M24 Oil Cooler installation

[GreasyGinzo]

How much is it?

[IND-Distribution]

Thank you for your thorough review, Victor!

The M24 oil cooler sells for $1,840. Off topic a bit, we've wanted to develop a manual dipstick for the S65 for years, but have not been able to create a solution that does not involve removing the oil pan. Pulling the pan is very labor intensive and for this reason we have not been able to bring anything to market. I also would kill for a manual dipstick on the S65!

[VictorH]

No problem. It's a nice unit. Heading to Birmingham tomorrow for O'Fest next week. Track event starts Wed and runs to Sunday. Though it looks like the forecast is for high 70s to low 80s, I'll post here how the temps from the stock gauge are looking. If it were at least 85 I know that I could still get the stock cooler to the mark between 210 and 300F. I'll let you know how it performs.

[Ateam]

My understanding is that the s65 is almost impossible to send into limp mode, even in high heat? Evidenced by EAS superchargers in chandler arizona running the cars in the 110 degrees for testing with no issues. This seems like a waste for this car. Now a 335 yes of course but for 2k and labor that is a lot for probably no true benefit except seeing the guage run cooler. Am I wrong about this?

[VictorH]

Originally Posted by Ateam

My understanding is that the s65 is almost impossible to send into limp mode, even in high heat? Evidenced by EAS superchargers in chandler arizona running the cars in the 110 degrees for testing with no issues. This seems like a waste for this car. Now a 335 yes of course but for 2k and labor that is a lot for probably no true benefit except seeing the guage run cooler. Am I wrong about this?

I think this is a valid criticism, however, if you do a search you'll see that limp mode in high heat, with track use, is not uncommon. Now, your second point as to whether the motor needs this or not is probably a "depends." I think for a street use only car it's not necessary at all. For those of us in the hotter climates of the US and who do a fair amount of track work, I think it's a reasonable addition. Previously, when I noticed my car starting to get hot I'd short shift and "go easy" for a couple of laps for it to cool down. The other issue is how long you plan to keep your vehicle. If you tend to keep your car 2-3 years, then I'd think it's not worthwhile. I keep my vehicles on average for 10 years and I think that it may help with longevity. I'm used to air-cooled track cars and when they run too hot they will loosen valve guides, pull head studs and cause other trouble. I think the S65 has shown to be pretty reliable and perhaps even bullet proof, but for me, have some additional cooling given that I'll have it for a long time is peace of mind.

[bigjae1976]

Question. For those who experience high temps according to the OEM oil temp guage...are you running R-Comps?

[E90///M3`]

great write up... i got partially through it but need to continue reading later.

this may be a future upgrade for me

[datbimmerdoe]

sweet, thx 4 the thorough write-up

[VictorH]

Hi Everyone,
So here is my final report on the M24 oil cooler. I was at the O'Fest at Barber and drove all sessions for 4 days and one session on the last day, which ended up being a bit over 300 miles on the track. Temps during the week were in the high 60s to as high on Saturday in the low 80s. I still think for my application that this oil cooler is a valuable addition. However, in regard to oil temperature reduction, I can't really reach any conclusion.

I suspect that the stock oil temperature gauge can't really show a difference of 18-20F. During my track sessions I could still get the needle up to the middle mark between the 210 and 300F marker on the gauge. One thing that seems to be pretty clear is that the temperature recovery is much quicker than stock. In one cool down lap (2.2 miles) I could get the temp to come down to just over 210F before track exit. I've never seen this quick a cool down even when running in 50 degree weather. So unless you have a really accurate aftermarket oil temp gauge I don't think you'll see a difference based on the stock gauge. Otherwise, no issues with the oil cooler and it's a nice piece of fabrication.

[mkPOTO]

subscribed!

[Ateam]

I know it was pricey but based on your report I have to say I do not think this really does a whole lot for this particular engine setup. I think the stock setup and the stock s65 is more than adequate to run a track in 90 degree weather all day let alone 60-80. The brakes will be the limiting factor for most people or tires for that matter.

To spend 2k and not even show a drop in temp on the guage clinches it that this is just flushin dough. But I am sure it gives a nice placebo effect knowings its in there.

[klammer]

I noticed a drop in temps and with me doing over 20 track days this year and maybe that many each season, it's definitely worth it from a longevity point of view. It's called being proactive not reactive. Something that seems to be lost on many people. It's all in my head you say??? That's the only place it matters

[quads]

I have a local shop who can fabricate high quality custom radiators. I had him build a dual pass radiator for my LS6 miata and it's worked great. He could build one at a fraction of the cost of this one - perhaps 1/10 the cost!

I may have him make an oil cooler for my M.

Whoever is getting one, would you mind measuring the dimensions or even better yet send it to me to have the shop use it as a reference. I'll cover all shipping costs needed

[bigjae1976]

Originally Posted by klammer

I noticed a drop in temps and with me doing over 20 track days this year and maybe that many each season, it's definitely worth it from a longevity point of view. It's called being proactive not reactive. Something that seems to be lost on many people. It's all in my head you say??? That's the only place it matters

I would think an oil cooler would allow the engine oil to be cooler all of the time. From the OP's description, the car got just as hot but cooled down faster.

No offense to the OP, I don't think the review is in anyway conclusive. Now, there is a cooling benefit as the OP described when the car cooled down.
Before anyone makes a judgement on this mod, we need actual oil temps since that gauge is probably buffered.

Maybe the oil temps were high because of the OEM thermostat or some other engine management parameter?

[zsapphire7]

Originally Posted by bigjae1976

I would think an oil cooler would allow the engine oil to be cooler all of the time. From the OP's description, the car got just as hot but cooled down faster.

No offense to the OP, I don't think the review is in anyway conclusive. Now, there is a cooling benefit as the OP described when the car cooled down.
Before anyone makes a judgement on this mod, we need actual oil temps since that gauge is probably buffered.

Maybe the oil temps were high because of the OEM thermostat or some other engine management parameter?

I'm quite sure that the engine will target a higher temp for track use simply because the oil needs to be thinner to properly lubricate the engine at higher RPM speeds. Whats probably not normal is the temperature hitting well above the 255 mark and an indication of the stock cooler being overwhelmed.

[VictorH]

As I noted above, I can't come to any conclusion as the effectiveness of the cooler. There is no way to know what the actual performance of the cooler is under identical conditions in the same car as it's just not feasible to switch from the stock to aftermarket cooler in the same vehicle in the amount of time needed to get an accurate assessment even if you had the necessary aftermarket gauges.

In regard to the stock temperature gauge, I'm willing to bet that BMW can/has engineered the gauge to place the needle on the gauge wherever they want, and it's very possible that a given needle position could represent a temperature range perhaps plus or minus 20F or more. Unfortunately the days of having accurate (i.e. indicating the "actual" temp plus or minus some small error are long gone) gauge from an OEM particularly for oil or water temp aren't going to happen anymore due to the average user getting concerned or freaking out about a given needle position. Consequently, you'll need a different aftermarket gauge set up to show the effectiveness and then you're still stuck with trying to compare the same car or like cars under the same conditions, a no win situation.

[bigjae1976]

My guess is that the oil cooler is working but the engine electronics will still have the engine run between the 210 and 300 markers.

The other part to my guess is that you'll also need some sort of DME tuning or new thermostat to get the engine oil to actually run cooler.

[montreal red]

Originally Posted by bigjae1976

Question. For those who experience high temps according to the OEM oil temp guage...are you running R-Comps?

you dont have to be running R-comps to get high engine temps. i have only recently used r-comps and it doesnt really affect my engine temps, just my brake rotor temps.

[VictorH]

Another follow up note on the M24 oil cooler. Spent this past weekend at VIR. Temps were in the 40s so it was cool. Max temps on the track were midway between the 210 mark at the bottom of the gauge and the next mark up the gauge (has no numbers).

As I noted after the Barber O'Fest event the temp recovery during cool down is remarkable. At VIR you get the session end signal at Oak tree and then track out approx 1 1/4 mile later. On this portion of the cool down the oil temp would drop to normal operating or just below before you left the track. I'm interested in seeing what happens this June and July when temps will be in the mid to high 90s. Otherwise cooler has been problem free as it should be.

[kaiv]

Very nice! Thanks for sharing. Bookmarked!

[quads]

Originally Posted by 4sevens.com

I have a local shop who can fabricate high quality custom radiators. I had him build a dual pass radiator for my LS6 miata and it's worked great. He could build one at a fraction of the cost of this one - perhaps 1/10 the cost!

I may have him make an oil cooler for my M.

Whoever is getting one, would you mind measuring the dimensions or even better yet send it to me to have the shop use it as a reference. I'll cover all shipping costs needed

I'm looking to get one make in a local shop in Georgia (very reliable and well known in other circles). Anyone interested in a rad and oil cooler that 1/2 of m24's?

[quads]

I'm going to have to do without my M for a week or so when they take out the stock rad and oil cooler to measure, fab and fit Having gone through the trouble I might as well have them make a bunch