Oil cooler leaks question.
 

Been considering an oil cooler for some time and I'd like to take advantage of Black Friday pricing but all the stories about blown hoses have me more than a bit concerned.

My two finalists are Stillen and Z1. I've had favorable experiences with both vendors and am interested to know if either of their oil cooler kits have had blow hoses. Your feedback is much appreciated.

I haven't had anyone come back after purchasing a Stillen oil cooler. We're having a big black friday sale, but I actually think I've got a Stillen cooler that's overstock. I'll PM you if I do.

Very few people pulled the lines... key is to inspect them reguarly for rubbing or pulling... I do every time I check the oil and so far I've had no issues.

Good to know.

add an oil pressure gauge when you install if you are worried--at least you'll know in time to prevent major damage.

The risks of a blowout are super low if everything is installed right and maintained, but it is always nice to have a little extra peace of mind.

I went from modshack DIY with the push on ends, that did separate, to a set of hoses made by a hydraulic shop that would never separate, to the larger Z1 race cooler. Their hoses are top notch and I can't see them ever failing.

Red_Zed, if your cooler hose separates and shoots all over one of your front brakes, it won't matter if you know or not, you are still wrecking. Ask me, I know.

It's not always gonna leak on a rotor though, and several guys have had failures on the street. I'd like to know if I need to shut off my engine

I have the same kit as z1 on my car. The hoses are awesome!!!! 34 row cooler works good. I haven't had any problems with mine and have put 12000 miles on it with some canyon carving. Either kit make sure you get the thermostatic sandwich plate. It will make life a lot easier with regulating oil temps.

Z1 slap sells the protective sheath for the lines. It a good thing to pick up also. But I still recommend putting thicker heater hose wher the lines actually lay on hard surface like the crash beam.

I used Stillen's kit, including their lines, which have the steel-braided sheath on the outside like many. I did like you mentioned above: I ziptied some protective rubber over the pair of hoses everywhere they could rub, esp where they contact other lines (power steering), frame/body, etc. A slit section of large diameter heater hose is great for that.

And as for failure risk, IMHO if your system develops a weak point (a fitting or hose getting weak somewhere), seems like the most likely time to blow it would be a cold morning startup in the winter off the track, those are really the highest PSI, and the fittings and sheathing are super cold at the time as well (more brittle, and slightly shrunk). On the other hand with a thermo plate that may mitigate *some* of the extra pressure spike on cold start, but certainly not by a lot (it's just going to be more of a static pressure without a lot of flow once things level out).

Yea they all have the SS braided lines. But Z1 also offers another type of sheath that heat shrinks over the SS lines for even more protection. I didn't really want the SS lines themselves rubbing.

I noticed I had a small leak after a week of running. It was the way the arm was facing. So I re-tightend the hoses with a little bit of a angle so that it would "constantly" try to tighten itself onto the cooler. But yeah I agree with what you said as far as its probability of leaking would be startup!:iagree: