hey guys, has anyone found it necessary to fit another oil cooler to maintain around 100 deg temp? i do remember seanb’s installation as a piggy back under the water rad.
i have simply removed the standard jobby from under the airbox, and positioned a small 13 row setrab cooler in the mouth of the crashbox.
now the cooling is much better, but i still need more on a very hot day. but as the cooling capacity gets greater i will have an overcooling problem on cool road driving days.
there are the water/oil cooler options or a thermostatic adaptor plate. has anyone from the exigers tried this thermostat route?
Been trying to think what to add Mitch but I cant. You could try a bigger oil cooler rad. I currently use an oil / water Laminova to cool my oil. I changed because the pipe runs are shorter, so the whole setup is a lot lighter. The new setup is adequate, but it isn’t as efficient as the original setup.
I am confused, all Exiges had the oil cooler under the crash structure, but you are sying you removed yours from below the airbox? and put one in the front?
I did Sean’s modification, which is replacing the std thin oil cooler below the crash structure and replaced it with a bigger one (occupies about half the size of the radiator) placed under the water radiator.
I hadn’t measured the oil temp before, but believe Sean’s measurement of >120 degC (that was it, right?).
On trackdays now I haven’t seen more than 85 so it’s def. working better.
i moved it because all the cooler gets is an indirect airflow. the pressured air in the airbox which manages to duck through the three holes in the crashbox floor through the cooler and out in the row of holes in the floor. a more indirect path of flow would be tricky to conceive. so a simple 10"rubber hose extension… and i was able to place my new cooler in the mouth of the airbox. with the unions sticking down into the outer two air holes, nice and neat and no cutting required.
i just think i need a bigger cooler. i can always tape off some on the fins to reduce cooling if it proves too much for everyday driving. i will go to my motorsport part supplier and see what he thinks about the size of cooler i am using in relation to the engine. i noticed in the lotus dealer the other day that the mk.2 uses 16mm oil hose. good move.
uldis, do you have ac? i have my ac radiator as passenger still…doh. so the piggy back intallation will require a bit of a clearout under there. or it will get a bit like triple decker btw what temp do you run on the road if you are only getting 85 on the track??
Ah, now I understand, what you call the airbox I call the crash structure.
And you’re right, the convoluted path the air has to go through is no good for the cooling performance.
When I moved the oil coller as per Sean’s mod I just put it below the water radiator occupying half of it, so air just has to pass through it, no way around it, no ducting.
The other holes I plugged and I replaced the bottom perforated tray with one from an Elise (that has no oil cooler).
And as for AC, I don’t have any, so no problems with the third radiator.
Road temps vary, but it can be anything from very cold ambient (until it warms up) to a max of 85 (never seen more than that), I would say normally around 60-70.
But then it’s not very hot here, our recent summer peak high was 29 DegC
Maybe you could get some tips from the guys in Asia who race Elises, they’ve had to sort out some cooling issues.
uldis, which model of oil cooler are you using? can you remember which manufacturer and model you installed? if i know this i can compare the capacity with that of my current one to see if there is a huge disparity.
Can’t remember, will have to go and look for the receipt to see what I bought.
I’ll send you the details when I find it (hopefully this weekend)
Yours is a Setrab matey.
even more interested to know which on it is now, as mine is also a setrab, so finding out the specific cooling capacity of each one will be easy. any further details please? or a piccy with dimensions so i can find it in the catalogue. cheers
Terribly sorry Mitch, busy like you wouldn’t imagie on Sat, Sun, Mon and just now had the chance to go through all my Lotus invoices (details are there)
Couldn’t find that invoice
Sean made me the favour of buying it for me down south (as he had done this mod before) but then afaik he’s lost also his radiator (when he installed a water-oil cooler so if he doesn’t know we’re out of luck.
Until I remove my front clam over the winter, for a complete suspension refresh (you know, all bushes, joints, bearings, etc).