Coolant - Oil heat exchanger/cooler, how effective

[alcyon]

I was just wondering how effective this system is . On my engine, Toyota calls it an oil cooler, though it is not how we think of oil coolers.
Its a donut shaped metal piece that goes right behind the oil filter, with coolant lines running through.
I heard this system is meant to equalize or bring close the coolant temps and oil temps.
Seeing that the oil that passes through the oil filter is going through this donut, and the coolant flowing around it, how effective is this system as an oil cooler compared to a finned radiator type oil cooler ?

 

[Falcon_LS]

Effective enough for Ford to use it in severe duty applications, such as vehicles equipped with the police package.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

BMW has been using them for decades. Typically they're called a "heat exchanger" rather than an oil cooler (i.e. dedicated radiator with oil flowing through it).

 

[Imp4]

Many factors go into heat exchanger design.
Temperature differential, flow rates, ability of fluids to transfer heat, expected life cycle, blah, blah, blah...
Typically engineers will use finite element analysis to ensure the heating or cooling capacity of the exchanger is designed correctly for the problem at hand.

That being said, the examples given in previous posts (police duty, severe service, etc) should give you some comfort that these designs are robust and dependable.

 

[Astro14]

My Tundra, and all three Volvos, have the exact same thing. Evidently, it works pretty well.

Don’t lose sight of the cold weather advantages of this system; in severe cold, it warms the oil more rapidly and keeps it at the proper temperature.