The Beginning of Cooling Issues

[Ewheels]

So I know people have been complaining about cooling on the S550 forever, namely the diff and engine oil. I only run 20 min sessions in HPDE so the diff never sees too high of temps. However, I'm starting to pick up more speed at the track now and also starting to see higher engine oil temps.
My first plan will be to run 5w40 oil rather than 5w30 and see if that helps at all. My more long term plan includes an oil cooler, radiator, and hood vents. Just curious if anyone has any experience with any of these. I know the best solution would be the combination of all three but let's try to keep my wallet slightly happy.
I'm leaning towards the oil cooler first cause then I'll be able to run an actual analog oil temp gauge. But again, wondering if any one of these provides more cooling than the others.

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[BmacIL]

Before extra coolers, I would try to get underhood temps evacuated with things like Trackspec vent(s). You could add the FTBR diff cooler to take care of that, when the time comes. Also, wrap the exhaust pipes around the diff. 5W40 isn't a bad idea, but remember that higher viscosity oil has less heat rejection capacity due to a decrease in flow from the viscosity increase. Look to find the highest HTHS rating you can find with the lowest kinematic viscosity you can find for the oil weight.

 

[AlbertD]

I currently run the following setup and have had great success with managing temps even in horrendous Arizona heat. I typically see 230-240 CHTs running to redline within a 20 minute session.

1. Stock grille - I am not an expert in aerodynamics, but my understanding is that you want a high pressure area before the radiator and a low pressure behind. Opening up the front grille further than stock potentially lowers the pressure differential hurting air flow/velocity through the radiator.
2. Track spec center vent and Verus side vents with custom 25mm tall wickers - I think this should be the initial focus as the vents (w/ wickers) create a low pressure zone for the air to escape out the engine bay thus improving air flow through the radiator. From my tuft testing, I found the wickers are crucial for efficient heat extraction... without them the top of the vent has quite a bit of high pressure at speed which reduces the amount of air flow that gets extracted.
3. Moroso oil pan - Increased oil capacity by 2 quarts bring it up to 10 quarts. From what I understand the 18+ already have a 10 quart capacity.
4. Stockish power level - Only have a mishimoto intake tube and high flow filter with a PP1 tune. Heat increases with power and with HPDE driving, power isn't as important as the driver's ability and suspension/grip.
5. Motorcraft Full synthetic in stock viscosity (in my case 5w-20) - I have been running this car hard since I bought it new (55k miles and over 50 hours of hard track driving). Periodic oil sample reports and annual compression checks all test out normal. I do change the oil out every 3k miles (which typically consists of 2-4 track events)
6. BG fluid for tranny and diff. Changed annually.
7. Wrapped exhaust near diff with thermal wrap - never had diff warning come back on after that albeit... I only run 20 min sessions and typically have about 60-90min cooldown in between sessions.

I soon plan to build a custom radiator box to ensure all air entering the front grilles makes it through the radiator and not around it. I suspect this will lower temps further.

Just sharing as a data point. Every car, track, driver are different so what works for me, may not work for you. I hope you can sort out your heat issues... I've been there and it is quite frustrating to say the least.

 

[Ewheels]

Before extra coolers, I would try to get underhood temps evacuated with things like Trackspec vent(s). You could add the FTBR diff cooler to take care of that, when the time comes. Also, wrap the exhaust pipes around the diff. 5W40 isn't a bad idea, but remember that higher viscosity oil has less heat rejection capacity due to a decrease in flow from the viscosity increase. Look to find the highest HTHS rating you can find with the lowest kinematic viscosity you can find for the oil weight.

So you would suggest hood vents over coolers? Interesting. To follow that, Trackspec or Race Louvers? I know Race Louvers has individual/different angles for each vent panel, supposedly this works better than having each vane be the same angle, like on Trackspec's vents.

And @AlbertD I had thought about the grille as well. I purchased my Cervini grille when I first got my car, embarrassingly purely for looks. Maybe it's time to go back to the stock grille.

 

[Ewheels]

Additionally, since the oil temps in our cars are calculated (based on time and CHT??) and not actually read, would adding the hood vents actually show a gauge difference? Or to see the direct cooling gain, would I need to add a real oil temp gauge first?

 

[AlbertD]

So you would suggest hood vents over coolers? Interesting. To follow that, Trackspec or Race Louvers? I know Race Louvers has individual/different angles for each vent panel, supposedly this works better than having each vane be the same angle, like on Trackspec's vents.

And @AlbertD I had thought about the grille as well. I purchased my Cervini grille when I first got my car, embarrassingly purely for looks. Maybe it's time to go back to the stock grille.

Yes and If I were to get a do-over... I would get the Race Louver center vet and the Verus side vents... my biggest gripe with the Trackspec is that I think it is placed too far back. Based on my tuft testing, the majority of air is evacuated out my side vents with minimal activity out the center... I am willing to bet that if the center vent was placed further up (like the Race Louver is) I would get much better evacuation.

If the vents are able to mitigate the temps to a desired level, then you avoid the complications of an oil cooled setup (i.e. extra places for things to leak or go bad, oil temp not rising fast enough for street driving, etc...). I'm also not entirely convinced that the existing oil cooler solutions available may be all that much more helpful since it transfers load off of the radiator to a dedicated cooler which from what I have seen, gets placed right in front of the radiator. Well now you get oil cooled via air passing through the dedicated cooler, but now are introducing hot air into the radiator... not to mention that air tends to take the path of least resistance so if an oil cooler is mounted in front of the radiator, I would suspect air to want to flow around it. A dedicated oil cooler that is placed elsewhere could certainly be more beneficial in my opinion (like the GT350s), but that solution doesn't seem to be readily available and would require custom fabing.

 

[AlbertD]

Additionally, since the oil temps in our cars are calculated (based on time and CHT??) and not actually read, would adding the hood vents actually show a gauge difference? Or to see the direct cooling gain, would I need to add a real oil temp gauge first?

I have been wanting to add an independent oil temp sensor to the oil pan, but haven't gotten around to it. I did notice quite a dramatic difference in the calculated oil temp reading. I used to be banging off the yellow and now I am well within the green (maybe 70-80ish %).

 

[Ewheels]

I have been wanting to add an independent oil temp sensor to the oil pan, but haven't gotten around to it. I did notice quite a dramatic difference in the calculated oil temp reading. I used to be banging off the yellow and now I am well within the green (maybe 70-80ish %).

I do agree the Trackspec vent is too far back. It should be right behind the radiator, not over the motor.

That's great to hear you saw a substantial difference in calculated temps with only the hood vents!! I'll be looking into cutting some holes in a hood soon then, haha.

 

[Ewheels]

And @AlbertD I know I've sent you a private message about this...rain. With the Race Louvers vent, would I not need to make a gutter system because it's forward of the engine?

 

[AlbertD]

And @AlbertD I know I've sent you a private message about this...rain. With the Race Louvers vent, would I not need to make a gutter system because it's forward of the engine?

I would presume that if it is far enough forward that water would avoid falling unto electrical connectors, but you would need to verify once installed. Another potential benefit of the Race Louver design. The Trackspec would allow water to fall over the throttle body as well as the forward coil packs which was no bueno.

 

[Eritas]

Thinner oil cools better than thicker oil.

 

[Ewheels]

Thinner oil cools better than thicker oil.

True, but thicker oil protects better than thinner oil at higher temperatures. Pros and cons. I'm no oil expert but I would think the primary function of oil would be lubricate/protect over cooling.

 

[BmacIL]

True, but thicker oil protects better than thinner oil at higher temperatures. Pros and cons. I'm no oil expert but I would think the primary function of oil would be lubricate/protect over cooling.

Indeed it is, but it is a balance you should try to maintain. Keep in mind that even though Motorcraft 5W50 used in the GT350/R starts out thick, it is known to shear down rapidly to a thin 40/thicker 30, so Ford's durability assessment is really based on that. Remember that oil pressure is resistance to flow. You should look for the thinnest oil you can get away with, that provides proper film thickness under heavy load.

 

[Ewheels]

Indeed it is, but it is a balance you should try to maintain. Keep in mind that even though Motorcraft 5W50 used in the GT350/R starts out thick, it is known to shear down rapidly to a thin 40/thicker 30, so Ford's durability assessment is really based on that. Remember that oil pressure is resistance to flow. You should look for the thinnest oil you can get away with, that provides proper film thickness under heavy load.

I know the viscosity of oil recommended is also heavily based on the tolerances of the motor's components. Which is why these newer, tighter tolerance engines use thinner oils.
This is why I've stuck with the Ford recommended oil since they designed and built the engine, I would assume they know what's the best oil to use.

 

[EFI]

Which is why these newer, tighter tolerance engines use thinner oils.
This is why I've stuck with the Ford recommended oil since they designed and built the engine, I would assume they know what's the best oil to use.

I have not seen concrete evidence that newer Coyotes/Voodoos/Predators run tighter and tighter clearances than previous Coyotes/Boss motors.

Also, Ford recommends oil for their engine based on certain operating parameters. Once those parameters are exceeded, the original recommendation is not as relevant. This can be seen by the fact that they recommended different oils for the same exact engine based on expected use and operating parameters.

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