Learn me oil filter relocation and oil coolers

So, after the challenge, the 3400v6 powere miata will be getting some reliability tweaks. 

Engine is from a 2004 Buick rendezvous. 

This will still be done challenge budget style. Cheaper than cheap is the name of the game.

Due to the oil pan hackery, and the fact the the oil filter almost rubs the steering column u joint, i want to relocate the filter and add a cooler. 

Oil filter for ease of service, and being able to add more filter capacity and therefore oil capacity. 

Oil cooler: trying to add volumn to the system, and some more cooling system headroom.

I have a couple of large plate and fin coolers of unknown application and origin. I am not married to them, and will happily buy a cheap enough new one. 

I have an oil cooler thermostat and a bunch of large an line leftover from converting a stroked roadrace c4 vette to dry sump. Didnt need it anymore on the car, and dad gave it to me to get it out of his way. 

So, with that out of the way....

What do i need to do this? How big an oil cooler? Any stuff head and shoilders better than others? I need the adapter that replaces the oil filter, with fittings, to be less than 4 inches tall to clear the rack. 

I have never messed with this other than installing doug rippy kits on c5 vettes, and maintaing dads c4 when it was wet sump. 

What are your plans for the car?  An oil cooler is not always required unless you're racing the car or working the engine hard.  A V6 in a Miata won't be worked hard unless you're racing it.  While many cars come stock with oil to water coolers many times it ends up that those "coolers" heat the oil up faster than the oil would heat up just by being pumped about the engine. That results in less friction  & drag and the OEM's like that.

Plans are for multiple driver autocross, and street use. Eventually hpde. However, part of this is added capacity (up from the current pan capacity of 3 qts) and that tge car, wiymthout ac, struggles to stay cool in tge hot and humid southern summers. I figure anything i can do to help deminish thermal load is a good thing.

Do not use any cooler of unknown history, or any one that has experienced an engine failure. You can never gaurauntee internal cleanliness. Always mount the cooler and the remote filter so that it does not gravity drain when the engine is off. The thermostat is a good idea to.

For the use you posted, plumb an accusump into lines for the remote filter. 

And remember, there are more failures on track from oil coolers failing, than with cars without oil coolers. Many times simplicity is key. 

So, i guessstep 1 is getting oil to the remote filter. Then monitor the oil temps to see if a cooler is even necessary, right? 

What do i need to know/get to build a low profile remote filter setup?

Also, with gravity drain: do i need to be lower than the stock filter, or pan? Cause stick filter will be tough, pan impossible. 

There is a stock oil to water cooler that people have good success with when road racing these cars.  It is a small little thing that goes where the oil filter goes.

I can't help you on a remote oil filter kit.  The one I have is a sandwich type and would be worse for your clearance.

From your description it sounds like you need more oil pan hackery to get capacity back.  Everything else is just adding complexity.

noddaz said:

From your description it sounds like you need more oil pan hackery to get capacity back.  Everything else is just adding complexity.

I agree. However, fue to grohnd clearance issues and k frame and 6 bolt mains and....

Just no way to do it. The replacement pan will gain about .5-.75 quart of oil capacity. But that is maximizing the available space. 

I think i have the 3x00 adapter for the remote everything in a bucket somewhere around here.  I had a remote mount on the old lumina for ease of oil changes.

We run an oil cooler on our Civic race car.  It's a Setrab cooler, sandwich filter adapter and remote oil filter.  We run a big Fram HP-1 racing filter that probably alone adds a half a quart of capacity.  No thermostat, as this car only see endurance racing use -- even then, it's hard to get up to temp on cold days and we tape over the cooler.  On the plus side, car went 4 hours once with a water leak and had almost no water in it and two drivers didn't notice.  (Radios failed, as they always do, and they couldn't hear me tell them the car was smoking a little.)

Oil coolers add 6-8 fittings that can leak/fail, and an extra target for debris damage.  I wouldn't cheap out on any of the components, design, or installation, otherwise you're probably not adding reliability.  I would recommend adding an Accusump, since they share all the same risk/reward of external plumbing.  Thermostat is a must for a multi-purpose car.

Patrick said:

I think i have the 3x00 adapter for the remote everything in a bucket somewhere around here.  I had a remote mount on the old lumina for ease of oil changes.

If you can find it, sold!!!

In reply to Tyler H :

Accusump is honestly not something I have thought about or researched before now. Definitely need to look into it, and then see if theres anywhere i can realistically mount it.

Dusterbd13-michael said:

In reply to Tyler H :

Accusump is honestly not something I have thought about or researched before now. Definitely need to look into it, and then see if theres anywhere i can realistically mount it.

I put one behind the passenger vent in a V6-swapped MR2.  With enough hose, you can realistically mount it just about anywhere, and that gets you an extra 1.5-2qts of capacity. 

Edit:  Occurred to me to mention that the Accusump should be plumbed in ahead of the thermostat/cooler part of the circuit.  You don't want a closed thermostat to isolate accumulator.

For your thermostat, one that opens at 200F is better than one that opens at 180F, a 180F oil thermostat could cause some overcooling. As usual, mounting the cooler off by itself is best (and if you use ducting rather than having it in the direct grille inlet path that can also make it less vulnerable to debris), but if you have to stack it with the radiator, it's best to put it behind the radiator unless the cooler is a small one - the oil cooler doesn't need the incoming air to be as cool as the engine radiator does, and the air coming out of it will be hotter.

Unfortunately using any oil cooling components that you don't know the history of is a huge gamble, in case there are tiny engine bits lurking inside.