Since summer's just around the bend, i've been looking into some different dual oil cooler setups. Right now i have the stock single and do not want to subject my engine to the temps that it would see on the track on a hot day with only one oil cooler. I have some money to spend on it, but don't want to break the bank. The ones i've looked at are (from cheapest to most expensive):

Gotham racing (in series operation w/ two 19 row Mocals) for $850

Rotor Sports Racing (in series operation w/ two 20 row Fluidynes) for $950
-this is the same as sold by the rx7store.net as far as i can tell

Rotors Sports Racing (parallel operation w/ same 20 row Fluidynes as previous kit) for $1095

Rotary Extreme (don't know if parallel or series, 25 row Earl's coolers) for $1200.

I'd really rather not spend more than $1000 on this, but do want the best performance for the money. Are there any issues with any of these or do you pretty much get what you pay for? I'm seriously looking at the Gotham Racing setup, as it doesn't get incredibly hot here in NC compared to other places and no matter what i do will be a HUGE improvement over what i have now.

Thanks.

 

Ask majic, he road races and know a ton about these cars. I dont know what setup he is running, but and dual is going to be much better than stock.

 

Do you want the absolute best or just the best for the money?

If you really mean the absolute best then you should go with Rotary Extreme's dual 34 row setup. It doesn't sound like that's what you're after though. The 34 rows aren't exactly economical.

http://members.***.net/trevorlj/7coolers.JPG

 

The gotham kit sounds like the old crooked willow kit that i had. It was quite an improvement over the stock single. You probably need a custom duct or a different front end to take advantage of the 34 row. If you don't plan on tracking the car 19 or 20 row would be fine. Who's doing the install?

 

The best oil cooler setup is one that keeps the oil temps under control. Going larger than what it is required is useless. Bigger doesn't mean better, it just means bigger.

What are your oil temps now? If you don't have an oil temp gauge you won't know after you install your new coolers either.

 

Like i said, i will be tracking the car or else i probably wouldn't even worry about it.

I just want the best for the money that will still do a good job. 34 row is definately overkill for me. The biggest i'm looking at is the 25 row rotary extreme setup...i can see running bigger if i had 100-200 more hp, but for 350hp (perhaps ~430 w/ 35R in future) i think that's all i'll really need.

 

Listen to Damon. I would see what my oil temps were before upgrading. Although I know they are too hot with only one cooler...

IMO, the 19-row coolers are too small for use without ducting them. From personal comparisons, my 25-row unducted coolers seem to cool as well as the 19-row ducted ones. I doubt that unducted 19-row coolers would be an upgrade over the stock duals.

I went with the RE kit over the CWC kit 2 years ago because of the superiority of the RE kit's line design. I also got local support from Chuck, so that was the clincher.

I can tell you that on my car, the dual 25-row coolers are exactly the level of cooling I need for track use in temps up to 100F.

 

i was recently helping a friend salvage a heavily damaged fd and as i was removing the front inner fenderliners found the (driver's side) oil cooler dead ahead.

the car had 60,000 easy miles on it (until it got totaled) and the cooler looked like new.

bingo.

i will rejigger the outlets so they point in the right direction, fab a couple of lines and will have the equivalent of an R1 setup. you could easily find a cooler on the site's for sale section. i believe they trade around $30.

howard coleman

 

Again, the real answer to this question is "It depends".

It depends on what kind of temps you are seeing. There is something to be said for the stock r1 duel cooler setup. Both coolers are 11 row, and when properly ducted, perform quite well. Something which often goes unmentioned, is that the stock coolers are also incredibly durable and tough, more so then some of the aftermarket lines and coolers. This was information given to me by some very experienced Rx-7 road racers. (Fritz, Damian GooRoo etc) I have heard more then one story of aftermarket coolers failing on the track and causing significant problems, and loss of the engine.

Also, for the cost, a set of Mazda coolers can be picked up for about half of the other kits. (Around $400-$450)

I will be running the stock 11 row r1 coolers, with the 99 spec ducting from R.E. Damian and GooRoo run the same setup, with custom ducting, and track their cars extensively, and oil temps are not really an issue for them.

Rynberg has made a couple really good threads in the past with advantages v. disadvantages for the different setups, and they are worth a read.

And don't forget the importance of proper ducting...

-Rotary4tw

 

Efini_7,

Unless you have a "need" for larger coolers, just go the stock route of the R1/2 dual setup. You can't probably find a used set, have them cleaned and installed for a very low price. I know quite a few FD track guys who still use the dual stock setup without issues.

 

It also means more overhead to be able to race the car in 113-116F ambient temps.

And before you come back with "I see 100+F all the time in Dallas," you need to realize that there's a massive difference between 104F and 116F.

Not everybody has to deal with that kind of heat but some of us do. I agree with you almost always Damon and your advice is usually spot on. BUT...Just because YOU don't need it with your local weather doesn't mean nobody else does.

The title asked for the best coolers. 34-rows from RE are the best coolers. insinuate all you want...there is no negative to them besides the price. They include a thermostat which regulates the temps. It's not like your oil is going to get too cold.

 

I would love to see empirical evidence to back up all these assertions. That would certainly help in these discussions.

 

I appreciate what you're saying, Trevor, but i seriously doubt i'll ever be racing in weather over 90-something degrees. I live and race in and around NC, so the temps hardly ever get much over 98, even on the hottest days.

I'll poke around for a little while and see if i can't find an R1/R2 setup. If not, i'll be back to square one and have to decide between these options. The car has run perfectly fine with the stock single, but i don't want to push it. Right now my feeling is that any dual system will probably be fine.

Oh, and another big question in my mind: does in series or parallel oil flow really make a difference??? Some of the more expensive ones brag about not being in series. In my mind it seems like the oil would cool better if it were forced to go into both coolers instead of just one. I mean, i can see how you're halving the oil flow through the coolers, giving them a longer time to cool...but it still seems like the series setup would be better. Can someone educate me here???

Thanks.

 

You're taking an accusatory tone? Why?

My point was that the goal is to keep the oil from getting overly hot and it does not take two 34 row oil coolers to do that. Even more importantly it appears he doesn't have an oil temp gauge to even know what his oil temps are so after he spends the money and mounts bigger coolers he still has no idea if his oil temps are okay or not.

Again I'm not insinuating anything but I'll add that I disagree with your statement because to me wasting money is always a negative. If a smaller cooler(s) is cheaper and keeps oil temp in check why bother to go bigger and more expensive?

What's your beef? I don't understand the bone you're trying to pick with me.

I bet North Carolina doesn't.

 

Empirical evidence? I have run many track days in ambient temps ranging from 50-103F. I have ran both the stock single cooler and my upgraded dual 25-row coolers on the same tracks with the same ambient temps. I have spoken to several other track guys regarding their oil temps with their mods and tracking conditions as well, to get their input.

You're not dealing with a bunch of ignorant people blindly modding their car, in this thread.

 

I was having oil temp issues and installed the gotham units. I use my car for track days and such and was seeing 130c. now with the upgraded units i will see 100c. I use no ducting and made my own brackets, as they don't come with brackets because people have different front ends. Overall, I am quite happy. To make the brackets I used some threaded rod and some aluminim. The treaded rods allow you to move them up and down once they are on to put as much surface area in the openings as possible. I also mounted them as far forword as they would go.

 

double post

 

Oil too COLD can also be a problem, causing sludge formation and poor flow. Even Lexus fell into this problem and had significant engine failures due too cool an oil.

Get a temp gauge, confirm readings in oil pan are between recommended range in Mazda Motorsport literature (do search here, I posted it once) and get rugged reliable coolers and plumbing.

I have had good luck with Mazda original R1/R2 cooler setup professional cleaned reconditioned by ? ? ( forgot name, do a search for Aviation certified repair center in Dallas/Fort Worth area). with reinstall, invest in new hose-cooler fittings from MMS ~$75. While at it, install screening in front (fits on back of front bumper shell, ducting slips over it) and seal ducting with door winterizing foam tape around bumper and at cooler.

I was ready to spend $1000+ on new cooler setup, I am more than pleased with my reconditioned units and saved hundreds.

So Texas is only in the 100+ not 104-116; it is still damn hot at a track with air temps over 125.

 

speaking of oil coolers I've read and read / Has anyone actually used a second gen oil cooler on their car> I've always wondered because I have 4 second gens lying around not being used. It would be nice to just use one of these and save abunch of money

 

Ryner youre always so quick to the draw. I love you.

 

As long as you have a thermostat in the system, that shouldn't be a problem.

Personally, I plan on keeping the stock driver's side oil cooler and adding an aftermarket cooler (probably 25 row mocal) to the passenger side. There is a thermostat built into the stock driver's side oil cooler, so that is taken care of. It should save a little money (even though those AN fittings and line are pricey) and I will get to have some fun putting it together.


lol at the disclaimer at the end of that sentence.

 

I searched google and the forum and no luck. Any pointers on how to get in contact with this place ?

 

here you go.

https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...ght=oil+cooler

 

ahhh... yes... i can see the light now!

 

So if you dont mind me asking of butting in.

What kind of oil cooler(s) whould I get for my fully built single turbo setup?