Does the Idea of a combo Radiator/Oil Cooler seam like a GREAT IDEA???

Well I just sent an email to Jackson Racing this past weekend asking them if they make a combo Radiator/Oil Cooler for the NA Miata yet. They said they are planning on doing so, but don't know when. I bet if enough inquire about it they will push the idea to the front burner!!! They make them for other cars and they sure look nice. Nothing like killing 2 birds with one stone. Having said that I'm sure there are some draw backs for people that race hard, but it sure seams like a great idea for those that don't. I myself would LOVE to have one!!! I Hope others do as well and emails them. info@jacksonracing.com The title really isn't asking a question. It is meant as a fun way to title the subject for those that have wanted same, and a means of being able to do so.

A while back this solution was on sale here. It was a Flyin Miata product.
I e-mailed FM and asked about the product. "It was a fun experiment." was the answer.
It sure does look clean and tidy, but you loose some water-cooling capacity.

Do you need an oil cooler?

I would have started with an oil temperature gauge and a coolant reroute kit.
You do get a oil plug with temperature sensor, and easy solution to monitor your oil temperature.
The best deals on coolant reroute kits afaik are from SuperMiata and the one for NA6 from IL.

If you still want an oil cooler and don't want a standard in-front-of-radiator-air-oil-cooler.

This one from IL is an option, I dont know how effective it will be behind the radiator. Probably good enough.

or, you can go for my dream solution installing a Laminova water based oil cooler into your reroute hose
Some reading
http://laminovapro.com/
http://laminovapro.com/laminova-or-regular-oil-cooler/

oor, you can buy the kit from Maruha. Costs more but gives a lot of JDM cred. :)

I hope this helps on your decision.


\\Stian.

Stian covered it all already, however I would like to point out the "do you need it" part. I do not like oil coolers, so I would avoid the complication, potential failure points, oil pressure drop, delayed warm-up times, weight and cost that come with installing one if I were not convinced that I need one. Get an oil plug/temp sensor adapter, an inexpensive sensor and log your oil temps before anything else.

The primary reason to have an oil cooler in the radiator is to warm the oil up quickly as the vehicle is warming up. The oil cooler is usually on the hot side of the radiator. Then as the oil temperature starts to exceed the coolant temperature (which it will) then the same system cools the oil to keep it closer to the engine coolant temperature. Oil to be effective needs to stay in a key temperature range. Too cold is bad and too hot is bad.
I am guessing the IL oil cooler behind the radiator is a low tech way to replicate that radiator oil cooler system.

I have this system in my 2001 Chevrolet Blazer 4.3 V6 from the factory and it works great to make these engines live to 300,000 miles and for towing.

On my performance cars I always run an external oil cooler with a thermostat bypass to keep the oil in the correct temperature range. It is amazing how much it can keep your overall engine temperature under control when under load for long periods of time such as track racing and high speed freeway driving. It is probably a waste for normal driving, drag racing, and autocross.

Well...the oil/coolant passages in the engine block and head are designed with that purpose in mind; transferring heat from the oil and the engine itself to the coolant, and subsequently dissipate that through the radiator. When you start pushing your engine, the heat generated is higher. Oil needs to be kept within a specific temperature rate; hence an oil/coolant heat exchanger such as the Laminova system (or the rebranded Maruha one) as proposed by Stian would do a great job, similar to the stock Chevy one you mentioned. In any case, there's no need to add complexity weight and cost to a system if it is not needed, we all agree on that.

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Originally Posted by Slampen

A while back this solution was on sale here. It was a Flyin Miata product...

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Originally Posted by HarryB

Stian covered it all already, however I would like to point out the "do you need it" part.

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Originally Posted by MiataQuest

The primary reason to have an oil cooler in the radiator is to warm the oil up quickly as the vehicle is warming up.

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I just gotta say that I love you guys. As many have migrated their online time to the instant gratification of IG, FB et al we can always count on you to read posts and weigh in with your insights and perspectives. Shout out too to Greasemonkey2000 who seems to be one of the most active these days. Work has now deemed MR.Net as an "unnecessary site to access from work" so I don't access it during the day on breaks etc but still feel I need to pick up my game on contributing.

This forum was the bedrock of schooling me with all of you teaching me so much and clearly the best collection of like minded Roadster fans for my taste. I do miss when there was more activity. Thanks for continuing to be such awesome contributors and carrying the torch!

I sold an FM discontinued twin cooler in the forum a long time ago it cam with everything for a simple clean set up, to the car, a much cooler redesigned version will be to design a crossflow radiator with a narrow oil cooler integrated in the bottom

Personally, I'm not sold on combo coolers like that. When they work, great, but if you get a pinhole between tanks life is no bueno. I only say this with experience of radiator/trans coolers and what happens when the wall separating the two fails. I had too many friends (3) experience this with Xterras to ever want to chance it on any car. All three had their cars totaled as the transmission and the engine in each were destroyed. It may have been a bad design, I don't know. I also realize this is about oil and coolant, not automatic transmission fluid and coolant, but the principle is the same. I prefer to keep things that shouldn't mix in separate spaces with limited possibilities of failure. YMMV