alpinelakespilot2000
Well Known Member
I've always had oil temps that have been about 10F higher than I'd like, especially on 90+F days where I can see high 210s in cruise. I've long anticipated swapping out my original Niagara 20002A with a HE-series from Pacific Oil Coolers that has a good reputation for significantly reducing oil temps but that also retains the same size footprint as the Niagara.
That said, I'm also wondering how much the vertical placement of the oil cooler matters. For instance, as you'll see in the pictures attached where I've installed 3 screws for a wintertime oil cooler cover plate, I could probably have gotten away with raising the oil cooler about 1", but think I didn't originally just because Vans FWF instructions were pretty cryptic and I didn't know what I didn't know. It does seem to make sense that having 1 less inch of cooler tucked behind the #4 cylinder where it does not get direct ram air would help.
Do you think raising the cooler 1" would have improved my oil cooler's performance significantly? Worth it? Are we talking no effect, 1-2 degree F impact, or maybe something more meanginful?
(As an aside, unfortunately, I can't simply raise my existing cooler to find out because I had to cut part of the cooler mounting flange to clear the engine mount but if I do swap it out with a new cooler want to know what I might expect if I go through the effort of locating the new one up a bit.)
That said, I'm also wondering how much the vertical placement of the oil cooler matters. For instance, as you'll see in the pictures attached where I've installed 3 screws for a wintertime oil cooler cover plate, I could probably have gotten away with raising the oil cooler about 1", but think I didn't originally just because Vans FWF instructions were pretty cryptic and I didn't know what I didn't know. It does seem to make sense that having 1 less inch of cooler tucked behind the #4 cylinder where it does not get direct ram air would help.
Do you think raising the cooler 1" would have improved my oil cooler's performance significantly? Worth it? Are we talking no effect, 1-2 degree F impact, or maybe something more meanginful?
(As an aside, unfortunately, I can't simply raise my existing cooler to find out because I had to cut part of the cooler mounting flange to clear the engine mount but if I do swap it out with a new cooler want to know what I might expect if I go through the effort of locating the new one up a bit.)