A few cooling and exhaust questions...
Discussion
I've just about cut out my side panel for the exhaust to pass through, it's currently as below.... will the iva man poke his 'thing' in around the gap? Would it be worth putting a trim around it to close the gap more? I couldn't make the cut any tighter as I want to be able to leave the exhaust on and take the panel off to get to the gubbings behind it.
Second question is about airflow... i've put a pic of the front of the car below and one of where the oil cooler will sit, the rad fills the cone with about a 15mm gap around it and there's no way to mount it off the back so will it get enough air where it is? Would it be worth having a duct on the bottom of the nose behind the bottom of the radiator to get more air to it? or a small ally scoop off the bottom of the chassis directing air towards it? My engine side panels are vented by about 45mm at the back so I should avoid the normal '7' issue of positive air pressure build up under the bonnet and get a bit of air movement going on....
Second question is about airflow... i've put a pic of the front of the car below and one of where the oil cooler will sit, the rad fills the cone with about a 15mm gap around it and there's no way to mount it off the back so will it get enough air where it is? Would it be worth having a duct on the bottom of the nose behind the bottom of the radiator to get more air to it? or a small ally scoop off the bottom of the chassis directing air towards it? My engine side panels are vented by about 45mm at the back so I should avoid the normal '7' issue of positive air pressure build up under the bonnet and get a bit of air movement going on....
I beleive its a 100mm ball rule... if the ball (childs head) can hit an edge it needs to be radiused, if not then your fine and can fit razor blades 
As for air flow to the oil cooler, the only issue I ever had with my E36 M3 on track was that the oil temp went to high... I beleive this is due to me loosing the ducting to the oil cooler... so from my experience if your going to track it then yes you do need to ensure air flow to it... mine was always absolutelly fine on the road.
As for air flow to the oil cooler, the only issue I ever had with my E36 M3 on track was that the oil temp went to high... I beleive this is due to me loosing the ducting to the oil cooler... so from my experience if your going to track it then yes you do need to ensure air flow to it... mine was always absolutelly fine on the road.
Looking very nice - I like the BMW-sourced powerplant! 
Is the oil cooler off the original donor and if so was it mounted in front of the rad on the original car? If it's straight off the original car and was mounted in front of the rad, it will be sized to cool the oil, whilst having ambient air hitting the core. From the photos, it looks like you are mounting it behind the rad, so the air hitting the face of the core will be a good 40-50 degrees above ambient, meaning it won't cool as well as it was intended, compared to the original install. A duct would definitely help, if you could fit one (or two?) either side of the rad or near the front wheels (F1 brake duct style?!), to keep your bonnet line unchanged?
It's worth knowing that for water temp, typically every 1-1,5 degrees the air hitting the face of the rad increases by, you get the same reduction in max ambient temp you can safely run at. It's not exactly the same relationship with oil due to viscosity change as temp goes up, but it gives an idea of the importance of getting the coolest air possible onto your rad face.
Is the oil cooler off the original donor and if so was it mounted in front of the rad on the original car? If it's straight off the original car and was mounted in front of the rad, it will be sized to cool the oil, whilst having ambient air hitting the core. From the photos, it looks like you are mounting it behind the rad, so the air hitting the face of the core will be a good 40-50 degrees above ambient, meaning it won't cool as well as it was intended, compared to the original install. A duct would definitely help, if you could fit one (or two?) either side of the rad or near the front wheels (F1 brake duct style?!), to keep your bonnet line unchanged?
It's worth knowing that for water temp, typically every 1-1,5 degrees the air hitting the face of the rad increases by, you get the same reduction in max ambient temp you can safely run at. It's not exactly the same relationship with oil due to viscosity change as temp goes up, but it gives an idea of the importance of getting the coolest air possible onto your rad face.
I appreciate that you have already chosen your cooler but for anyone with a similar airflow problem it is well worth considering one of the Laminova type oil/water intercoolers.
They need no airflow whatever and use the engine cooling system to carry away the heat from the oil.
I used one of these on my GTM Coupe where a conventional cooler was impossible to fit and it worked perfectly with no noticeable effect on water temperature on what can be quite a marginal car to cool efficiently.
No thermostat is needed either as the water and oil heat up together so there is no possibility of over cooling.
They need no airflow whatever and use the engine cooling system to carry away the heat from the oil.
I used one of these on my GTM Coupe where a conventional cooler was impossible to fit and it worked perfectly with no noticeable effect on water temperature on what can be quite a marginal car to cool efficiently.
No thermostat is needed either as the water and oil heat up together so there is no possibility of over cooling.
Hunky Dory said:
Looking very nice - I like the BMW-sourced powerplant!
Is the oil cooler off the original donor and if so was it mounted in front of the rad on the original car? If it's straight off the original car and was mounted in front of the rad, it will be sized to cool the oil, whilst having ambient air hitting the core. From the photos, it looks like you are mounting it behind the rad, so the air hitting the face of the core will be a good 40-50 degrees above ambient, meaning it won't cool as well as it was intended, compared to the original install. A duct would definitely help, if you could fit one (or two?) either side of the rad or near the front wheels (F1 brake duct style?!), to keep your bonnet line unchanged?
It's worth knowing that for water temp, typically every 1-1,5 degrees the air hitting the face of the rad increases by, you get the same reduction in max ambient temp you can safely run at. It's not exactly the same relationship with oil due to viscosity change as temp goes up, but it gives an idea of the importance of getting the coolest air possible onto your rad face.
Its a radtec hi flow oil cooler, it should flow twice as good as the standard one and is slightly larger too. I was thinking of fitting a duct to the side of the nose cone post IVA to help with cooling.Is the oil cooler off the original donor and if so was it mounted in front of the rad on the original car? If it's straight off the original car and was mounted in front of the rad, it will be sized to cool the oil, whilst having ambient air hitting the core. From the photos, it looks like you are mounting it behind the rad, so the air hitting the face of the core will be a good 40-50 degrees above ambient, meaning it won't cool as well as it was intended, compared to the original install. A duct would definitely help, if you could fit one (or two?) either side of the rad or near the front wheels (F1 brake duct style?!), to keep your bonnet line unchanged?
It's worth knowing that for water temp, typically every 1-1,5 degrees the air hitting the face of the rad increases by, you get the same reduction in max ambient temp you can safely run at. It's not exactly the same relationship with oil due to viscosity change as temp goes up, but it gives an idea of the importance of getting the coolest air possible onto your rad face.
it does sit behind the rad about 30cm away or more so air will be moving around, I was told if you can't sandwich them then have them as far apart as possible. I guess I could even fit a small fan if oil temp is a problem.
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