[Daya]

Conditions:
51 degrees F
4 - 25/30 minute sessions

I already have the oem oil cooler, other mods are in my sig.

Road America is a 4 mile road course with 14 turns and 3 long straights. The 3 long straights reward high horsepower and torque and it really lets a tuned N54 shine. Even though it was cold I was still a little bit worried about my oil temps and could finally see how well the AR Oil Cooler works.

Results: My oil temperature never went above 255! I was consistently hitting 110-135 mph in the straights and got 8 laps or so each session. I am very impressed that the oil temperature stayed in check and will feel confident on the track in warmer conditions.

So for anyone who is going to start doing some track days and/or running higher boost, you should seriously consider investing in a secondary oil cooler to keep things within normal range and avoid any limp modes due to high temps.

[Ilma]

Does the AR oil cooler retain the stock thermostat?

[MKE_M3]

That is great to hear! I did a track day at RoA about a month ago and had serious temp problems. i had to run only 11 psi to not run to hot. I have the factory oil cooler and it just wasn't good enough with a modded car. I am waiting for delivery of the CP-E oil cooler/intercooler combo and hope to have similar success to you with keeping the oil temp down!

[Daya]

Originally Posted by Ilma

Does the AR oil cooler retain the stock thermostat?

It does retain the stock thermostat.

I do not have pictures of the install but you can probably find pics on AR's website. The cooler itself sits behind the kidney grills.

I completed a second full day at Road America and the temperatures never got higher than 255 again

Definitely well worth the investment

[ar design]

Originally Posted by Daya

It does retain the stock thermostat.

I do not have pictures of the install but you can probably find pics on AR's website. The cooler itself sits behind the kidney grills.

I completed a second full day at Road America and the temperatures never got higher than 255 again

Definitely well worth the investment

Great writeup!!!

[zsapphire7]

lucky! 51F... what a chilly day ...

[Mike@N54Tuning.com]

Thanks for the review. All my customers are raving about the oil cooler. Ar design (Andrew) did a great job.

Mike

[PKumarM3]

51 degrees? u should not see any problems at that temperature. get back to us when u do a 2 day event in the middle of July. lol

[PandaBear]

Yup, I just recently got the AR OC as well, and I am extremely pleased that I did!~

[Daya]

Originally Posted by PKumarM3

51 degrees? u should not see any problems at that temperature. get back to us when u do a 2 day event in the middle of July. lol

Not true. There were 335's there with stock tune and factory oil coolers hitting 280. With 4 miles of track and 3 long straights you can really push your car

[Mike@N54Tuning.com]

Originally Posted by Daya

Not true. There were 335's there with stock tune and factory oil coolers hitting 280. With 4 miles of track and 3 long straights you can really push your car

+1

On a road course temps can go up VERY quickly under sustained load. Low ambients help but don't solve the problem.

Mike

[mycoupe]

How about you get back to us when you actually have some numbers to compare it to without the AR unit as well. Your numbers mean nothing if you can't say what it runs in that temp, on that track, with just the stock cooler.

[mazdaspeed6]

he just said people in other 335 with the stock oil cooler alone were hitting 280

[itsbrokeagain]

I had a stock oil cooler in mine....pushing it on a 40 degree night at 3AM for less than 5 minutes made the temps climb to 270. wasnt impressed.

Ive been pushing my customers into AR coolers for a while now....they work wonders in keeping the temps down. Average temp cruising now is a measly 220-230..and stays there even when you downshift to take off.

My girls car will be getting one soon along with a set of XI downpipes..need to open it up a little bit

[ar design]

Originally Posted by mazdaspeed6

he just said people in other 335 with the stock oil cooler alone were hitting 280

+1 LOL

[MKE_M3]

Yeah, on a 70 degree day I had a limp mode from temp. I was hitting 140-145 on the two fastest straights with the stock tune and was definately near 270 or higher.

[Murph335]

great write-up!
Did you have a chance to run Graeme's black c6 Z06 on the straights? Would like to see a vid of that one as a benchmark to your 400whp! if not try to set that up next season, he has video setup.


I havent seen it go over half way (what temp is that?) with the stock oil cooler Map 3. No track days, and its "winter time" here. $900 is pretty steep!

[MKE_M3]

Originally Posted by Murph335

great write-up!
Did you have a chance to run Graeme's black c6 Z06 on the straights? Would like to see a vid of that one as a benchmark to your 400whp! if not try to set that up next season, he has video setup.


I havent seen it go over half way (what temp is that?) with the stock oil cooler Map 3. No track days, and its "winter time" here. $900 is pretty steep!

for around $900 you can get the CP-E intercooler/oil cooler combo. Probably not as nice as AR, but a good alternative if you don't have an IC or $2k for both

[Sniz]

Originally Posted by PKumarM3

51 degrees? u should not see any problems at that temperature. get back to us when u do a 2 day event in the middle of July. lol

+1

51 degree ambient temps and oil cooler review should not be in the same thread

add 50 degree's to that ambient and report back.


Hell this summer my e36 w no radiator shrouding at all was running water temps around 215-225 in the 90+ heat. Now it doesnt go over 180.

[Sniz]

Originally Posted by Murph335

great write-up!
Did you have a chance to run Graeme's black c6 Z06 on the straights? Would like to see a vid of that one as a benchmark to your 400whp! if not try to set that up next season, he has video setup.


I havent seen it go over half way (what temp is that?) with the stock oil cooler Map 3. No track days, and its "winter time" here. $900 is pretty steep!

it would be bloody murder for the Z06 every single time. we're talking a car that traps 127 to 129mph in 50 degree temps against a car that will be lucky to trap 118mph to 119mph. Sprinting away would be a good description.



this is of course assuming sea level race track.

[Sniz]

Originally Posted by Matt@Camber-Toe

I had a stock oil cooler in mine....pushing it on a 40 degree night at 3AM for less than 5 minutes made the temps climb to 270. wasnt impressed.

Ive been pushing my customers into AR coolers for a while now....they work wonders in keeping the temps down. Average temp cruising now is a measly 220-230..and stays there even when you downshift to take off.

My girls car will be getting one soon along with a set of XI downpipes..need to open it up a little bit

its sad what a weak oil cooling system BMW installed on these cars. Glad AR has designed a proper add on one to help you guys out.

Have there been any tests of the AR vs the CP-E?

[Daya]

Originally Posted by Sniz

+1

51 degree ambient temps and oil cooler review should not be in the same thread

add 50 degree's to that ambient and report back.


Hell this summer my e36 w no radiator shrouding at all was running water temps around 215-225 in the 90+ heat. Now it doesnt go over 180.

There were stock 335's with factory oil coolers hitting 280 so I think this was still a relevant post. Road America has over 4 miles of track with 3 very long straights. The oil is still going to heat up when driven hard regardless of ambient temps.

Point being, regardless if the ambient temps were 50 degrees or 100 degrees, the AR oil cooler performed well and is a good investment for cars seeing any track time