Oil cooler question

[Jwright412]

I ordered a Hawk DLX and it's on the way. In the meantime I've been doing some research and trying to get a list together of accessories to purchase. I've looked through posts regarding oil coolers and oil life and understand that clean cool oil makes an engine happy. With that in mind I had an idea of something that could kill two birds with one stone. I wanted to see if anyone else has tried putting one of these oil coolers with a filter on their bike.



It's obviously not going to be the best at cooling the oil but I figure that something is better than nothing. In my mind the filter is a huge upgrade and will make up for the less than stellar oil cooling capability. Any thoughts?

[alex_in_az]

Originally Posted by Jwright412

I ordered a Hawk DLX and it's on the way. In the meantime I've been doing some research and trying to get a list together of accessories to purchase. I've looked through posts regarding oil coolers and oil life and understand that clean cool oil makes an engine happy. With that in mind I had an idea of something that could kill two birds with one stone. I wanted to see if anyone else has tried putting one of these oil coolers with a filter on their bike.



It's obviously not going to be the best at cooling the oil but I figure that something is better than nothing. In my mind the filter is a huge upgrade and will make up for the less than stellar oil cooling capability. Any thoughts?

I live in AZ and ride during the summer, I've never felt the need for one. YMMV

[Jwright412]

Doesn't get much hotter than AZ so that's good info. Thanks for the reply!

[JerryHawk250]

Down here in south Louisiana the summer are mid 90's and up. The oil cooler definitely increases the oil life. I've gone from changing the oil every 500 mile to 1500 to 2000 miles. With out the cooler the oil would be jet black at 500 miles were with the cooler it would be a dark brown at 2000 miles. The cooler will keep the oil from cooking and breaking down.

[Megadan]

Do you absolutely need one? No.

Does it make a difference? Yes.

As Jerry said, it greatly extends the life of the oil. The cooler oil also suffers from less viscosity loss due to heat soaking and can increase the life of things like the clutch, which will then shed less friction material into the oil. It also helps stabilize the oil temps enough to greatly reduce clutch fade.

My first Hawk I ran without a cooler for the 4000 miles I had it up to when it was stolen. My current Hawk has had ancooler on it from the 500 mile mark. I get twice the life out of the oil with the cooler, and my current Hawk is a lot more modified then the old one.

[Wild Dog]

There used to be a Honda made for the Latin American market, made in Argentina, Brasil and Mexico. The Honda NX4 Falcon, it was an dual sport with a 400cc OHC engine, NO oil cooler, NO water cooling. Just old school air. Honda said change oil every 2000 km.

Like people said already, is not needed, no harm will come from not installing one. But if you can add one, the Oil engine will say thanks.

[China Rider 27]

As a point of discussion, I recently considered the effects of an oil cooler when running the CG motor in the winter time. Where I live, you can get a 40 degree to 50 degree day every two or three weeks and I try to ride even if it is a short one. I have noticed it takes the bike 15 to 20 minutes to really warm up good. The bike I usually ride does not have an oil cooler so it seems to get warm enough, with time, but I wonder with an oil cooler can it cool the oil to the point of a negative effect on oil efficiency? Megadan recently mentioned he uses the T-7 5w-40 in the winter and I have come to think that a good idea.

[Gimpster]

The way we solve that on cars is using an oil cooler with a thermostat, so it bypasses the cooler when ambient and/or oil temp is low.

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by China Rider 27

As a point of discussion, I recently considered the effects of an oil cooler when running the CG motor in the winter time. Where I live, you can get a 40 degree to 50 degree day every two or three weeks and I try to ride even if it is a short one. I have noticed it takes the bike 15 to 20 minutes to really warm up good. The bike I usually ride does not have an oil cooler so it seems to get warm enough, with time, but I wonder with an oil cooler can it cool the oil to the point of a negative effect on oil efficiency? Megadan recently mentioned he uses the T-7 5w-40 in the winter and I have come to think that a good idea.

I am also not a winter rider, per se. I do ride in "colder" temps, but we are talking in the high 30's to low 40's, and generally at that point I don't ride as much. I also mainly go for "longer" rides, so the motor has plenty of time to get warm, and since my front fender is always blocking part of the cooler, it acts as a cooler smaller than its true size so the oil doesn't actually struggle to get up to temp. I have not had a single issue with condesnation The main reason I bought the bigger cooler was specifically because of where I wanted to mount it.

I run the 5w in the colder temps because 80% of all engine wear happens during cold start and warm up. I can tell the difference between the 5 and 15 when the motor is properly cold.

[China Rider 27]

Originally Posted by Megadan

I am also not a winter rider, per se. I do ride in "colder" temps, but we are talking in the high 30's to low 40's, and generally at that point I don't ride as much. I also mainly go for "longer" rides, so the motor has plenty of time to get warm, and since my front fender is always blocking part of the cooler, it acts as a cooler smaller than its true size so the oil doesn't actually struggle to get up to temp. I have not had a single issue with condesnation The main reason I bought the bigger cooler was specifically because of where I wanted to mount it.

I run the 5w in the colder temps because 80% of all engine wear happens during cold start and warm up. I can tell the difference between the 5 and 15 when the motor is properly cold.

I need to get some 5W. I also thought about making a shield for the cooler you could slip on maybe out of some sheet metal.

Originally Posted by Gimpster

The way we solve that on cars is using an oil cooler with a thermostat, so it bypasses the cooler when ambient and/or oil temp is low.

A thermostat makes all the sense maybe worth investigating or just put in a bypass valve/system and re-route around the cooler in the winter. I have bike with cooler and one without, I guess I should just take them out and test the temps sometime.