Firewall-mounted Oil Cooler Pics

[AllanC]

i'm interested in the pretty yellow oil cooler shrouds - I've had to make mine from a cf layup over foam, and I hate composite work. Are they available for differnt 'face' sizes of oil cooler, and where can you buy them??

Allan

[Bdalporto]

James can you give more specifics on the installation. Scat tube size, Oil Cooler make and model, Rear baffel flange source ect. I have a hot rodded IO-360 I'm installing on an RV-7 and would like to put my oil cooler on the Fire Wall.

Brian

[tomcostanza]

This seems like a much simpler installation, if it cools as well as putting it on the baffle. Does anyone else have performance figures?

[bondiRV7A]

This is the instalation of the 10 row NTP 20004A Oil cooler I have on my RV7A. I used 4" SCAT. I have completed my Phase 1 testing and the set up is on the money for the ported & flow matched, dual LSE Plasma II+, 180+hp IO-360 M1 engine. I have cruising oil temps of 175-185 deg F and on hot weather 25/25 climbs i.e air temps 35+ deg C the oil temp maxs out at 198 deg F with CHTs in the 410s. The intersection between the SCAT and the cooler is a bit funky but I guess it does the job!

[flyeyes]

Originally Posted by Bdalporto

James can you give more specifics on the installation. Scat tube size, Oil Cooler make and model, Rear baffel flange source ect. I have a hot rodded IO-360 I'm installing on an RV-7 and would like to put my oil cooler on the Fire Wall.

Brian

I more or less copied the installation from Greg Hale. He lives in a hot climate and wound up changing his cooler to get reasonable temps.

I have the Stewart Warner 13-row cooler Part #10611R, which was about twice the cost of the recommended cooler. The 13-row cooler is normally used on the IO-540 IIRC.

The yellow plenum is homebrewed--laid up over a foam mold. The flanges were molded on 4"PVC from Home Depot, but you can now get a flange from Van's intended for the IO-540/RV-10.

The SCAT tube is 4", which seems to be a reasonable size. Many people have reported high temps with 3" SCAT (although some -320 installations seem to be doing well).

I am delighted with my cooling. My EFIS logs engine parameters, and the highest oil temp I have seen was 227 degrees. That was on a mid-afternoon departure from El Paso with an OAT of 105 degrees. The taxi was extended before takeoff, and the engine was heat soaked (quick turn) even before start. The temp was about 215 at takeoff, peaked at 227 a couple of minute into the climb, and slowly dropped. After leveling off, the temp dropped quickly. That was about the worst conditions I'm willing to fly in as a pilot (I was miserably hot until I got some altitude).

My engine is completely stock internally, and I run one electronic ignition, a horizontal (hot air) intake, and 4-into-1 exhaust. I have a 2-inch SCAT blast tube on my fuel pump. I typically climb about 200 degrees rich of peak EGT and cruise lean of peak. Oil temps run from 170 in the winter to about 190 in cruise in the summer--usually right on the vernatherm. I will typically see 200 in a long climb, but I can generally climb at Vy from sea level to normal cruise altitudes year round without being limited by oil temp.

HTH

[tridge]

Hi Steve,
How goes it with you're fire wall mounted oil cooler? Thinking of doing the same on my 7a IO360. Email me: tridge@accesstoledo.com

Tom Ridge, EAA582 Toledo, OH.

[kiwipete]

For info here's how I installed mine on a XP IO-360 with forward facing sump and Hartzell prop.
It took a while to find a solution that didn't interfer with the prop or mixture cables and gear leg.
Works a treat only problem is now in the winter trying to get the oil warm enough! I think I'm going to have to install a butterfly to be able to restrict the airflow.

Peter

[newtech]

Originally Posted by tridge

Hi Steve,
How goes it with you're fire wall mounted oil cooler? Thinking of doing the same on my 7a IO360.

Tom Ridge, EAA582 Toledo, OH.

Not flying yet :-( Looks like early Spring. Will report back with how the cooler works.

[roadrunner20]

Originally Posted by newtech

Hi Scott,
I am pleased with the way my oil cooler installation came out. It includes an airflow adjusting door so on cold days I will be able to easily control the airflow through the cooler from the cockpit. Major downside of the way I did it is you will always have a little amount of oil left in the cooler when draining oil for an oil change. It will have a tee fitting on the lower inlet so I can drain oil from that point as well as the oil sump on the engine.




Steve Eberhart. RV-7A Slider, O-360-A1A, Catto 3 blade, finishing up canopy installation

I'm also using the XP-IO360 horizontal induction and FWF oil cooler.
BTW, I like the idea of placing a screen in front of the scat opening.

My oil temps are always in the normal range but my #4 cht likes to climb to ~415 on perf cruise.

I've fabricated a restricter plate to place inside the baffle on the scat tube opening to try to get some better pressure cooling on that cylinder.

Has anyone else experimented with this setup?

[LOGGY]

I have tried the flapper door on the back side of the oil cooler ( very similar to you set up ) .......Poor results...I concluded the air needs to be restricted before the cooler instead of after..if there is any way you can fit the vans restrictor before the oil cooler I think you will have better luck FWIW Mike