finned metal sleeves that clamp on oil filter. Advertised as "oil coolers" I cannot see how they would be effective...? Scam?
Clamp on oil filter "coolers" do they work?
- Thread starter Vern_in_IL
- Start date
MolaKule
Staff member
Thermodynamically, thermal energy from the oil would be conducted to the fins, but unless the oil filter is in a slipstream or some other air stream for convection, I don't see any advantage. I would say it's, "dubious."
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Do they work? No. Scam? Yes, surely.
Surface area is way to little to have any perceptible effect.
They'd cool a semiconductor down, but imagine the huge
surface area of an engine's radiator including its cooling fins.
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Do they work? No. Scam? Yes, surely.
Surface area is way to little to have any perceptible effect.
They'd cool a semiconductor down, but imagine the huge
surface area of an engine's radiator including its cooling fins.
.
Yea its up there along with magnets for your fuel lines to "activate" gasoline.
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I recently installed one of those on the oil filter of my 6.4L Hemi because I've had it laying around in the garage for 25+ years, the Hemi runs it's oil Very Hot (240F is fairly common), I've hit 249F without trying and it has an OE liquid to liquid cooler, I was doing an oil change and it happened to fit the Mopar Oil Filter. I monitor oil temps with the digital instrument cluster. So far, I haven't seen any change. If there is any, it's fairly imperceptible. I guess what I can say is, it hasn't raised the oil temps that I can tell.
In a water cooled engine I doubt there would be any advantage but on an air/oil cooled motorcycle engine where the filter was exposed to the air flow and if you could get a good contact with the filter housing it might help but getting a good coupling without smearing heat sync paste all over it might be difficult and you would just end up insulating the filters ability to shed heat.
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
I assume truck 6.4 and not SRT? Mine have all tracked extremely close to coolant temp, when I was doing a few 0-60 runs I got the oil up to 104C (219F), think that's about as hot as I've seen.
Nope, 2020 6.4L Challenger. Coolant temps stay in the 215-225F range. Oil temps are always 15 to 20 degrees above, always. Other 6.4L owners say it's normal as theirs does it as well. But it bothers me. I know FCA required 0W-40 natural gas derived 'synthetic unicorn tears' at 6 month intervals regardless of mileage but still. That much higher than coolant temp is out of my comfort zone.
Like this,
Or this?
Or this?
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In my opinion, if the increased surface area added to the OF has any effect in lower oil temps it's insignificant to entire engine oiling system. So, I'm going with scam.
As for last pics recently added, looks to me to two different application types. The first two are for my previous statement for "oil filter cooler". The third one looks like a factory part that would be found actually in and or part of engines oiling system. I consider that to be an "oil cooler" not topic oil filter cooler.
As for last pics recently added, looks to me to two different application types. The first two are for my previous statement for "oil filter cooler". The third one looks like a factory part that would be found actually in and or part of engines oiling system. I consider that to be an "oil cooler" not topic oil filter cooler.
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Not to get off track, but do they actually need this special oil or would any 0w40 work?
dnewton3
Staff member
Sure they work. But to what degree? (pardon the pun) ...
I'm sure they conduct thermal energy away from the filter, but how much and how effective they do so is up for debate.
Let's not forget that many of today's vehicles have liquid-to-liquid oil coolers which also warm the oil. So in much regard those systems are pretty much governed by the coolant temps anyway.
Generally, I see this as an unnecessary item. About the only use it may have would be a small air-cooled OPE engine, and even then it would be minimal in it's effect.
Best way to know would be to use a thermal sensor and measure the temps of the lube pre and post install.
Without any kind of thermal pads you're going to get like no real heat transfer on a painted can if the can had no paint on it or was made out of like billet aluminum and then you put that on perhaps it could do something. It's going to do basically nothing to be honest.
Originally the Pennzoil Utra Premium (PUP) 0W40 was the only oil meeting FCA's spec for this engine. In the last 12 months, a few other oils have now met FCA's spec and are acceptable. But not just any 0W40.
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
Oh, that's funky, I've owned four 6.4's, don't recall any of them running that high. Three of them have been in GC's though, only one was a car, a 2014 Charger SRT-8.
I don't run the SRT 0w-40 in any of mine, I prefer to use a more robust Euro 0w-40, which is what the SRT mills spec'd originally before the FIAT takeover.
Our 5.7 doesn't run that hot either, even towing:
(for those doing imperial, that's ~225F, outside temp is 91F).
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
They changed the designation for the SRT oil when FIAT took over; changed the MS designation which nullified M1 0w-40 as a choice, which had been the previous SRT fill. The new oil isn't a Euro 0w-40, it's like an SN/GF-5 additive package in a 0w-40 instead of 5w-30, so there isn't much in the way of options. A few of the manufacturers recommend their oil for that application, Castrol was one, Ravenol is another.
The language in the manual isn't overly strict though:
So long story short, M1 0w40 used to be an option and aside from warranty reasons, there’s no reason not to use it?
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
Yes, and even then, it sounds like using spec oil is optional, at least from the GC SRT manual.
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