Oil cooler sandwich plates

[craig8585]

I'm looking to fit an oil cooler soon, but dont know which type of sandwich plate to go for.

Ideally I want a thermostatic plate as 90% of the time the oil will be cool enough without the cooler but, as with everything, I have heard roumers that the thermostatic plates considerably restrict the oil flow.
If the sandwich plate isn't thermostatic I am worried the oil will be too cool when sitting at 70mph on the motorway etc.. I'm going to mount the cooler behind the RH fog light mesh and infront of the washer bottle, so its got fairly uninterrupted airflow.

Any thoughts or experiences??

 

[Auss15]

I'm running the Greddy/Trust thermstatic sandwhich plate and have had no issues with flow. Oil circulation is still effective because the opening in the plate were the thermostat is located is bigger then the stock hole in the filter block. If you don't use a thermostat you'll have to cover the cooler in winter.

 

[craig8585]

Cool, thats the answer I was looking for

Do you know what temp your Greddy plate opens at? I was originally looking to get a Mocal hi-flow thermostatic plate that opens at 80C.

 

[Auss15]

80c as well Craig. I know a lot of guys who use them and for fittment and reliability they are second to none.

 

[craig8585]

Do you have an oil pressure gauge too mate? If so can the sender be put into the greddy sandwich plate too?

 

[LuPix_S15]

Craig - if you look through my WIP thread on here (Memberss Rides section) you should be able to see pics and write up at some point lol


I bought mine from Driftworks - thermo plate as well as the oil cooler kit. The core is made by MIH and the braided lines are well thick!! Basically you have unions on the end of the braided lines which then connect to the thermo plate at the engine block end and obviously the oil cooler at the other end. The thermo plate goes on the block first and then in my case, I have another sandwich plate on top which feeds the Defi oil temp/pressure sensors. Some people might moan about possible leakage... in my experience bullsh*t. Never leaked since day one of fitting the system

I think having two plates is easier to fit because in my case, the braided lines and unions are pretty thick. At the block end, there's is very little room to access and get the plate on nice and flush but more importantly tight so it doesn't leak. I'm glad this was one of the jobs I paid WGT to sort out cos it looked a bitch and even they struggled with a proper ramp and getting to the plate/block from underneath the car etc?! The the second temp/pressure plate goes on top, finally oil filter on top of that and it's all done.

WGT also made awesome rigid brackets to fit the cooler on my front O/S opening so it's all tidy and sturdy.

 

[craig8585]

Cool, I'll have a look through your build thread James for some ideas

I was looking at the sandwich plates yesterday and from what I can see the Greddy ones have several ports in them for the gauge take-offs. Like you say, I can imagine they are a nightmare to fit and secure all the pipes and gauge senders. Only real problem is I cant find anywhere that do them!

My plan is currently to get a thermostatic plate with at least one sensor port for oil pressure. I'll probably put oil temp sensor into the sump. Thinking of going for a Mocal 19 row cooler with custom brackets made at work out of ally and get them powdercoated black to keep it all discreet. As for the pipes, I want to keep them nice and discreet too so I'll be going for some matt black custom made ones as there is a company near me who will make anything. The only thing is they are rubber hoses so will need to check they are oil resistant and wont go all brittle or anything silly.

 

[S15 SILVIA]

I had a local agricultural supplier make me some hydraulic hoses up with crimped ends.
Oil, heat and pressure safe, custom made to my exact length, so fitted perfect!
Just take your cooler rad and sandwich plate, so they can make sure they use the correct threaded fittings.
They also usually have different angled fittings. ie straight, 45, and 90 degree.
The hose is black with internal wire reinforcing, and is **** loads cheaper than fancy oil pipe.
Only problem is that its not the most flexible

Mike

 

[spoonman]

has anyone had a problem with the O-ring not sealing, is there a specific type of O-ring needed to handle hot oil at pressure?

and what type of thread sealant do you guys use?

 

[craig8585]

I had a local agricultural supplier make me some hydraulic hoses up with crimped ends.
Oil, heat and pressure safe, custom made to my exact length, so fitted perfect!
Just take your cooler rad and sandwich plate, so they can make sure they use the correct threaded fittings.
They also usually have different angled fittings. ie straight, 45, and 90 degree.
The hose is black with internal wire reinforcing, and is **** loads cheaper than fancy oil pipe.
Only problem is that its not the most flexible

Mike

Yeah, thats pretty much the same as I'm thinking of going for. They're hydraulic hoses too, so good for silly amounts of pressure an heat. A mate had one made up for his civic and it was about £10 which isnt bad considering it's exactly the right length and fixings etc.

 

[LuPix_S15]

and what type of thread sealant do you guys use?

I usually use that PTFE (think that's what it's called?!) tape which is very thin but is great at sealing when using tapered threads etc...

 

[tripleJs15]

Liquid teflon is great aswell