alloutmax

i'm going to get a tranny cooler, but i heard about a oil cooler, how much do they run for and can i get one like at Strauss Auto, how much would it be for labor to install both a tranny cooler and oil cooler.

cooler2000

sounds awesome idea to keep engine cool. but is it worth? what we will win?

emax02

iTrader: (1)

Stillen makes a kit with special brakets and all for the max, I believe it costs about $180 though. A oil cooler will extend the life of your engine by thousands of miles.

cooler2000

is it hard to install by myself or better do it at the shop?

bill99gxe

iTrader: (1)

emax,

I think that's generalizing a bit too much. For normally aspirated VQs, I doubt the oil cooler adds any benefit.

For VQs with S/C, I would think some benefit could be achieved. However, using a good synthetic oil (like Amsoil or Mobile 1) would be just as effective if not more effective.

Daniel B. Martin

I agree.

We often think of engine oil as a lubricant. However, it has three important purposes: lubricate, clean, and cool. An oil cooler is vital to an engine which has a marginal water-based cooling system. This includes low-slung street-legal racers which have air flow limitations and also cramped engine compartments which lack the space for an adequate radiator. It also includes so-called "air cooled" engines such as the venerable VW Beetle. The qualifier "so-called" is used because that engine had a fan and an oil cooler. Many VW owners didn't realize that because both fan and oil cooler were hidden behind a stamped sheet metal shroud.

Bottom line: the need for an oil cooler is inversely proportional to the adequacy of the water-based cooling system. If the Maxima had a marginal radiator and water pump, then there would be a crying need for an oil cooler. However, the fact is that our 4Gen Maxima has a good cooling system. It can well handle the 190 hp of the stock engine. If you do something which makes the engine generate lots more heat by burning lots more fuel per unit time, then you ought to invest in an oil cooler.

brubenstein

Actually, if you were doing something (like racing, for real, on a closed road course), and actually producing 190hp for extended periods of time the cooling system would be stressed. Once you get into a situation where you have a WOT duty cycle of 75% of the time, it's really hard on an engine heat wise. So for road course racing, even with a stock engine, an oil cooler wouldn't be a waste. I wouldn't bother though for any sort of street driving.

Kevin Wong

The week he bought it back when I was 8 years old, he installed the oil cooler and it did wonders. His car went over 420,000 miles before he sold it. In fact, the engine out lasted just about everything on the car. In 1990, the driver's side door fell off it's hinges at a gasoline station...he lost 2nd gear in 94 but was able to find it 90K miles later, the electrical system failed a few times, etc. He ended up selling car after buy both a Toyota Sienna and a Nissan Xterra since having two kids. He vowed never to buy another Mexican-assemblied automobile (the door falling off thing bugged him for years).

party_boy

(the door falling off thing bugged him for years).


_______________________
ahh the times that you wish you had duct tape!

Phil02E46

bill - u forgot to add if changed every 3k miles

ethan - stop believing everything your sales rep tells you