Oil cooler and Intercooler?

[VWindahouse]

Hi guys, I am going to purchase a front mount intercooler soon and I was wondering if the existing intercooler can be used as an oil cooler. And if possible what modification would be needed ie. high pressure hoses ect?

Cheers,

Anthony.

[SoVeReIgN]

Not a chance.

Decent oil coolers aren't too expensive though

[VWindahouse]

Not a chance.

Decent oil coolers aren't too expensive though

So whats the reason mate.

[WRXconvert]

Anyone can correct me if i am wrong... but i will use my basic mechanical knowledge to answer this one... An oil cooler moves oil through it under pressure. Since oil is a fluid, it needs quite a lot of pressure to forces it to move. If you tried to make pass oil through a heat exchange unit the size and capacity of the stock INTERCOOLER, you would need to be moving a LOT of oil at a LARGE rate and at a VERY high pressure... If you look at oil coolers, the inlet and outlets are quite small... this is so that the oil gets easily passed through the exchange unit keeping the oil pressure at a maximum... Can anyone explain it a little better than that?

[VW Convert]

Anyone can correct me if i am wrong... but i will use my basic mechanical knowledge to answer this one... An oil cooler moves oil through it under pressure. Since oil is a fluid, it needs quite a lot of pressure to forces it to move. If you tried to make pass oil through a heat exchange unit the size and capacity of the stock INTERCOOLER, you would need to be moving a LOT of oil at a LARGE rate and at a VERY high pressure... If you look at oil coolers, the inlet and outlets are quite small... this is so that the oil gets easily passed through the exchange unit keeping the oil pressure at a maximum... Can anyone explain it a little better than that?

I think you are on the right track with this explanation, an intercooler is designed for high volume airflow at low pressure, an oil cooler for (relatively) low volume liquid flow at high pressure. I think there would be an issue with the ability of the intercooler to cope with the pressure and when you think about it, the volume of the intercooler would be significantly greater than that required to cool the amount of oil in the engine.

There would be issues with the inlet and outlet sizes as the large diameter of the intercooler inlet and outlet would cause oil pressure to drop.

Really, would be cheaper and easier to buy an oil cooler.

Cheers

George

[VWindahouse]

Thank you for your valued input Gentlemen! Your opinions make perfect sence. Is there anyone interested in manufacturing one to replace the OEM intercooler to be used in conjuction with a FMIC? Guy maybe??? Group buy Shane???