1FooknTiteFD

does anyone have any input on these? I'm going to upgrade my oil cooler(s) and I'm looking at the crooked willow set. I like the oil cooler itself, but I heard that the lines have some fitment issues. Also, how well does this oil cooler work? Does anyone have an oil temperature guage to check temps before and after the install? I have only 1 oil cooler and i'm either going to get the CWC one or an additional R1 one. Seeing as how they are both about the same price since factory parts are a rip off, I am leaning towards the CWC one if it works well.

j9fd3s

iTrader: (3)

on my r1 i had an oil temp gauge and over 40mph i could not get the oil temp to budge over 180. below 40mph it would run more like 210+. it was worst when turbo timing, it would peg the gauge. the first step is to put an oil temp gauge in the car, you need to know where you are at. i took the gauge out because if i'm going to have the car overheat then it better have a good radio =)

mike

manatecu

iTrader: (6)

I have a set. I would say they are an improvement. I did not have any fit problems but they went on a 99 front end and I had to do some trimming of the ducting.

See attached picture.

Ralgh

I have the Crooked Willow kit. It was a big job to get the kit installed. I needed to do some trimming of the plastic covers below the oil coolers and the undercover. I put heater hose on any part of the oil lines that thouched or came close to touching anything. The hardest one to deal with was the one from the filter to the thermostat. It runs through some tight spaces.

The only real problem I had was that the thermostat moved a little and started rubbing the radiator fan. I took a few zip ties and secured it to the inter cooler support rail and haven't had a problem since. Keep in mind that there is still less than 200 miles on it right now. I am going to the track on the weekend so that will be the big test of it.

My brother has an R1 and it looks like all the lines have to be changed to get to that set up so you will have to do about the same amount of work either way. The nice thing about the stock set up is that it was designed to fit in the car. Its just a little less work because there should be no trimming needed and no need for the heater hose.

I don't have a temp guage but the second cooler is always cooler to the touch than the first so it is obviously working.

7 POWER

I was very satisfied with the kit and quality.
It does take some time to get the install
nice. You definitely want to secure those
stainless lines so they don't saw at anything.
My temps droped about 30-40 F. I was previously
getting temps as high as 240. Very bad.
After the install I average around 180 and
see between 200 and 210 after very hard punishment.
In my opinion this is one of the best improvements
you can do to make you engine last.

Ralgh

Just put my oil coolers to the test. I spent the weekend up at Willow Springs International Raceway. After amost 200 track miles there were no visible leaks or decrease in oil level. I have no oil temp gauge so I don't know about that. On the down side on the drive home it started to leak a bit. It lost about a quarter of a quart over 95 miles. There is oil on only two fittings and one might just be residual from the other. Everything else is still clean. Hopefully all I have to do is tighten up one or two fittings to fix it.

Ralgh

Ok there is an off chance the oil is not coming from the oil coolers. plus the quantity is less than originally thought. I didn't think about the fact I had just run the engine when I checked so some oil was probably still circulating. The bad part is that there is a leak somwhere. Now to find it?!?!

maxcooper

I've had the kit installed for more than 2 years and 15K miles or something like that. The only trouble I've had is after initial install and an engine rebuild, the 90 degree fitting on the front cover has come loose (started leaking -- not like it fell off or anything). But it is easy to fix -- just tighten it enough and it stays tight. The coolers are still pretty straight as they seem to stand up to road debris much better than the stockers. I have an oil temp gauge... sitting in my apartment. So I don't know any temps. It is a nice it. If you want to replace some beat stock coolers or add a second cooler to a non-R model, it is great for that.

It is a lot of work to install, but you aren't likely to get stuck on anything except for maybe the power steering pulley. Give yourself a long full day, or a few days at a more liesurely pace and you'll get it installed.

-Max

1FooknTiteFD

I heard that the lines rattle from the oil cooler and fittings and they scratch up everything while they rattle. The oil coolers look beautiful though, too bad there aren't that many alternatives.

manatecu

iTrader: (6)

The lines will rattle unless you prevent them from rattling. I used some heater hose cut sections at various points. I put the cut sections between the hoses and used zip ties. They don't scratch or rattle anything anymore. As far as the power steering pulley goes don't attempt to remove it like I did. After I broke it the rest came off real easy. See attached. They are plastic and very expensive. If you break it call SR and gen a few aluminum one just like me.

Chris

Ralgh

I broke down and bought the Mazda SST for the power steering pulley. I figured it would be cheaper than replacing the pulley. $73 so I'm not sure if I was right. At least my brother had a chance to use it so the cost per use is going down.

As far as rattling lines I used about 2 feet of heater hose in various places and all the mounting clamps that came with the kit. So far everything is good except for some mystery oil. It only appeared after about 550 miles 200 of which were open tracking. It looks like the fitting that comes from the engine to thermostat.

The confusing part is that there is oil in places that are far enough from the fitting that it would have to be spraying to get there. I have cleaned the area and done a full temp drive test with nothing conclusive. I will have to keep trying. There is no other oil on any other part of the oil cooler kit.

Max, where do you install the oil temp probe on one of these things? I am interested in getting one.

Ralgh

Oh yeah, I took two days for the install. That also involved a racing radiator and new AST.

maxcooper

That was the same fitting that came loose on me. I tightened it really tight (without damaging it) and it hasn't come loose since.

My lines don't rattle, and I don't seem to have too much trouble with them rubbing things. I do have one spot where it is rubbing and actually rubbed through the SS braid, so I need to replace one line. I plan to replace the line with my temp sender install...

I am going to use a Mocal AN10 temp sender block (available for ~$50 from Pegasus) to mount the temp sender. I also got two straight AN10 fittings to use for that. But I haven't installed it yet.

-Max

Stevil

When I ordered my kit, Duane was kind enough to include a temp sensor T-fitting. That was pretty cool. I posted my temp findings in another thread, w/ an identical name or somesort.

Steve

Ralgh

I tightened the fitting. Actually I thightened both the one that come out of the engine and the one that screws on the first one. Both only turned 10-15 degrees maximum maybe even less. Then it was like pushing against a wall. Is this what you experienced on yours?

Ralgh

No good. There is still oil there. The thing is that it is not a drip or anything. After I drive it there is a very thin coating of oil around the area. It is not limited to the fitting. I have looked at it while the engine is running and even reved the motor up to create higher oil pressure and I can't see anything comming out of anywhere. The oil seems to be more concentrated on the tops of the area. Not much if any on the underside. This is wierd. Any ideas?