I am looking to start doing Autocross and HPDE next summer and have the engine, suspension, and brakes all set up to where it needs to be, save for one aspect. An oil cooler. I currently use the car as a fun, summer daily driver, that I would like to start pushing more on track. Most of everything that I have seen say that an oil cooler will be necessary for running more than a lap or two on the full track up at BIR. However, driving in the last spring and early fall, I struggle to get oil temp above 160. Looking at options, the thermostatic seems to offer the option of not "cooling" the oil until it gets to a certain temp, keeping the oil as warm as possible in cooler conditions. That being said, I want to make sure I can drive the car daily during colder weather without worrying that the oil is not getting to temperatures. Based on experiences of those who autocross and track their cars, is the thermostatic a good option? Or is running without a cooler a safe enough option? I do have an oil temp gauge to monitor temps.
I've done HPDEs and track days at Dakota County, nothing at BIR. I've also done autocrosses and rallycrosses as well. The limited session time of an autocross or rallycross I wouldn't worry about it you only run 3 runs and I haven't ran one over 2min long to date, I find its more important to start your car early if it sits for a while to get the oil up to temp to run for autocross. There's quite a bit of waiting in between autocross sessions, run 3 min and wait an hour or so it seems. I highly highly recommend the Minnesota Autosports Club autocross school in the spring. Can't say enough about it. One day in class then the next day at Dakota County. I think I got 15 runs or so and every set of 3 you switch instructors. You can only do it once but it's $50 and the cheapest autocross and instruction time you'll ever get. Ever. Over lunch too you can ask instructors to drive your car and see how they approach things and if you're on pace or not. Again. I wish I could do that one again. Rona probably isn't allowing it right now but keep an eye out. It's a must do event. Personally I just changed my oil before and after the HPDEs and track days, swapped in track pads and that was about it. One event I ran in August my tires were the weak link, they got all greasy and I could only push it so far. The SCCA HPDE at Dakota County is half the price of BIR and a good way to see if you like it or not. You won't be going as fast but the instructors are good and it's a really good deal. If you're building a dedicated track car then maybe I'd go for an oil cooler but if it's your daily you'll start looking at your car more and more toward the end of the track day seeing if your tires and stuff will get you home. Take it out stock and see what it can do. If you like the different events then go for it. If you turn out to get carsick and don't have fun then you haven't invested too much time into something before trying it. Fresh fluids, good tires, and brake pads are your friend, don't skimp on the rotors, seen many people warp their rotors in the first session then trash their day. Track pads also aren't good for autocross. They don't heat up enough to bite so your autocross setup will differ from your track days. I ran stock brembo pads for autocross and hawk track pads for the HPDEs and track days. I also run Dot 4 ATE high temp fluid. Works great for events and daily but plan on changing it more frequently the more events you do. Your pedal will go soft a lot faster than just daily driving. A long winded way to say I'd run it how it is and make sure your fluids, tires, pads and rotors are appropriate and see what you and your car can do.
Thank you for the VERY in-depth response! This was the exact thing I was looking for! I have two sets of wheels, one stock with A/S tires for most driving and one with stickier tires for spirited driving, and snagged some new rotors and a multitude of brake pads for different uses from via a connection in the market. I will definitely check out the various autocrosses in the spring (assuming covid is less restrictive) and will try to get as much information as I can to help get the car set up! I've been building the car slowly over the last 4 years to eventually become a track car that can still be driven on the street for when I want to take it out. The biggest hurdle is trusting that the car can handle the abuse of the track (and in the meantime autocross), and at this point I'm finally comfortable with that. I'll get out as soon as possible come next spring with the various events mentioned! Are they arranged on facebook? Do we have a dedicated thread for information on the events?
Grain of salt: I have very little autoX/rallyX experience and zero real track experience... But, from a street perspective, you do not want to overcool the engine oil. Thermostatic, or running it inline with the stock heat exchanger to warm the oil if it's too cold. My experience with AutoX and RallyX involved a lot of down time. The last RallyX event I drove was in a rally-prepped STi swapped GC, and it would start to run hot by the end of my run (I was co-driving with the owner of the car, so we got 2 runs each in quick succession), but I drove it out to the road, and ~1/4 down to the next intersection and back and it was back to normal. I would think unless it's a HOT day, the downtime between runs would be plenty to prevent heat soak, maybe leave the key on (if not engine idling) so the fans continue to run. So I wouldn't consider it until you are planning to really track the car. At that point, I think I'd be more inclined to add extra cooling capacity in the radiator than just an oil cooler. Maybe just use synthetic oil for your first event and keep an eye on the temp. If the coolant temp isn't a problem, the engine oil can't get much hotter, and synthetic won't break down.
Thanks for the input! The car currently runs Motul 8100 Xcess with the JMA Stage 2 block and I do have a Mishimoto X-line radiator to help keep things cool. Sounds like I will definitely hold off on the oil cooler until I start running more extensive track days that require the extra cooling!
I've signed up for their events on motorsportreg.com. Just keep an eye out there for both MAC and SCCA local events. One thing I noticed at every event is that I really don't look at any gauges or my accessport or anything during the run. I'm always focused on the line, and driving as best as I can. I used to have more things monitored but when it comes to actually pushing it you don't notice something is wrong until too late or you're waiting in line to go again and get a chance to look at the dash. Don't worry about over analyzing temps and just tune up your car as best as you can and have fun. It's what it's all about.
Land of lakes is the local SCCA chapter. I just started a year and a half ago but unfortunately didn't get a season in due to ripping the control arms out of my integra. Definitely go to a few races before tuning out your car too much, the guys are incredibly helpful and can help you avoid spending money on unnecessary things you might think you need.
The oil temp sensor is located in the oil pan through a Killer B drain plug. The 160 is just for highway driving over the past few weeks in 30 degree temps. I do have an oil pressure sensor as well and that sits around 65 psi while daily driving. Toward 90 on start up and around 20 psi when idling at temp. That's what I've noticed about my driving as well. When I am doing some more aggressive driving on backroads, I usually only notice things out of the normal after the driving is slowing. Pretty hard to look down or over while "pushing" my car.
