Laminova Oil Coolers

[Tin Man]

Anyone fitted one to a K-Series with anti cavitation tank? How effective are they? Is it a easy job to fit?

 

Thank you

 

 

[Andrew Dent]

Effective? Very. Fast oil heat up, and stable oil temp even when travelling on really cold days.

 

Easy to fit. Quite easy. I needed to change 1 fitting at the local hydraulic shop.

 

So far so good. Very happy.

 

Andrew

[PAUL MARRIOTT]

I agree easy to fit, look the dogs, good stable temp. Will realy test it at Cadwell.

 

Paul M.

 

 

[CHRIS CLARK]

Yep. Have one fitted to my modified 1800 'K' with Apollo.

Warm up time much quicker and seems to do what was expected of it.

Fitted mine into the top rad hose. Some are fitted into the heater 'circuit' if they don't have a heater fitted.

Looks good too!!!

 

Note though that the fitting of this CAN lower your gauge indicated oil pressure by up to half a bar. Couple that with up to half a bar that can be lost by the Apollo tank 'bleed' and it can LOOK worrying, but it's all OK really. Take your original pressure readings and then compare with the 'after' fitting to see what the compensation/interpretation needs to be.

[Tin Man]

Thanks for the info. I have not lost any indicated oil pressure after fitting the apollo tank. I have sent Think Auotomtive an

e-mail requesting more information & prices.

 

 

 

[John Vine]

Think Automotive gave me a good deal on a Laminova (C43-18078-M32) for my Apollo-equipped 1.8K SS. The price was £144-ish all in (hoses, VAT), including a 33% discount for L7C. Call Matthew Potter on 0208 568 1172 -- he's really helpful and knows his products. Or e-mail info@thinkauto.co.uk. (With a phone number like that, someone there must have been into old Ford specials!)

 

Fitting was very straightforward (in the top rad hose). I bought a new hose in advance, just in case. For oil supply, you simply remove the upper (input) Apollo hose, attach it to the cooler input, and then connect the cooler output back to the Apollo input. Click here (try right-click and "Open in a new window") for full instructions (courtesy Will Fly).

 

As for effectiveness, I won't know until I refit the silencer (off for welding). More news in a few days. Then to Brands for a real test.

 

Re oil pressure, this dropped off 0.25-0.5bar with the Apollo.

 

JV

 

Edited by - John Vine on 7 May 2002 13:29:37

 

Edited by - John Vine on 7 May 2002 13:30:24

 

Edited by - John Vine on 7 May 2002 13:32:11

[DohNut]

This certainly looks a serious bit of kit that appears to be doing the job but I have been looking at the version that fits like an sandwich plate by the oil filter. I am sure the heat transfer would be less because of the reduced size but would appear to be a tidier instalation.

Has anyone used one of these.

Nick

[John Vine]

Well, I've now given it a thorough test (Brands trackday) and am delighted with it. It held the oil temp to a max of about 95C (compared to 120C-ish without under similar conditions). It seems to reduce oil pressure by about 0.5bar (over and above the 0.25 drop of the Apollo), so about 0.75bar drop altogether.

 

I guess that having water AND oil under thermostatic control is a good thing.

 

JV

[Jason Plato]

What is the impact of fitting a laminova on the cooling cabability of the water system ?? . Has anyone reported running higher water temps or the water temp rapidly rising when in traffic ?? .

Just an enquirey as I'm thinking of getting a laminova .

 

Dave

[Peter Carmichael]

It won't happen. Your oil temp doesn't shoot up in traffic, so there isn't much heat to dissipate. Oil temperatures rise when the bearings are under big loads - revs.

[Jason Plato]

But if the oil temp is say 100C and the water temp 75C on the road or after a track session , then when you coast down to a standstill , wont the water temp rise as the air flow through the rad is reduced ( fan on only ) whilst the temperature differential between oil / water is equalised by the laminova / water radiator ??? , the heat from the oil has to absorbed somewhere ????? .

So long as the water system has sufficient cooling capactiy to handle this load then all should be well ?? - but has it ?? . This was what I was asking .

 

Dave

[mikehoile]

Seems a good idea and have been considering fitting one as the temp goes up on long motorway runs & warming up the oil at Curborough took some time, but does anyone recall Caterham not recomending the fitting of them - can't remember where I read this even though many seem to have fitted them. Mike H

[John Vine]

Dave J: I agree. Provided the rad has sufficient capacity to handle the extra heat dumped by the oil, everything will be hunkydory. I've got the standard ali rad. So far, I've found that both water and oil temps stay beautifully stable, and pretty close in value (on the road, typically 80-85C). At least, that's what the gauge tells me.

 

Mike: I mentioned Laminovas to Simon Lambert when I was last at the factory. He said he'd heard of them, but made no adverse comment about fitting them to 7s. Mind you, he didn't specifically recommend them either! Perhaps you might want to ask him for an official view before you proceed?

 

JV

[Jason Plato]

Cheers John ,

I'll give laminova a call ..........

 

Dave

[mikehoile]

John. Have spoken to Nathan at Caterham (one of the best there) & he also wasn't really aware of this unit. He did advise against a traditional oil cooler though, saying that the high power race cars use them to increase the oil capacity. -keep cool.. regards Mike