2002 Maxima SE

iTrader: (3)

I saw this on trucks the other day:

http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarti...ool_collar.htm

Its essentially like the heat sink on a processor but wrapped around your oil filter instead. When I saw it, I thought, "Wow...cooler oil." But the more I thought about the more I see it may be a bad idea.

Now correct me if I am wrong, but 5W-30 oil is 5W at start up and moves toward a 30W at operating temp. So, at track speeds my engine is being protected by 30W oil. If I were to add an oil cooler, wouldn't that mean that my engine is now being protected by < 30W oil? Isn't that bad?

Looking for opinions.

talkinghorse

iTrader: (121)

Viscosity can be a little misleading. Generally speaking, the cold "W" measurement is taken at zero degrees or lower and there are different flow standards for 0W, 5W and 10w oils. The upper number (i.e.30) is taken at 100 deg C...oils of different viscosities have to fall within an established viscosity range to be classified as a 30 weight. Even though the numeric designation (i.e 5w) is lower than the high number, the oil at zero degrees is much thicker than it is at boiling.

An oil cooler will not make your oil thinner. If anything, it will prevent it from breaking down due to high temperatures and will allow it to remain within viscosity range for a longer period of time.

2002 Maxima SE

iTrader: (3)

Thank you for the informative reply. I didn't think about those aspects. So, would this type of cooler be good on our Maximas since the filter is shielded from any wind?

talkinghorse

iTrader: (121)

I don't have any personal experience with this type device, but in practice the collar is increasing the surface area of the filter resulting in more heat dissipation. Since our filters are somewhat shielded from air flow, so I would think that would reduce the effectiveness. Personally, I don't see the need for an oil cooler unless you spend a lot of time at the track. In addition, unless you intend to put this collar on and off, or purchase a thermostatically controlled oil cooler, I think a cooler would work to your detriment in daily driving, particularly during the winter months. You want your oil to get up to full operating temp where it lubricates best and the heat can "boil off" the condensation. My recommendation is to forget the oil cooler device and run a good quality synthetic oil year-'round... synthetics withstand high temps better than petroleum oils do and they are generally known to dissipate heat better (resulting in lower oil temps).