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Clio 182 oil coolers and catcher tanks!



  FF Clio 182
Just basically after everyone opinion on the matter! Been looking at some oil cooler system and considering it. I wanted to know if anyone could recommend anything like brands, specific kits or separate parts, same goes for oil catch tanks. Secondly if anyone has pictures of there setup using either one that would be much appreciated, plus any benefits of running either system.
 
  Radical SR3
Oil cooler only on a track car that gets abused. Oil obviously (aside from lubrication) draws heat away from the engine which is a good thing...providing you don't draw too much heat away and compromise the oil efficiency etc.

I use a 19 row Mocal on my track car. I bought it from JJC Rally? in Ebay. It comes with braided lines and a sandwich plate that goes between the block and the filter. You'll hear a lot of people harping on about thermostatic plates being essential (they only open allowing flow through the cooler when the oil is at a specific temp). Personally, I don't think it matters as running a cooler on a road car is pointless anyway.

Regarding catchcans, I don't like the fact that hot vapour and in some cases oil can get into the inlet on the car, this is only going to rob performance aswell as coating everything in s**t. You can either simply vent breather using a small filter or fit a catchcan (with a filter on the outlet side). I've done both and always gone with just a filter as it's lighter and let's face it...if you're chuffing oil out of the crank case, you've got a lot more to worry about than just an oily engine bay.
 
  FF Clio 182
Oil cooler only on a track car that gets abused. Oil obviously (aside from lubrication) draws heat away from the engine which is a good thing...providing you don't draw too much heat away and compromise the oil efficiency etc.

I use a 19 row Mocal on my track car. I bought it from JJC Rally? in Ebay. It comes with braided lines and a sandwich plate that goes between the block and the filter. You'll hear a lot of people harping on about thermostatic plates being essential (they only open allowing flow through the cooler when the oil is at a specific temp). Personally, I don't think it matters as running a cooler on a road car is pointless anyway.

Regarding catchcans, I don't like the fact that hot vapour and in some cases oil can get into the inlet on the car, this is only going to rob performance aswell as coating everything in s**t. You can either simply vent breather using a small filter or fit a catchcan (with a filter on the outlet side). I've done both and always gone with just a filter as it's lighter and let's face it...if you're chuffing oil out of the crank case, you've got a lot more to worry about than just an oily engine bay.

Thanks mate much appreciated.

Was thinking about oil coolers as they are a reasonable price. As for thermo plates, they seem the more logical idea. Heard alot of people say it takes the oil longer to warm up from cold what causes a lot of initial wear on the engine?

I see you point about just running air filters of the crank case would make sense due to being lighter and costing somewhat cheap than a catcher tank. Would just be interesting to run a tank to see if it did catch anything and after a while if nothing, then just run a small filter.
 
  Radical SR3
Save yourself the money and time in fitting a catch can, honestly...I've run them on several cars both turbo and N/A, stock power and over 450hp and even after a year or so there is nothing liquid in them.

Thermo plate if you really have to have an oil cooler on a road car, but save your money and invest it in something actually useful. No thermo plate if it's a track car though.
 
  172 cup, Impreza P1
Agree with the cooler. I use a laminova cooler so using coolant rather than air to cool the oil. Much small than air coolers and fits easier in the engine bay especially with a turbo car due to intercoolers and boost pipes.

I used a breather filter on my car at the start and would not recommend it on a forced induction car. On the rollers you could see a lot of oil mist coming from it shortly follow by my crank seal failing. I suspect this was caused by high crank pressures during the mapping. Fitted a catch tank with 2 breather filters and although I dont get huge amounts of in the tank I do get something. Usually oily condensation that I would definitely not want back in the inlet.

Also, oil vapour can be flamible and venting this next to very hot objects like manifolds and turbos could cause a fire.

DSCF2316_zps4a6dfcf3.jpg
 
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  Radical SR3
I've heard a few Clio owners saying that when venting with a filter directly on the breather plate...they get oil on the ex. manifold on track days...I've not had this. The engine I'd describe as 'oily' by nature but when I check the filter it's never the culprit.
 
  FF Clio 182
I'm trying to decide on a non turbo car so would be slightly different. That is the only issue with it spraying oil mist into the engine bay!
 
  Radical SR3
I had my last track car (turbo) venting to atmos in the engine bay...it had a 1.3ltr engine bored to 1.4ltr. On the rollers, whilst making over 350 (whp) only on lift off/decel did the breather smoke and I didn't think it excessive. So on the Clio with pressure/stress reduced somewhat I can't see this being a concern.
 
  FF Clio 182
Agree with the cooler. I use a laminova cooler so using coolant rather than air to cool the oil. Much small than air coolers and fits easier in the engine bay especially with a turbo car due to intercoolers and boost pipes.

I used a breather filter on my car at the start and would not recommend it on a forced induction car. On the rollers you could see a lot of oil mist coming from it shortly follow by my crank seal failing. I suspect this was caused by high crank pressures during the mapping. Fitted a catch tank with 2 breather filters and although I dont get huge amounts of in the tank I do get something. Usually oily condensation that I would definitely not want back in the inlet.

Also, oil vapour can be flamible and venting this next to very hot objects like manifolds and turbos could cause a fire.

DSCF2316_zps4a6dfcf3.jpg

That's a nice setup you have there! Very blue :)

Do you have a link to the oil cooler kit you are using?

So you would recommend a catcher tank but make sure there is enough for the pressure to escape! Was it expensive to repair your crank seals ?

Thanks
 
  172 cup, Impreza P1
That's a nice setup you have there! Very blue :)

Do you have a link to the oil cooler kit you are using?

So you would recommend a catcher tank but make sure there is enough for the pressure to escape! Was it expensive to repair your crank seals ?

Thanks

Thanks mate! :)

The catch tank is not fancy. It a bulkhead mounted baffled tank with the ports in the correct place for where I wanted them. Got it off ebay for about £50 iirc.

IME a catch tank is definitely needed on turbo cars. No one in their right mind would run a performance car with oil vapour spraying all over it when giving it the beans. I have heard a few stories of fires caused by that. Chip wrote something about losing a lot of oil through his breather to a catch tank and then into another separate catch tank as it was so bad. This was quite extreme but if you had an issue that your car decided to spray already hot oil vapour onto a very hot manifold or turbo, you can see why there would be an issue. The full catch tank install on mine cost about £65 and took about 10mins to fit once I decided where to mount it. For that reason I cant see why you wouldn't fit one.

The crank seal cost about £12 and as I was doing other work on the engine not much more time but you don't want to be changing them a lot thats for sure.
 
  FF Clio 182
Thanks mate! :)

The catch tank is not fancy. It a bulkhead mounted baffled tank with the ports in the correct place for where I wanted them. Got it off ebay for about £50 iirc.

IME a catch tank is definitely needed on turbo cars. No one in their right mind would run a performance car with oil vapour spraying all over it when giving it the beans. I have heard a few stories of fires caused by that. Chip wrote something about losing a lot of oil through his breather to a catch tank and then into another separate catch tank as it was so bad. This was quite extreme but if you had an issue that your car decided to spray already hot oil vapour onto a very hot manifold or turbo, you can see why there would be an issue. The full catch tank install on mine cost about £65 and took about 10mins to fit once I decided where to mount it. For that reason I cant see why you wouldn't fit one.

The crank seal cost about £12 and as I was doing other work on the engine not much more time but you don't want to be changing them a lot thats for sure.

Thay was my logic, due to them being readily available and cheap to implement why not. I was thinking about just getting small one and bolting it to the bulkhead. Can you just drill straight into it tho I wouldn't wanna do it and end up spilling wires behind the dash! I can see what you mean about a turbo setup last thing you want is oily air going on a hot turbo! Could make a mess
 
  182
So these catch tanks are fitted: breather plate > hose> catch tank >small filter on catch tank?

Or does it go: breather plate > hose> catch tank > back to inlet hose?

is there no vacum needed? or does the crankcase gasses get pushed out on their own accord into the tank?

Cheers:D
 
  172 cup, Impreza P1
At idle the breather is sucking air in so hence why not to leave it open. Under load it will pressurise and so blow to wherever you plumb it to. A baffled catch tank is best as the oil mist hits off the baffles and drops out the air rather than having a clear route to the filter to vent.

Breather to hose to catch tank with filter.
 
  FF Clio 182
Maybe me being stupid but I heard if you run a filter of a catch tank it can make to much back pressure in the crankcase what could blow seals.
 
  172 cup, Impreza P1
That's a reason I have 2.

They only blow crank seals if the filter blocks with oil hence the reason of the catch tank to separate the oil mist from the air.
 
  FF Clio 182
That's a reason I have 2.

They only blow crank seals if the filter blocks with oil hence the reason of the catch tank to separate the oil mist from the air.

Fair point

So where you undone the hose on the intake from the crank case would you just put a blanking plate on it!
 
  Ph1 T
Steve do you have a link to your catch tank can't find and double filter ones on eBay. As mine has 2 outlets on it and no filter so just going to buy one with 1 hose and 2 filters like yours

Also your engine bay looks f'ing unreal!
 
  Ph1 T
Rubbish picture I know but this is mine.

567CCA2E-5C45-435E-8434-654D2627BB12-1753-00000196490FD27C.jpg


Could I just use 1 inlet and make the other a breather with filter then? Or are 2 filters needed ideally?
 


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