[cleex024]

So I recently installed the ER dual oil coolers and here are some pics...by the way they were a pain in the ass to install since i bought them used and was missing a couple parts lol. Im pretty sure I would have made the oil coolers a little different as I think it would be safer and heres a list for anyone that does this in the future.

1. you will want to add some kind of spacer between the oil cooler and the housing itself as the way they have it is right up against it not allowing enough air flow through it.

2. somehow you might want to figure a way to put the oil cooler upside down or sideways as the fittings are at the bottom which if you hit any kind of bump hard they will most likely blow off...however im not that concerned as i doubt i will ever hit something that hard where i will completely bottom out.

3. get a thermostat for this so you can take full advantage of the oil coolers...these things are massive and if you can get the oil to flow say at 210 that would be ideal. i did the bypass one where you flip the thermostat and the oil never got hotter than 190 degrees on the highway so i had to flip it back as thats way too cool for long trips.

here are some pics
oem oil cooler


front bumper off with er oil coolers installed




what it looks like with everything on...sorry i did have some where i took off the foglights and lower mesh but forgot to take pictures.

[SneakyDeeky]

Lookin' good. Any track days yet?

[flinchy]

damn they look awesome

would love to find a set second hand... i want to be a bit overkill on oil cooling, but not pay $1500 for off the shelf :P

[Jeff@TopGearSolutions]

190 is actually very reasonable for oil temps. 210 is usually the PEAK temp when most supercars are pushed to their limits.

[Wedge1967]

Congrats on the oil coolers, they look really good. I wish I had them last week... Car went into low power mode on the track. Was in the 90's that day... Even my tires got greasy trying to keep up with an Audi TTRS.

Looking at your FMIC, I have the same issue where the lower section is not exposed with the stock bumper. I also have the same sport lip from ECS. Next time I have the font off, I want to cut the lower stock plastic frame and fabricate out of plastic ducting to help force air through the FMIC. Would like to get an MTECH, but not in the $ until I get new rotors, pads, LSD, and oil coolers.

[SfValley335i]

picture of the fender liners?

[cleex024]

Originally Posted by SneakyDeeky

Lookin' good. Any track days yet?

Naw not yet...been really busy with work lol. Hey noticed you have the oil coolers with m3 bumper and ducting...how does it fit and I'm assuming you did not go with the er ducting?

[cleex024]

Originally Posted by Jeff@TopGearSolutions

190 is actually very reasonable for oil temps. 210 is usually the PEAK temp when most supercars are pushed to their limits.

I'm still confused about this...why did bmw up the running temps to 235F? I wouldn't mind it running that low if it truly is ok but couldn't the difference in temps be where they measure the temps of the oil like before or after the oil coolers?

[cleex024]

Originally Posted by SfValley335i

picture of the fender liners?

It's the same fender liner except just cut to fit the coolers

[Jeff@TopGearSolutions]

Originally Posted by cleex024

I'm still confused about this...why did bmw up the running temps to 235F? I wouldn't mind it running that low if it truly is ok but couldn't the difference in temps be where they measure the temps of the oil like before or after the oil coolers?

I'm not a BMW Engineer so I dont know. The theory is oil pumping efficiency.

Like I said all super cars aim for about 190F and 210 Max. Do a quick search and you will find the GTR's, ZR1's, Porsche 911 Turbos, Lambo's, ETC ETC all running about 190-210F. I dont think there is anything that special in a BMW engine to have it need to run 235+. However, in defense, the temperature is read at the hottest location on the BMW's. So temps after the oil cooler would be lower.

Oil viscosity is rated at 215F for the majority of brands. You will also note on most oil's that they still have that same viscoity at temps 20-30 degrees lower if not even more. So the viscosity is not that much different between say ~170-215F. However, after 215F and more importantly after 250F oil viscosity starts to degrade. Of course this latter bit will be effected by which oil in particular but as an average guide for performance oils they follow suit closely to the above.

The best way to determine your oil and how well it's performing is to get an oil analysis which I rarely see these days.

[SfValley335i]

Originally Posted by cleex024

It's the same fender liner except just cut to fit the coolers

So theres no big metal vent for the larger coolers?

[cleex024]

Originally Posted by SfValley335i

So theres no big metal vent for the larger coolers?

There are bigger vents.

[Bimmer Barney]

Originally Posted by cleex024

I'm still confused about this...why did bmw up the running temps to 235F? I wouldn't mind it running that low if it truly is ok but couldn't the difference in temps be where they measure the temps of the oil like before or after the oil coolers?

Emissions

[Jeff@TopGearSolutions]

Originally Posted by Bimmer Barney

Emissions

That's for sure. Pumping loss is probably second.

[SneakyDeeky]

Originally Posted by cleex024

Naw not yet...been really busy with work lol. Hey noticed you have the oil coolers with m3 bumper and ducting...how does it fit and I'm assuming you did not go with the er ducting?

Fit is awesome although it did require cutting off about 75% of the OEM M3 ducting as the oil coolers are pretty close to the front of the bumper. With the OEM M3 ducting I didn't need the ER ducting.

Here's a few pics that I took before my last track day...

[cleex024]

Originally Posted by SneakyDeeky

Fit is awesome although it did require cutting off about 75% of the OEM M3 ducting as the oil coolers are pretty close to the front of the bumper. With the OEM M3 ducting I didn't need the ER ducting.

Here's a few pics that I took before my last track day...

I tried the same thing with the stock bumper but just like yours it showed too much of the silver so it looked like the car was a little unfinished so i put the foglights back on and the grills and looks much cleaner. how did yours look with the silver fins showing like that? looks ok but good pictures always make things look better lol.

was even thinkin about to paint the coolers black.

[SneakyDeeky]

I like the look of the silver oil coolers just b/c it's pretty unusual and most cars don't have anything like it with a full frontage of various oil / inter-coolers. That said, I'm with you in that I dislike the look of removing the grill in front of the intercooler. My wife says it doesn't make sense and I'm contradicting myself, but all I know is when you see it person it works.

The coolers look good in black too as ER sells them that way, but I'd be careful painting them yourself as you could easily reduce their cooling capacity if you're too heavy handed with the paint and block / clog some of the vents. The most effective method of heat transfer is convection, which is all based on fluid velocity (air speed) and surface area. Clogging the vents will reduce your exposed surface area.

[Robert@vishnu]

Great setup.