ok, so i'm installing a vortech supercharger on my car. I also have an oil cooler i'm installing.

My question is this: Is it ok to run the normal vortech line out of the engine (like the instruction manual shows) to the oil cooler then run the output of the oil cooler straight to the vortech? It seems like that would be ok but i'm afraid of the oil pressure dropping because it's being pushed through long lines and an oil cooler before getting to the super charger.

My other option was to do the normal vortech install and use a plate adapter with inlet and return for my oil cooler separately. This seems like a good route to go also. The only problem is every oil plate adapter i see has 3 1/8" ports but they do'nt say if they are outputs and returns. I think since they are for sensors that they would all be pressurized. I would need one for a return line on the oil cooler. Which plates have a return area or do all of them have it and just don't mention it?

I searched for 2 weeks on everything i could find on oil coolers and return lines before asking this. No i will not be using an oil pan spacer so that is not an option for returns either. I'm using the standard drill and tap method for the vortech return line.

 

well, now that i think about it, i guess i would be willing to run a sandwich plate adapter with an oil pan spacer which would allow me to run a line to my cooler, then cooler to spacer for drain, then line to s/c then s/c to spacer for a drain. I would then have 1 more port to use for my oil temp.

i would rather have my oil cooler go from the plate to the cooler then return back to the plate for simplicity of running cables and keeping it separate.

 

Use a sandwich adapter, but get one with at least 1/4" NPT inlet and oulet fittings 3/8" NPT is preferred, 1/8" is way too small for a oil cooler set up. Earls makes an adapter that will work, as do some other manufacturers.

 

i want to put as little on the car as possible.

is the stock oil pump enough to keep the pressure up if i do the stock vortech install line from the sending unit to the oil cooler, then oil cooler to the vortech? that would be the simplest setup i could run but i was just concerned about a drop in oil pressure going from the sending unit to the cooler then to the super charger.

 

Do not use sending unit ports to feed an oil cooler. Sending units are generally 1/8" NPT which has a very small oil passage and would be extremely restrictive. You need a minimum of 1/4" NPT, and as I stated before 3/8" NPT is preferred, in order to get proper oil flow and volume. The stock oil pump will have no problem handling that addition, although depending on your cooler size and line length you'll need to add a quart or so to the system capacity.

An oil cooler is useless if you don't use large enough fittings and lines for it to flow properly. In some cases installing too small of lines in an attempt to install an oil cooler can cause higher engine temps because the oil flow gets restricted.

I always recommend using at minimum -8 AN sized lines for oil cooler applications.

If you are serious about installing an oil cooler the best way to do it is with a sandwich adapter (with oil stat built in) and a large core cooler plumbed with at mininum 3/8" or -8 AN lines and fittings.

 

I have an oil cooler kit that i put together with a 19row cooler for my vortech but my body kit didnt allow fitment of ware i wanted it. so i can get rid of it dirt cheap. pm me if interested. its a sandwitch plate with SS lines and everything

 

i have my cooler so i'm good.

bryan, What do you think i should do about this vortech then? The lines it supplies are 1/8" NPT to a #4 and then the threads into the vortech body are 1/8" also.

would it even make a difference to put 3/8" NPT if they are going to get restricted down to 1/8" at the supercharger? It just doesn't make sense that vortech would use 1/8" lines when everyone recommends bigger.

also, would i be able to put 3/8" or 1/2" at like a #8 and then have a #4 at the other end of the hose to step it down to fit the supercharger's fitting? That would have to be a custom made line i think because i just see oil lines that are the same size on both ends.

 

The supercharger needs a regulated oil supply, that is why it uses -4 lines and not something larger. It is designed and engineered to use that amount of oil in that volume and pressure. Putting a larger line on the supercharger oil feed would just dump extra oil into the Supercharger and likely cause it not to work properly. Those lines are there for lubricating the supercharger itself. Do not attempt to run those lines to a cooler, install them as they are designed to be installed.

The reason for needing larger lines on the cooler is that you want the oil to be able to flow freely through the cooler in order to get maximum effect from it. When you consider that all of the oil in the engine will be cycling through the cooler it makes sense that you would want that oil to be able to flow without restriction.

The Vortech feed lines are designed to provide a certain amount of oil to the supercharger for sake of lubrication whereas the oil cooler lines need to be designed to carry volume without restriction.

If you want to install an oil cooler get a sandwich adapter and go that route, otherwise it's probably not going to be worth doing.

 

ok, so i'll get a plate with output and input with 3/8" ports and run it separate to my oil cooler.


Thanks for the advice. The supercharger stuff seemed ok since i rebuild 4 cylinder race motors but adding oil coolers to the mix is new territory to me.

 

i can't find any oil plate adapters with large ports that have a thermostat.

any recommendations? earl's sells one for like 105$ but it's for 3/4-16 threads not the 20x1.5 we have

 

Yeah, finding one with the oil stat built in is a little tougher. I thought about that after I posted, we've been using an in line oil stat on the ones we've done in house lately.

 

i found one

http://www.racerpartswholesale.com/p...Sandwich_Plate

it doesn't have any 1/8" ports for my sensors but i could just use a T on the sending unit line for that and be ok i think.

Being in indiana and the nights getting chilly it would probalby be wise to have a thermostat. right?

 

Definitely want to use a thermostat in your climate.

 

no offense but LOL, this would result in immediate engine failure.

 

Here is what you do.

To install the oil cooler, you need a sandwich adapter intended for oil coolers. It will have a large -10 or -8 input and output. This means that ALL of the oil your engine pumps will be sent thru the cooler and back to the filter spacer. That is your oil cooler install, it is entirely seperate than your vortech oil lines.

Then, you need to source a pressure line for the vortech. Rather then adding a SECOND filter sandwich with pressure ports, because that would be ghetto, you will source it either by T'ing off the factory oil pressure sensor, or what I would do.... I would mount the oil cooler off towards the drivers side closer to the vortech, and then use a gauge port fitting off the oil cooler and run that to the vortech, and then return the vortech to the oil pan or an oil pan spacer.

thats just me. but if you want to keep your vortech warrenty, your best bet is to plumb it exactly how they tell you, with the T they give you.

but if you dump your oil cooler back into the oil pan, you have effectively eliminated any oil pressure in your engine, hence my previous LOL post (sorry)

 

ah, i see the oil cooler to pan thing. I guess when i typed it i never really thought about it. Oil coolers are a new thing for me. We don't use them on 4 cylinder race bikes so i'm a newbie with it.

I'm going to be running a thermostat for my oil cooler so running a t fitting to the vortech wouldn't work for me because the oil cooler will not be getting oil until the temp is above 180 degrees. Good idea though! thanks for the info!

i'll just plum the vortech like the manual says since it's obviously made to be like that.

 

good call on the oil thermostat, i didnt think of that

 

this is a case where too much thinking leads to fail. i'd buy a inexpensive oil temp gauge and see if you even need a oil cooler before dumping time and money into it.

 

ah, well i have the oil cooler and there is a local hydraulic store that makes custom lines for cheap, so all i need is the thermostat.

I'll just get it all installed while i have the car torn apart for the super charger. The whole setup will cost me around 125-150 so it's worth it for piece of mind of having an oil cooler.