I've been wanting to put an oil cooler on my Civic for a while now. Is there a certain number of rows I should look at or does it really not matter?

Thanks.

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Unless you are regularly tracking the car, no it does not matter.

Inside or outside? Either may limit the size of it a bit.

It will be inside mounted. Where the AC condenser used to be. I'm going for a more stock look than Boso. It isn't for track, but my mechanic told me that the engine I have in there will benefit (longer lasting) if I do utilize one. This engine already has the leads for one, too.

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I would suggest against the style of cooler that are a single pipe that turns back and forth threading through a rectangle of aluminum fins. These are the cheap and low quality ones that are more typical in the US.

As a comparison for style, and an indication of quality and efficiency, look at the oil coolers that are used as original equipment on turbocharged cars. They are thick, formed with the oil plumbed through stamped fins. These get the oil closer to the metal and do a better job transferring the heat out of the oil and into the body of the cooler assembly.

B&M make oil and transmission fluid coolers, some are called supercoolers. They all follow the same basic design, 1 1/2 inch thick, 11 inches long, and a variety of heights to match the cooling need (4-11 inches).

Setrab make thick coolers and they have a good reputation.


One last note. If you are dealing with an overheating problem, the solution is a bigger radiator. Better cooling and more capacity of the coolant will provide more benefit than more cooling of the lubricant. They call them water cooled engines for a reason.

Which is why the stock RX7 oil coolers are so commonly used.

I was wondering about the B&M ones. You're talking about something like the below?





No overheating issues at all.



This is why the question. I have access to one of these at no cost. This would work well?

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They seem to be less expensive and easier to find than the Setrab coolers. But I don't like the mounting brackets though, they are flat out to the sides and would block airflow if you mounted the cooler in front of a radiator.

Yes, it should work very well.

I'm not going to put it in front of anything. It's going to be on the radiator support NEXT TO the radiator. Where the AC condenser used to be. So it'll be right behind the actual grill.

Right behind the CVCC part of the grill in the pic below...directly in air flow path...

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you have no need for an oil cooler. if anything, you may actually harm your engine by the oil being too cool. oil is best at around 170-210 degrees. get an oil temp gauge, then figure out if you need a cooler or not. my guess is that you aren't anywhere near that temperature.

I don't have the factory Civic engine in there. And my mechanic (a legend in the 1st gen Civic world) has mentioned on several occasions to me that I would benefit from one. I don't know. Just going on his word, you know?

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there are many legends out there. i'd still check to see what your temps are at first.

I don't know about "many," lolol, but there are quite a few. But I trust mine.

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depends on what you would consider a legend. i would have to know your mechanics background to understand why he would consider an oil cooler on a street car. it just doesn't make sense on something that doesn't see track time, etc..

Lolol. Believe me.

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Moved to proper section.

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RX-7 oil coolers (apart from the series III RX-7 which used a tiny little one that sat under the filter) are well designed because they force the oil through the cooler, the oil has no escape route like some cheap coolers where the oil is fed into the cooler and can then flow directly to the outlet (ie there is a passageway between the inlet and outlet lines)

I've worded this badly but Datsunfreak is on the money.

Oil Cooler + good quality lines and fittings + thermostat + good oil temp gauge - not autometer junk =