[LionOfGosforth]

I'm looking into buying an oil cooler for my 09 xi coupe with SP. I was disturbed recently to discover there is no such thing on my car and therefore (with tuning in the near future in mind) would like to get one. Since i'm in the market, is there one particular brand or model that is recommended over the OEM one or is that cooler sufficient? I don't have plans to go beyond stage 1 and my car is stock. Don't really have a budget in mind, just looking for a quality recommendation. Thanks for any replies!

[UltraRacer13]

Stett - it is designed to sit where the oem core sits, so it doesn't block air to intercooler or radiator like many others. Solid setrab core. I have stg II- dropped temps 30-40 degrees!

[Rustler]

The other option which is popular around here is the AR Design unit which sits infront of the radiator, and has a retrofit kit for those without a factory oil cooler. AR Design is also a setrab core.

AR Design touts the placement in front of the core in front of the radiator as maximizing cooling.

I have seen posts raising concerns that this will block air flow to the radiator and add heat to the radiator resulting in high water temps. However, In my searching on this forum and others on this issue I have not seen any complaints about that issue from actual users. As reasonable as the logic behind that concern is, at this point I haven't seen anything more than speculation. I haven't yet installed my unit, so I can't speak from any experience.

My understanding is that the Stett unit also replaces the stock thermostat reducing the temperature at which the oil coolers are opened, whereas the AR Design does not.

Can anyone else confirm or deny this?

I have read reviews of good results from both the Stett and AR Design options. It seems that the general consensus is that the factory oil cooler is insufficient for track temperatures or aggressive tuning.

[Turkeybaster115]

Originally Posted by LionOfGosforth

I'm looking into buying an oil cooler for my 09 xi coupe with SP. I was disturbed recently to discover there is no such thing on my car and therefore (with tuning in the near future in mind) would like to get one. Since i'm in the market, is there one particular brand or model that is recommended over the OEM one or is that cooler sufficient? I don't have plans to go beyond stage 1 and my car is stock. Don't really have a budget in mind, just looking for a quality recommendation. Thanks for any replies!

Since you are in warranty, the only oil cooler that won't void your warranty is the OEM one. The stett, WILL definitely void your warranty, because you won't be using a the factory thermostat.

[LionOfGosforth]

Originally Posted by Turkeybaster115

Since you are in warranty, the only oil cooler that won't void your warranty is the OEM one. The stett, WILL definitely void your warranty, because you won't be using a the factory thermostat.

Yeah, that is a consideration. Not exactly practical to remove a none-oem oil cooler prior to any service/warranty work. I may wait until past 50k miles. I did a little "temp" test on the way home from work today. Temps in the mid-60's, kept my RPM's below 2.5k which was tortuous to say the least. Oil temp got to 230 but didn't go any higher. I guess that's normal for the N54? I'm new to the engine but it seems a little high to me for such careful driving...?

[Turkeybaster115]

Originally Posted by LionOfGosforth

Yeah, that is a consideration. Not exactly practical to remove a none-oem oil cooler prior to any service/warranty work. I may wait until past 50k miles. I did a little "temp" test on the way home from work today. Temps in the mid-60's, kept my RPM's below 2.5k which was tortuous to say the least. Oil temp got to 230 but didn't go any higher. I guess that's normal for the N54? I'm new to the engine but it seems a little high to me for such careful driving...?

You DON'T need an oil cooler, unless you are going to track your car, or do some sort of racing activity. Oil temps on cars without an oil cooler hover around 240-255, which is normal.

[LionOfGosforth]

Originally Posted by Turkeybaster115

You DON'T need an oil cooler, unless you are going to track your car, or do some sort of racing activity. Oil temps on cars without an oil cooler hover around 240-255, which is normal.

I understand that...I was thinking more for down the line when I may go with a Procede or Cobb AP tune, whether it would still be safe to run without an oil cooler? I guess by then, I will be out of original warranty anyway.

[kuruca]

Originally Posted by Turkeybaster115

You DON'T need an oil cooler, unless you are going to track your car, or do some sort of racing activity. Oil temps on cars without an oil cooler hover around 240-255, which is normal.

even know if you drive hard oil temp goes up to 270 over 80 F air temperature,

[boom]

You could try this:
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=525795

Worked for me...

[orionredwing]

As the others already mentioned, you won't need an oil cooler unless you're tracking your car. Even in 100F California weather, it's not necessary. The car bogs down because of intake temps, not oil temps.

However, if you've decided to purchase an oil cooler, DO NOT buy AR, even though it's amongst the cheapest of the options. However, since you don't have an oil cooler to begin with, AR wouldn't be that much cheaper anyways, and you're much better going w/ Stett or Evolution Racewerks.

There's been extensive discussions on the different oil coolers in the track session, including my track feedback on AR coolers. Check out this thread:

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=412156

Once again, no oil cooler necessary unless you track your car. As I've mentioned in other threads, if you're driving your car so hard on the street in 100F weather that you overheat your car, you're in reckless driving territory anyways.

[ybbiz34]

You can go for the Dinan High Capacity Oil Cooler. Dinan will match the BMW 4-year/50,000 mile warranty. It is expensive. It is arguably one of the best oil coolers out there for the 335.

http://www.dinancars.com/shop/D570-0...er.aspx#page=1

[Kerosene Hat]

I used to have a 2007 E92 w/ sport pkg. Now I have a 2010 E92 w/ sport pkg. How do I know if I have the oil cooler? Tried searching and model year info seems hard to come by...

[UltraRacer13]

Originally Posted by Kerosene Hat

I used to have a 2007 E92 w/ sport pkg. Now I have a 2010 E92 w/ sport pkg. How do I know if I have the oil cooler? Tried searching and model year info seems hard to come by...

RT/ FR wheel well.

[Fernflex]

I have stett stage 1 NO thermostat and my oil is always around 200-220

[boom]

Originally Posted by Kerosene Hat

I used to have a 2007 E92 w/ sport pkg. Now I have a 2010 E92 w/ sport pkg. How do I know if I have the oil cooler? Tried searching and model year info seems hard to come by...

Read my thread.

[**335i**]

maybe best idea now is AR it goes in a front of the grilles (behind) and gets lot of cold air to cool oil as i saw when i do wots +25 in a day and my C of oil goes 120-125, maybe oil cooler really is an option to cool it...