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The Big Fat Track Car Cooling Thread

Plimmer

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My temp sensor on my MT82 is in the drain hole. Just used a threaded adapter. Works fine and the sensor isn't hanging lower than the lowest point of the car anyway.


As for MT82 temps at Road America... I can max out my gauge at 260*. It's a Glowshift gauge, so perhaps it's not accurate, but I'm positive it's not far off because I can swap the plug in for my other two Glowshift gauges and get the same exactly every time. So either the temp sensors they provide are bad or I'm well over 260* on track with my MT82. I can delay the temp climb with higher gears, but it's inevitable. On the street, the transmission never gets more than 180.
Similar to mine. I have a temp probe on my MT82 and will read 260’s to 270’s after a hard session at COTA
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baevid

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Hey guys, didn't want to make a new thread as I'm sure you guys are way more versed in trying out different cooling methods.

I have some general questions though, not much HPDE and road racing but more 1/4mi, 1/2mi, 1mi racing and just general street driving.

My car is currently apart right now to install some ARP head studs and since it's down, I wanted to address any cooling concerns as I have a base 2015 Mustang GT.

Here are the things I've ordered so far:
1. Reische 170 degree thermostat
2. Whipple dual fan upgrade
3. MMR oil cooler kit
4. MMR head cooling mod

Now my only real concern about this is the MMR oil cooler kit not having a thermostat so what I plan to do is order a Improved Racing oil thermostat but I'm unsure of what temperature range to get and not have to worry too much about street driving it. I was thinking the 185F one may be too cool but then again that's why I'm here to ask you all.

Improved Racing oil thermostat link for reference. They have 185F, 205F, 215F
http://www.improvedracing.com/oil-thermostats/high-flow-engine-oil-cooler-thermostat-p-212.html
 

gtorpedo

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Hey guys, didn't want to make a new thread as I'm sure you guys are way more versed in trying out different cooling methods.

I have some general questions though, not much HPDE and road racing but more 1/4mi, 1/2mi, 1mi racing and just general street driving.

My car is currently apart right now to install some ARP head studs and since it's down, I wanted to address any cooling concerns as I have a base 2015 Mustang GT.

Here are the things I've ordered so far:
1. Reische 170 degree thermostat
2. Whipple dual fan upgrade
3. MMR oil cooler kit
4. MMR head cooling mod

Now my only real concern about this is the MMR oil cooler kit not having a thermostat so what I plan to do is order a Improved Racing oil thermostat but I'm unsure of what temperature range to get and not have to worry too much about street driving it. I was thinking the 185F one may be too cool but then again that's why I'm here to ask you all.

Improved Racing oil thermostat link for reference. They have 185F, 205F, 215F
http://www.improvedracing.com/oil-thermostats/high-flow-engine-oil-cooler-thermostat-p-212.html
Depending on the whether you ever chose to run on track that setup will be sub optimal. The MMR oil cooler is WAY too small - that combined with the Whipple and Texas heat will be a real challenge for any serious road course use. You should be fine if you confine the use to 1/4 mile and street driving. 185* thermostat is good as well.
 

baevid

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Depending on the whether you ever chose to run on track that setup will be sub optimal. The MMR oil cooler is WAY too small - that combined with the Whipple and Texas heat will be a real challenge for any serious road course use. You should be fine if you confine the use to 1/4 mile and street driving. 185* thermostat is good as well.
Gotcha, yeah I figured this would be too small for any serious road racing when I see you guys going for the bigger Setrab ones. Honestly I was more just worried about streetability using this for fun runs and the thermostat temp but I knew you guys would point me in the right direction.
 

lil'Zeus

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I haven’t tested my new setup yet but hope to next Friday if the schedule allows.
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ddozier

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I haven’t tested my new setup yet but hope to next Friday if the schedule allows.
Install looks good. Let us know how it goes, if you are still having issues there are a couple of small changes you can make to that setup that would make it a little more efficient if you need some additional cooling.

1. That is a small oil cooler so you can likely get away with the -10AN lines, -12AN is preferred and will help limit the pressure drop. Watch oil temps and pressure and make sure you are not giving up more than a couple of PSI of peak pressure when the system is hot.

2. Cooler placement will work but it is not ideal for airflow to the oil cooler, you could flip your setup and push the cooler up to the bottom of the core support. This will get more airflow to the oil cooler as 1/3 of it is covered by the bumper and the lower grill opening is much smaller than the upper grill opening, the other plus to moving it up is the added coolers are exposed to air that is above the bumper and slightly cooler, also less exposed to the clag and crap thrown up by the car in front of you.

3. you can keep you current setup and move it closer to the existing rad and condenser to allow more airflow to the area currently blocked by the bumper, you can also add a couple of small ducts to isolate the airflow to the new coolers and force the air to go through the coolers and not allow it to go around the cooler.

We have similar setups and here is a picture of how mine are placed, so far I have not had to make any additional changes after 4 track days, but I will still make the duct work to isolate the coolers when I have time. I have a larger engine oil cooler and smaller manual trans cooler. -12AN for the engine and -8AN for the trans. I also sealed every possible air path around the radiator and made my own duct work to the front bumper.

Dave

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shogun32

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you can also add a couple of small ducts to isolate the airflow to the new coolers and force the air to go through the coolers and not allow it to go around the cooler.
To a point. A radiator can only flow air thru it so fast (about 30mph) and the big win isn't so much caging the air in the front but minimizing the pressure behind the rad and slowing the air arriving at the front face down to ~30mph so it doesn't "stack up" and get all turbulent. There are a number of published papers that go into the engineering particulars and they emphasize that air flow management behind the element is of far more consequence.

Then again for non-professional racing/speeds I doubt it matters much.
 

baevid

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Another question for mounting positions of the oil cooler and filter mounts itself... how are you guy doing that? I assume I could mount the filter mount behind the back of the crash beam on the driver's side. I'll have to mock up a few placements for the cooler itself but it being on the smaller side, I figure that would easy.

Improved Racing recommended me getting the filter mount with built-in thermostat rather than the in-line thermostat I posted earlier so I hope it works out well a bit simpler connections/routing:
http://www.improvedracing.com/oil-c...n-oil-filter-mount-with-thermostat-p-781.html

Do I need to worry about oil temperature and pressure sensors after removing the factory oil cooler?
 

HeelToeHero

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Another question for mounting positions of the oil cooler and filter mounts itself... how are you guy doing that? I assume I could mount the filter mount behind the back of the crash beam on the driver's side. I'll have to mock up a few placements for the cooler itself but it being on the smaller side, I figure that would easy.

Improved Racing recommended me getting the filter mount with built-in thermostat rather than the in-line thermostat I posted earlier so I hope it works out well a bit simpler connections/routing:
http://www.improvedracing.com/oil-c...n-oil-filter-mount-with-thermostat-p-781.html

Do I need to worry about oil temperature and pressure sensors after removing the factory oil cooler?
There is no oil temp sensor. It's calculated based on other variables.
 

baevid

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Ah cool alright.. looks like I can just worry about that later when I decide to upgrade the oil pan. Thanks for clearing that up for me!
 

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sigintel

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Depending on the whether you ever chose to run on track that setup will be sub optimal. The MMR oil cooler is WAY too small - that combined with the Whipple and Texas heat will be a real challenge for any serious road course use. You should be fine if you confine the use to 1/4 mile and street driving. 185* thermostat is good as well.
You will be fine with serious road course work.
I ran a Whippled 15 GT 6R80 for two seasons including MSR Houston which hed likely run.
TWS too but its closed now.
PP/GT350 rad, Reische 170, remove rear engine bay coping and rubber hood strip.
I ran 3.625 and switched to 4.0 pulley peak summer temps. 4.0 will allow higher ignition timing in high heat.
First season used the stock oil cooler. I picked up 3 spare diffs $800 and would just swap them when seals or pinion showing abuse - would find some cooling options on the 2018 GT diff before tracking.
Second season added second trans cooler. Changed steels on trans after second season.
Changed timing chains each season (shifting 7900).
Upgraded base to PP brakes first season.
Changed to GT350 pan(and pump) after first season due to brief starve at TWS High speed turn ?7 or 11? And occasionally flicker on 1 across the transition, but thats usually not WOT.
Still have the GT350 pan if anyone needs one for a 15-17 for road course.
 

Plimmer

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To a point. A radiator can only flow air thru it so fast (about 30mph) and the big win isn't so much caging the air in the front but minimizing the pressure behind the rad and slowing the air arriving at the front face down to ~30mph so it doesn't "stack up" and get all turbulent. There are a number of published papers that go into the engineering particulars and they emphasize that air flow management behind the element is of far more consequence.

Then again for non-professional racing/speeds I doubt it matters much.
The boxing in of the radiator is actually critical, together with minimizing the pressure behind the radiator. I’ve seen guys with Mishimoto radiators complaining of overheating and then when I look at their setup their new radiator allows all the incoming airflow to travel around the radiator because it’s not boxed in.

As a comparison my TT car at 7psi was running 20 degrees cooler than this NA car, both of us with the same radiator. Difference is I spent hours custom making a square box around my radiator to make sure all airflow is force through the coolers.
 

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I like your set up a lot. I plan on opening up the lower grill which is in route this week to expose more of the cooler to fresh air. I plan to counter act the increased air into the engine compartment with hood vents or a new hood to decrease the pressure and lift. We shall see how it works. I'm running the Mustang Club of Americas Stampede to the Heartland event next week which is 3 days of HPDE. Hope it works out.

I didn't want to put the coolers too high as I have read several reports that the mishimoto oil cooler, for example, cools the oil well but mounted up top has sacrificed engine coolant temps. I'm just unsure as of yet but will find out soon.

I might have went with -12 lines but the cooler itself is set up as a -10 o ring fitting as well as the ports on the oil filter sandwhich plate. I figured those ports would be bottle neck enough and didn't want to use larger line than the ports themselves if that makes since. Trial and error I guess for those of us trying to figure it out with no real aftermarket support. lol
 

xXANCHORMONXx

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Another option for you guys.

On my Ecoboost I ran dual 25 row oil coolers with 10an lines.

I cut out the fog lights, put in grills and ducted them through the fender liner.

I didn’t want to block airflow to the intercooler and rad.

It worked phenomenally well.
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Plimmer

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Another option for you guys.

On my Ecoboost I ran dual 25 row oil coolers with 10an lines.

I cut out the fog lights, put in grills and ducted them through the fender liner.

I didn’t want to block airflow to the intercooler and rad.

It worked phenomenally well.
E6AC82FB-ED16-427F-A30D-6AF59A157AB7.jpeg
806A644D-6611-448D-89F6-2AB3CA715695.jpeg
Wow, great job, send more pics, I would love to copy this for my car. I have a big 60 row in front of radiator, but would love to do 2 smaller ones to the side.
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