Jump to content
Click here if you are having website access problems ×

Mocal laminova installation - k-series


mcerbm

Recommended Posts

  • Leadership Team

I've had Laminovas fitted in both the top radiator hose using a filter sandwich plate (same as for a wet sump install) and in the coolant bypass hose using the scavenge to tower oil feed.

I currently don't have one fitted but if I was fitting one again, which I might do, I'd fit it in the top hose as per the wet sump install. The bell tank dry sump install is already limited without adding any further restriction into the oil return feed.

Stu.

Edited to add ... the size of Laminova needed for the two options is different.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had a mocal oil radiator which has been removed, The JIC fittings on the cooler (JIC 12) are larger than the laminova (JIC 8) so i'll need new hoses. The oil cooler was installed with a feed from the gold scavenge pump, through the radiator then back up into the dry sump bell housing tank connning tower input. So I'll be looking to put the laminova in the same position. Has anyone done this setup?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Leadership Team

My choice would still be to use a sandwich plate and take it off the pressure pump circuit, even with the gold pump I’d avoid adding anything else between the sump and the tower.

Are you intending to fit the Laminova in the coolant top hose or the bypass hose?

Stu.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Stu, I was going to put it in the top radiator hose. I'm going to keep my old oil radiator until I try this configuration out on track. I predominantly like the idea of the quick oil heat up. Cooling wise I was only using 30% or so of the oil radiator with the rest blanked off.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

Thanks for the post above with pictures. It does, I have a slightly more obstructive entry into my radtec radiator that is on the far side and a bit more angled so I have ordered a 90 degree bend to cover that. Unfortunately in my caterham dry sump (bellhousing tank) setup I was hoping to re-use the oil radiator hoses but I cant get them to fit. Presume this is probably a phone call to think automotive and some bespoke hoses.

Has anybody on hear used a laminova heat exchanger with a caterham dry sump setup that can share photos or explain how they plumbed in their setup.

Stu, when you had it in the bypass hose did you use the original gold pump hoses? I'm pretty sure I have bespoke hoses to suit an oil radiator so it may not be a like for like comparison.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Having seen a similar post on a Caterham FB group I might take a different route. One of the install pics had a much smaller unit in length which looks like a mocal C43-90 (90mm length) rather than the 180 I have and almost every other install seems to have.

my reasoning is:

1) my previous oil cooler seemed to work best with 75% blanked off so I need some but not much oil cooling

2) The oil naturally wants to sit higher than the coolant. With less heat transfer the oil will probably sit with a higher gap above coolant temp than the 180mm version, which is good as my radtec ali rad is exceptionally good at cooling on track so I would want oil to sit higher than the coolant.

3) it will still heat up the oil to a much higher temp while idling than my current setup. So it is still useful for getting the engine ready for sprints / hill climbs while Idiling 

4) easier to package with my more awkward radiator top hose entry position / angle. Less weight, smaller increase of centre of gravity upwards (oil cooler sat under radiator)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Could someone with a laminova fitted advise what temp the oil gets up to when:

1) idiling and car fully warmed up, thermostat open fan about to kick in (state which thermostat temp)

2) working the car harder, on track preferably, what temp does the oil sit above the coolant (if at all?)

Presumably most have the 180mm laminova, if there is anyone with a 90mm laminova that would be very handy to know how it changes the values.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

This is how my installation ended up. I havent had the car out for a run yet so cant comment on temps. from idiling it seems to bring oil up to about 12-15 degrees behind coolant. I'm hoping it will allow the oil to overtake the coolant temps on track. I will also install a oil temp sender in the filter housing so I can data log temps. The guage reading which is taken form the tank seems to run a bit cooler than the readings I take from the hoses. I'm guessing there is a reasonable amoun of cooling that gets done to the dry sump bell housing tank just through air cooling while on track.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I still have the 180mm version. I am going to see how the smaller one performs first and can have the option of changing out if I need more oil cooling. I'm hoping this one will be the right balance and allow the oil temp to climb above the coolant temp.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

I have had the car out on track and the laminova worked really well. Maybe takes a bit longer to heat the oil than I would like but at least it does it a lot quicker than it not being there. Cooling wise it works very well and allows the oil to sit in the 90-95C area which is exactly where I wanted it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...