I'm planning to replace the oil cooler at my Xkr 2000. There is a tiny leak and I also want to swap to a somewhat larger cooler in aluminium. I notice that the cooler is overlapping the intercooler to some extent, not by much but I would like to mount the new cooler a bit lower so that there is no overlap at all, so the intercooler gets all air flow there is.

The pipes connected to the oil cooler makes strange ways in my eyes, is there a reason for the bends in front of the intercooler? Of course I would also like to get rid of those pipes and replace them with hoses without the crazy bends

 

If it were mine, I would repair the leak but not change sizes, this will open a can of worms that is not worth the aggravation. Just replacing this cooler will be a big cost surprise (somewhere on the order of $500),a larger one would require mounting and piping modifications. If you want to spend some money on performance, get the injectors cleaned and matched and replace the O2 sensors. The intercooler is working fine if you are not getting pinging at heavy throttle. Fooling with it is a waste of effort.

 

^^^^^^^ +1

the stock oil cooler doesn't get any oil to cool until the oil temp reaches 217 - 225 and fully open is beyond that. I'm all for a set of braided steel hoses to eliminate the stock hose arrangement, but I'd stick with the stock oil cooled. It's MATCHED to the engine by an engineering department way smarter about these things than most of us. If you've got a string of engineering degrees , then disregard that advice.

heres a good article that explains how hard it is and what are the factors involves in choosing an aftermarket oil cooler. There ARE plusses and minuses with every size.

https://www.pegasusautoracing.com/do...ocID=TECH00133

Z.

 

Hi, had the same question recently because of a leaking cooler. after considering a few mostly cheaper alternatives in the end i decided to go for an OEM cooler sourced by specialised jaguar parts dealer for about 300 bucks.
main reason was i felt no desire of causing a bunch of problems with the strange and unusual pipings, fittings and connections. the OEM replacement is plug and play and everything is fine.

also i would leave it where it is mounted by the factory. i'm not aware of overheating issues, but of total loss damages due to pulling a bit to far into parking lots.

fritz

 

Thanks for the input. But I don't see any arguments for not changing to a somewhat wider cooler, mounted lower so that it doesnt steal air flow from intercooler. To the contrary, the article from Pegasus suggests what I am planning:

"An even better option would be to mount the cooler next to the radiator (assuming there is room) or below the radiator (if it can be protected from damage)."

The measures I plan are not to gain hp but to improve thermal management, while I need to address the leak anyway

 

What do you think the problem is with thermal management at the moment, other than the leak?

 

Sorry, but if i were located in Gothenburg, Sweden, i would consider to install an adjustable cover i front of oil and water cooler. This should be a propper solution to improve the thermal situation.

Fritz

 

Hehe, you got a point there. But I never use the car during winter, neither late autumn nor early spring. As a matter of fact, the Xkr wont leave the garage if its raining either. I use it from mid April to early October if the weather is fine.

Thermal management and the fact that the Xkr has got some improvements to be done in the area has been discussed over and over in this forum. Do a forum search in this matter and take your pick. I will not repeat all that has been written by many contributors.

Yes, I have experienced "problems with the thermal management" of my Xkr. Last year I brought this car to the race track for the first time. It was great fun, very different from my dedicated track day BMW 130i that has got quite a bit of modifications done to it like Bilstein B16 coilovers, stiffer anti roll bars, PowerFlex black series bushings, Quaife LSD and a lot more. The Xkr cannot compete with my BMW in terms of lap times but it was a great experience with smoking rear tires

But after just 5-6 laps the Xkr went into restricted Performance mode. Back to the pits, let it cool down and then turn ignition off. Let it cool for another ten minutes, started it up again. Restricted Performance gone, back to the track again. Same story repeats itself, 5 or 6 laps and restricted Performance is back. This happens again and again for the rest of the day.

Not that I plan to make the Xkr my default track day car, but I sure want to take it to the race track once a year.

Thats why I want to improve cooling for my Xkr

 

If I wanted to have an XKR that could withstand a track day I would trade up to an X150. Those are built for a good thrashing around a track. The X100... not so much.

 

 

Zray, thanks for your input. You're right about the huge difference between the two cars. Still I have driven them on the same track and can do a comparison, and as a matter of fact the Xkr wasnt as bad as I thought it would be. Of course higher lap times but still a joyful experience

Next time I will try to add some logging of oil- and coolant temperatures.

Thanks also for the input on oil pump capacity

And yes, of course I only use high quality full synthetic oil, and change oil and filter every year

 

please keep us posted of the oil- and coolant temperatures. I have a small gauge (X-60) permanently sitting on the corner of my dash with the oil temperature and coolant temperatures. monitored all the time . Best $30 I spent on the car.


Z

 

Good idea with the gauges, I will look into doing something similar