13 Row oil cooler big enough for 325i?

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Post Tue Aug 30, 2005 1:49 pm

Does anybody know if a 13row oil cooler would be big enough for my modded 325i engine?

I've put a pair of intercoolers where the original one lived so I can't really use that now :(

Cheers!

Alex
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Post Tue Aug 30, 2005 2:14 pm

How many rows does the original BMW oil cooler have? Ive never bothered looking.

I know mine is missing the 2 turbos that you got, but Im using the M20 cooler on my S50 conversion.

And where you thinking of mounting it, if the intercoolers are in the way?
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Post Thu Sep 01, 2005 8:23 am

Think it's 5 or 6 rows, but the BMW one seems to work in a different way to aftermarket ones in that it's miles long, but doesn't have many rows.

Apparently the 13row one has a 97x230mm core which sounds nice and big :)

Gonna stuff it in beneath the panel that's under the offside headlight I think. It's well protected and some scooping should get the air flow up.
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Post Thu Sep 01, 2005 8:51 am

you dont want to cool the oil too much or it wont do its job properly
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Brianmoooore
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Post Thu Sep 01, 2005 9:30 am

Only way to tell is to fit an oil temp gauge and see what max temp the oil reaches.
Oils have come a long way since the E30 325 was designed, and I doubt if a cooler is really needed on any unmodded 325, but with a turbo the only way is to measure and see.
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Post Thu Sep 01, 2005 9:38 am

a 13 row oil cooler should do the job as my bro in law had a 13 row on his 300+ bhp nissan 200sx s13
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Post Thu Sep 01, 2005 12:06 pm

If you get a decent one it'll have a thermostat anyway.. Ie it wont cool the oil until it reaches a pre-determined temperature. This helps the warm up of the oil and stops it overcooling.

As for whether its big enough (will it cool enough)... Dunno mate :wink: . The oil's gonna take a battering with 2 turbos. Perhaps just change it every 3-4000 miles and don't worry about it.

Jai
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Post Thu Sep 01, 2005 1:32 pm

the stat for the oil cooler is on the housing anyways so no need to budget for that Alex, as for the stock unit, mines upside down @ an angle accross the rear of my IC, its a squeeze butcan be persuaded to fit, if you find the hosing clashing you can cut and shut the steel sections @ the block end to improove the situation
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Post Thu Sep 01, 2005 1:45 pm

The problem I've made for myself is that the front turbo is too close to the block to allow the fitment of the old plate :(

Know what you mean about the over cooling though, will have to get a stat too :(
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Post Thu Sep 01, 2005 6:11 pm

Remote filter and stat setup seems the way forward then dude ?? will add a few extra litres capacity too which could be useful :wink:
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