Buying an Oil Cooler
 

We need to know how you are using the car to give you a proper recommendation. I.e. mountain winding, HPDE etc.

In most cases, It's a "daily beater", that is I drive it hard on a regular basis. It's worth noting that I would like to prep the car for events like Autocross, and Track Days.

For hard street driving the 19 row Setrab core (as used by Stillen) is more than adequate and would also be great for Auto-X. It would also work ok for a novice HPDE driver that isn't pushing the car too hard. For more spirited HPDE go with the 25 row Setrab (Stillen sells this as the Race cooler). The biggest baddest cooler out there is the AE Performance cooler which uses one of the biggest Setrab cores available and has twice the cooling capacity of the Stillen Race setup. It would be overkill unless you seriously beat on the car at the track.

Don't forget to look at Z1. Their kit is pretty cheap, uses Setrab cores (19, 25, or 34 row) and SS lines. Also Z1 are huge supporters of the Z community. :)

What are your temperatures running now? Most of the time on the street I run around like this (pic) because my 25 row cooler does too good of a job. Great on the track but I'm afraid of what it will be like in the fall/spring.

I have the Mishimoto universal oil cooler. Done 3 lapping events so far and haven't seen oil temp 225F. This set-up is cheap and no repported "hose explosions" issues!

I did a fair amount of researching before I bought my oil cooler.
Z1 Motorsports offered the best deal and product that I could find.
Z1 Motorsports 370Z Oil Cooler Kit

Once the installation manual is updated, it will be one of the better kits out there. If your worried about oil temperatures during cooler weather and daily driving, you can't go wrong using the Mocal Thermostatic Sandwich Adapter.

If you add a cooler, make sure it has a thermostatic plate. Even with that you're going to need to come up with a blocking plate for fall/winter/spring running in Vermont. YOur oil will never get up to temp. See the DIY link in my sig for ideas on this and an install how-to using off the shelf parts. Many have duplicated it..

How about for those of us in SoCal?

It can get cold once in a while during the winter months...

If one doesn't track much (2-3 times a year), would the oil cooler even be needed?

In my 335i, it's a necessity due to it being twin turbo and also pushing over 400whp...

What is the normal operating temp for the Z?

Unless you want to cruise around the track in 6th gear then you need a cooler as you will be over 280 before you can finish your 3rd lap. Auto-x is okay without a cooler as you have a good 10 minute cool down period between runs.

Most people consider normal operating temperature to be 180-240F with maybe a few trips to 260F and back. Once you get above that even the best synthetic oils start to break down.

This may sound dumb but I'm waiting until I find out where my next assignment will be before I buy an oil cooler. Korea is hot and humid on a spirited run my temps can easily run up to 270 before I have to ease up. Of course I don't plan to run the car during the winter.

I do plan on Auto-X, and HPDE depending on where I'm stationed.

would a 19 be okay if you ocassionally go to the track and dragstrip?

Yes. Dragstrip you don't really need a cooler.

I just bought a Stillen Oil Cooler and it appears that they have the least or dont have any problems with their oil lines bursting. I got the 19 row model. I haven't put it on yet and Im kinda nervous about doing it myself.

I was going to get Nissan oil cooler (how effective is this one?) installed by dealer just to be able to go to court with a jury trial if Nissan tries to not honor warranty due to malfunction. Am I nuts?