moroso/JEGS-Mo...21985/10002/-1
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Old Nov 25, 2010 | 07:02 PM
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^Small block chevy oil pans?


How about Mazdatrix:
http://www.mazdatrix.com/boil1.htm
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Old Nov 25, 2010 | 07:46 PM
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the pineapple racing oil pan seems like a good option but the oil will still be saturated with heat. so you just need something to dissipate that heat if you want more cooling. have you looked into dual oil coolers? you can search or ask around. several people here have done it.
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Old Nov 25, 2010 | 10:24 PM
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IMHO, the Banzai oil pan brace is a great upgrade. It eliminates leaks, and is cheap.

The Pineapple pan is really awesome, but being made of cast aluminum can be an issue if the car is low or tracked because it is brittle. If it gets hit, it can crack or bust.

Vince
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Old Nov 25, 2010 | 11:16 PM
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Was looking for the Banzai oil pan and do not see any info or pics. Plenty for the FD..are the pineapple pans really that brittle and hang low???
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Old Nov 25, 2010 | 11:17 PM
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There's a kit out there that lets you convert your setup from the bolt-on pan to a stud style, perfect for when you add a baffle plate which needs extra depth for the second gasket and plate, or if you get a thicker pan, or both. I need to do that myself, but money is scarce.

Originally Posted by Wilddr805
Was looking for the Banzai oil pan and do not see any info or pics. Plenty for the FD..are the pineapple pans really that brittle and hang low???
It's aluminum, of course it's more brittle than steel, but it's not ****. From what I've seen Pineapple Racing does good work. Just don't fly over speedbumps, curbs, or offroad it like you could a Wrangler.
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Old Nov 26, 2010 | 12:44 AM
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go with the pineapple, its a bit pricey but its worth the money.
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Old Nov 26, 2010 | 01:23 AM
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what's with the people lately who think that upgrading the oil capacity helps cool the oil better?


whether you have a 1 gallon pot or 50 gallon pot on the stove they both boil at 100*C but one just takes longer to warm up than the other but also takes longer to cool. the oil cooler does the work, not the amount of oil you have, it may just take another 10 seconds to heat up the extra 1-2 quarts of oil and an extra 10 seconds to cool it.

additional oil capacity is for safety.
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Old Nov 26, 2010 | 01:24 AM
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Originally Posted by eff_three_see_es
go with the pineapple, its a bit pricey but its worth the money.
I do like the pineapple unit. Unless there is another one out there comparable to flexing, cooling and capacity. Hey nice group pic there by they way. Looks like a malibu shot....I am sure my brother was there.
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Old Nov 26, 2010 | 04:52 PM
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Originally Posted by Wilddr805
I do like the pineapple unit. Unless there is another one out there comparable to flexing, cooling and capacity. Hey nice group pic there by they way. Looks like a malibu shot....I am sure my brother was there.
Mazdatrix sells the only other one on the market, The Mazda Comp 7qt pan for $480. It was linked previously in this thread.

I think you could get someone to make your stock one bigger for less, but there might be some issues with possible warpage of the sealing surface.
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Old Nov 27, 2010 | 04:06 AM
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Originally Posted by Karack
what's with the people lately who think that upgrading the oil capacity helps cool the oil better?


whether you have a 1 gallon pot or 50 gallon pot on the stove they both boil at 100*C but one just takes longer to warm up than the other but also takes longer to cool. the oil cooler does the work, not the amount of oil you have, it may just take another 10 seconds to heat up the extra 1-2 quarts of oil and an extra 10 seconds to cool it.

additional oil capacity is for safety.
OP, please read Karack's post here. Having more oil does not equate to cooler oil. To be completely honest and divulge all info, technically you will get cooler oil because the oil will have been sitting longer and thus have more time to dissipate heat. That being said, I would be surprised if after adding a quart of two of additional oil capacity to your system, you saw cooler temperatures of more than a few degrees Fahrenheit. Get an additional stock FC oil cooler and run both coolers in parallel. It will work WAY better and cost you half as much.

Or just do some sheet metal plumbing to your oil cooler / radiator for $30 and see some small improvements there.
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Old Nov 27, 2010 | 07:45 AM
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Originally Posted by Project88Turbo
IMHO, the Banzai oil pan brace is a great upgrade. It eliminates leaks, and is cheap.

The Pineapple pan is really awesome, but being made of cast aluminum can be an issue if the car is low or tracked because it is brittle. If it gets hit, it can crack or bust.

Vince
H8ter!!!!
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Old Nov 27, 2010 | 03:18 PM
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Originally Posted by AGreen
^Small block chevy oil pans?

ya, youd be amazed how great that thing does, although you have to ditch that little paper weight in the engine bay and put in a real engine.
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Old Nov 27, 2010 | 03:19 PM
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Originally Posted by thejallenator
ya, youd be amazed how great that thing does, although you have to ditch that little paper weight in the engine bay and put in a real engine.
Oh, I see where you're going now.
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Old Nov 27, 2010 | 04:02 PM
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Originally Posted by thejallenator
ya, youd be amazed how great that thing does, although you have to ditch that little paper weight in the engine bay and put in a real engine.
I might be amazed, but I could also couldn't care less!

And I am confused, are you saying rotary engines are fake...like they don't exist or something?

OP, what temps are you seeing that is causing you to look at better cooling?
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Old Nov 27, 2010 | 04:17 PM
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Adding a second oil cooler, thermostat, and lines will add capacity as well as cooling.

I like the Pinapple pan as well, and I think Moroso made an AL sheetmetal one for a while, but may have discontinued it.
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Old Nov 27, 2010 | 08:51 PM
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I know a few guys running an FD oil cooler in addition to the stock one, I might do the same thing when I turn up the power.
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Old Nov 27, 2010 | 09:56 PM
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Originally Posted by Johny zoom
H8ter!!!!
Did you put yours on the rew?

Don't get me wrong, the Pineapple pan is an outstanding piece of work that really works and would run one if I could afford it:-)

The brittleness was mentioned because I have seen a picture of one broken on a track day on this forum. I may be biased slightly as I replace cracked oil pans on a routine basis on VWs and Hondas at my second job. Although, it should be a lot less likely on a FC as the oil pan is up above and protected by the k-member.

Vince
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Old Nov 28, 2010 | 05:47 AM
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Originally Posted by Project88Turbo
Did you put yours on the rew?

Don't get me wrong, the Pineapple pan is an outstanding piece of work that really works and would run one if I could afford it:-)

The brittleness was mentioned because I have seen a picture of one broken on a track day on this forum. I may be biased slightly as I replace cracked oil pans on a routine basis on VWs and Hondas at my second job. Although, it should be a lot less likely on a FC as the oil pan is up above and protected by the k-member.

Vince
One broken pan should not make it bad. A lot of cars that wreck on the track or jump a curb would smash any oil pan really good. Which oil cooler kit are most people using on the FC?
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Old Nov 28, 2010 | 06:15 AM
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Originally Posted by Project88Turbo
Did you put yours on the rew?

Don't get me wrong, the Pineapple pan is an outstanding piece of work that really works and would run one if I could afford it:-)

The brittleness was mentioned because I have seen a picture of one broken on a track day on this forum. I may be biased slightly as I replace cracked oil pans on a routine basis on VWs and Hondas at my second job. Although, it should be a lot less likely on a FC as the oil pan is up above and protected by the k-member.

Vince
yeah I put it on and I was J/K btw
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Old Nov 28, 2010 | 11:11 AM
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i'm still having a hard time seeing that people are having oil temp issues with the stock FC oil cooler, you either have bent fins on the cooler, dust blocking air flow or the engine coolant temps are crowding the engine to rise oil temps meaning you have alternate issues to the oil cooler being insufficient.

i mean come on, the FC oil cooler could be an upgrade to a 12L diesel tractor trailer....

the water cooling system is the weak point on the rotary engine, generally not the oil cooling first and foremost. like anything you have to balance the engine, dropping water temps will result in lower oil temps and that is where most highly modified 7's fall short is in water cooling. the 2 go hand in hand because the oil cooler pre-heats the radiator to increase water temps, they moved the oil coolers on the FD which was a step in the right direction but better than that is splitting the air so that the oil cooler does not pre-heat the air going to the radiator because the single oil cooler FDs i would say are actually on the weak side, the FD R1 dual oil coolers are more race-car-ish yet they still fall short of the capacity and cooling of the stock FC cooler.
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Old Nov 28, 2010 | 03:26 PM
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Originally Posted by Karack
i'm still having a hard time seeing that people are having oil temp issues with the stock FC oil cooler, you either have bent fins on the cooler, dust blocking air flow or the engine coolant temps are crowding the engine to rise oil temps meaning you have alternate issues to the oil cooler being insufficient.

i mean come on, the FC oil cooler could be an upgrade to a 12L diesel tractor trailer....

the water cooling system is the weak point on the rotary engine, generally not the oil cooling first and foremost. like anything you have to balance the engine, dropping water temps will result in lower oil temps and that is where most highly modified 7's fall short is in water cooling. the 2 go hand in hand because the oil cooler pre-heats the radiator to increase water temps, they moved the oil coolers on the FD which was a step in the right direction but better than that is splitting the air so that the oil cooler does not pre-heat the air going to the radiator because the single oil cooler FDs i would say are actually on the weak side, the FD R1 dual oil coolers are more race-car-ish yet they still fall short of the capacity and cooling of the stock FC cooler.
Nice write up....so you believe most money should be spent on one efficient radiator. Makes sense.
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Old Nov 29, 2010 | 02:04 PM
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Originally Posted by Wilddr805
Nice write up....so you believe most money should be spent on one efficient radiator. Makes sense.
and more efficient ducting, if it is really necessary.

when modding the second gens the oil cooler turns into a radiator pre-heater and with most people installing front mounts(reverse thinking) it turns into a boiler. even the largest radiators still can't cool the water temps efficiently without fresh, cool air. unfortunately there isn't enough room to divide everything equally so it takes some creativity. the stock configuration is fine for a mostly stock car, after that it becomes tricky and requires relocating and fabrication work. i still have yet to see a good proper v-mount setup for the second gen in a kit, because the hood latch crossmember turns into an inhibitor. there is plenty of room up front but i just wish the hood catch was at the front of the hood versus in line with the rear of the headlights cutting about 12" of space from where an intercooler could sit without blocking anything.
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