Avalon sells the STillen one for $325 now but I did a search and some guys were talkin about kits for $$170, $250 an prices like that. I also learned that Stillen, Greddy, Permacool, Hayden and Flex-a-lite make kits. They dont add any HP but will add to the efficiency of your engine and of course keep things cooler in the engine overall. We all know, a cooler engine = a more efficient engine. I have an SC and it gets REALLY HOT in the engine bay when you've had your car running for a while and that concerns me. I think this would be a good mod for SC'd guys especially. Any 5th Gen guy that cn provide any feedback on this? Holla...

Deac

 

I have one cause of the SC and your right it does help the longevity of the car. Tommorow installing the Aquamist water/alcohol injection cooler so cooler will equal cooler engine. I have the Stillen OIl cooler.

 

Actually... no. For optimum efficiency the engine should operate in it's designed temperature range; neither too hot, nor too cold. That's why there are not one, but TWO thermostats in our cars, one keeping the head's at or about 182F, and one keeping the block at or about 195.

Unless you tow a trailer or run WOT for extended periods (track racing) you probably have no need for an oil cooler... ESPECIALLY if using synthetic oil.

But if you'd LIKE a cooler... well, that's another matter.

BuddyWh

 

Myself and Deac have superchargers running about 9-10psi so the oil cooler not only helps the engine but also the blower. And yes we run the car pretty hard.

 

Exactly...Stillen advertises a 20 degree temp drop and I NOW I would need that sir. In my original post I did mention that I am supercharged so those stock temperature numbers should'nt really apply to SC owners. Just looking for insight from those who have had one insalled and have noticed postive chnges. Thax for your input though.

 

I have one... not made by Stillen though. $87.

 

I'm not SC'd but it gets very hot here in Texas. I've got the Stillen cooler, coupled with a Permacool oil thermostat (see sig). It keeps the oil at 180 degrees which is supposed to be the optimum temp range for maximizing both oil flow and protection. I do notice better torque all-around. The ECM retards timing as engine temp rises...so maintaining the engine at the optimal temp range (including coolant and oil) will help to keep spark advance from being retarded as much.

Kev --- $87 for an oil cooler?????? What did you use?

 

PermaCool universal cooler kit (thanks to MardigrasMax and Jay25).

 

Wish I would of known this before Stillen ripped me a new A**H***! Oh well now I know for next time.

 

Whadya mean, jhans114? Just think of all the R&D Stillen put into developing their oil cooler. They've got to recoup their investment somehow, right?

 

yeah - I looked at this one too as well as some from Hayden. The Stillen is overpriced (I got a great deal on it from a friend that resells Stillen though, otherwise I'd probably bought one of these others!) but I liked that they use a stacked-plate cooler and they custom make the sandwich adaptor retaining piece (that the oil filter screws into) so it's a much tighter/snugger fit.

I'd highly recommend using an oil thermostat because it also cuts dowm on warm up time tremendously - getting oil up to operating temp quicker (in addition to better regulating oil temp on cold days).

 

You should've asked first.


The quality of the Stillen kit looks REALLY good compared to the $87 kit. You get what you pay for I guess. Temp over here doesn't go below freezing, so I'm not too concerned about oil temp getting to operating temp quicker. The car is parked in the garage, so temp is about 60 F all the time.

 

Hey Kev,

Which part number did u get? Did u get remote style or sandwich style? Where did u mount the cooler and the remote oil filter mount? (If you got the remote style) Thx!

 

Point taken... I missed the SC reference in his original posting. My comment is meant to apply only to Max's not modded with super-chargers and/or turbo's.

But my comment about efficiency should still be valid... you should always try to keep the engine within it's normal temperature range for optimum efficiency.

BuddyWh

 

Ummmm..... forgot the part number, but the kit was made for 250+ hp cars. The kit includes the cooler, brass connectors, sandwich adapter, hoses, zip ties, foam paddings, adapter thingy, and a STICKER!!! OOooOOOOooOoOooOooooo......

The cooler is mounted under the tranny cooler.

 

Thx 4 da info Kev! OOooOO.... can I have the sticker if u r not using it

 

IT'S MINE!!! ALL MINE!!!

 

Such insightful information Hmmm...very informative. So lets see, If we get the Stillen one, its a little bit better made w/the braided steel and some other bells and whistles, its also more of a direct install and the lowest price I've seen for it is $325. Or you can get the Permacool one that Kev and MardiGrasMax sports for about $90 which will keep your oil temp just as cool as the Stillen one will but requires some custom work to get it to fit right....The cheaper route may be worth it for some but me....one of the biggest mistakes I've made as a member of the ORG was to follow all these guys advice on parts and mods without taking into consideration that alot guys can do all the work themselves!! I dont know jack about alot of this install stuff so...OH how muh money I would have saved if I only knew a bit about installing some of my own mods!! I had to learn the hard way! I guess for me the one thats easier to install would be better so If the Permacool oil coller turns out to be not such a tricky install, maybe I can mess with that instead of dropping the money into STEALIN.

Deac

 

That's why you have to do all the installs yourself (or at least participate in them). Saves you money and you gain experience at the same time.

 

If I didn't have such a good source for Stillen stuff I would have gone with either the Permacool like Kev and Mardi or put one together using the Permacool Universal Sandwich Adapter with the B&M cooler (it's got a thermostatic feature built in - part# 70266). The only thing I'd recommed is getting the screw-in piece that holds the sandwich adapter in place, from Stillen. I'm not sure if they will sell it separately but if so it shouldn't cost much at all. It's made to accomodate the stock Nissan filter and Permacool adapter perfectly - minimizing the chance for leaks both externally and internally (where the filter and adapter meet).