What was the highest temp you saw either with or without?

 

Really laying on it, consistently (4000+ rpms sustained), around 255 degrees with or without the cooler. From a cold start, the oil stayed consistently at temperature better and warmed up faster with the cooler, but thats about it. Max temperatures were unchanged in my driving, though I'm considering a real oil cooler to help out with the oil temps when I race the car.

 

Yeah, that temp is nothing to worry about with good oil. The biggest benefit the cooler was providing was getting the oil up to temp faster. Takes a long time, doesn't it? Running with cold oil isn't good.... That's one thing I was getting at--getting the oil up to temp faster is a valuable service.

But I was also looking for anybody with data on it at the extreme high end of the scale. When there's a 100+ degree difference between the oil and water temps, the cooler will be much more efficient--when you need it the most. Even hot oil doesn't contain much heat...it wouldn't be difficult for even a small cooler to make a significant difference. My cooler (air/oil) drops the oil temp only 35 degrees when the oil is at its hottest, but that results in a 70-80 degree drop in the temp of the oil headed into the engine--it's a cycle. The oil goes in cooler, it comes out cooler then it gets cooled again. Even a 10-15 degree drop accross the cooler would be a real benefit up around the 300 degree range--where you really need a cooler.

I know of a few roadracers who use it and have had remarkably long engine life for what they do but none have had a temp gauge while using it (that I know of). Of all the people I know with gauges and no cooler, if they're fast they'll be at 300+ in no time on a roadcourse. So yeah, getting some kind of cooler on there is a very good idea if you ever hit the big track.

 

So the lines actually flow coolant back to the filter/cooler block right?