damenh85

Hi everyone,

Like many, I've been battling oil temps on track, especially being in Houston. I found a good price on most of the parts needed for an oil cooler install, but had to custom make mounts, make the lines, etc. I found that there weren't a ton of pictures of installed oil coolers when I was looking, so I thought I'd add the pictures of my fabrication/install process. Hopefully it might help somebody someday. I took it to the track last week, and it performed well- 90 degF ambient and highest temp I saw in a 20 min session was 268 degF. Still a bit warm, but better than previously when it would hit 280 after two laps. I have a small website that a buddy and I use just to share what we're working on- it has all the commentary and more detail pictures if anyone is interested. http://axiom1.com/corvette.html

Anyhow, here are the pictures. Questions, comments, and suggestions are always welcome.

-damen

GOTHAM VETTE

Clean out that rad and it'll drop even further you'll be shocked how much junk gets in there and if you have a/c clean out it and the space between the rad and condenser.

damenh85

Will do, thanks for the tip-

C5ZEE06

nice job. thanks for posting.
where's the new shop located ?

damenh85

Right off Bingle, north of I-10. 2,000 s.f. with air conditioned offices. Makes it bearable to work in the summer when you work for 45 mins or so, then take a break in the A/C- being in Houston, I'm sure you understand!

C5ZEE06

I understand - completely !
Pm sent.

gfacter

Nice write up.

What are the aluminum brackets for below the cooler?

Never mind, those are for the OEM spoiler that was off for the install.

travisnd

Is the cooler internally divided to force the oil to go through the entire cooler? If not, it seems the majority of the oil would take the path of least resistance and go from one port to the other w/o flowing through the cooler itself.

damenh85

When measured with an infrared pyrometer, the temperature readings across the face of the cooler are pretty uniform, so I assume that oil is routed through the entire cooler.

Spaggs

What size oil cooler is that?

Spaggs

rkcreative

I am considering putting together my own oil cooler kit as well, Do you remember the rough length of your hoses?

Rich

MR Turco

i read hoses are going to be between 4-5 feet, so 10ft should be good.

Supercharged111

Best way to do this is remove the radiator and pressure wash it from the back. I tried air and hose water and they paled in comparison to simply removing the radiator and pressure washing it. No bent fins either, just hit it straight on. Hold it up to the sunlight to ensure you're done. Since you can't hit the AC head on, you will bend fins with it in the car trying to pressure wash it.

liquidforce917

About how much line did you use for the install. I will be making my own kit with the same setup this week.

Thank in advance!

sperkins

You'll spend about the same if not more by making your own kit than you will just buying the DRM kit. ASk me how I know.

liquidforce917

DRM is $650 mine will be around $400

waddisme

Similar to how I installed my Setrab, except I ran my metal bars all the way to the top of the condensor and covered the top part with duct tape. I was afraid it would start bouncing off the condensor, but my brackets are not as thick as yours though.

Thanks for posting as this will be a good reference for someone in the future.

Falcon

How in the world did he get a wrench on the top AN fitting to get it tight?

From the looks of it, it appears as though the cooler was installed, then the hoses attached afterward, but maybe he disassembled it, attached the hose then reinstalled it.

damenh85

Hi everyone- sorry I missed all these posts; for some reason I didn't receive any notifications...

If I remember correctly, it was about 10 feet. I'm not 100% sure though, sorry.

I got lucky and found the Setrab 625 cooler, 10 ft of AN line, and the Mocal thermostat/take-off block for $250 from someone going in a different direction. I only had to buy fittings, $10 worth of steel, then plenty of my time which I value at 0

The brackets are 1/4" steel flat stock, so hopefully it won't flex. Just in case, though, I added dense foam to the back in case of contact with the a/c condenser.

I tightened the AN fittings before placing the cooler in the final position and bolting the brackets.

Supercharged111

FWIW I uses about 12 feet on my cooler, but mine's in front of the shroud behind the license plate. I bought 15 feet.