Recently I installed a Setrab 19 row cooler on my MY06 supercharged s2000. After the installation I noticed the temperature drop slightly but oddly the pressure increased. Below is the before and after data, pertinent design information and probable causes. Feel free to add any relevant insight.

Oil Pressure (PSI): Before/After
Cold Idle: 50-60/95-100+
Warm Idle: 15-25/35-45
3k RPM: 65-75/90-100+
WOT: 80-90 with drop at VTEC/100+ no (discernible) drop at VTEC

Design Considerations:
1. Oil cooler mounted in driver side bumper with ports facing downward and lines running along passenger side in bumper (5.5' feed, 6' return).
2. Pressure sensor reads from 0PSI->100PSI. Actual pressure could be (and probably is) higher than 100PSI. I see 100PSI at 4500 RPM+
3. Mocal sandwich plate with 200F thermostat
4. Oil path to filter is: Engine Block (stock oil cooler removed)-> Sandwich plate with temperature and pressure sensor-> Sandwich plate with oil cooler lines -> Oil Filter
5. Using Amsoil 10w40 oil per SOS recommendations.

Probably causes for higher oil pressure readings:
1. Incorrect installation of lines/sandwich plate. (Not sure if this is possible.)
2. Kink in hose to oil cooler. (Can not see a kink but have not removed bumper fully to trace the complete line.)
3. Having oil cooler mounted upside down is causing the oil pump to not only push oil through long lines, but also work against gravity.
4. Having the oil pressure and temperature sensors so close to my bare headers is causing them to heat up and give inaccurate readings.

Any idea which of these causes or combination could be causing this pressure increase? Is this pressure increase something to worry about? (Typically oil coolers reduce oil pressure.) Any suggestions on how to further troubleshoot?

Thank you very much. Any replies are appreciated.

 

following for answers, as I am installing my increidibly similar setup oil cooler soon too (same size, and same thermostat).

Could it also be you have put in too much oil into the system?

 

I have not considered that possibility but that could be the reason. FWIW if I could do it over again I would advise against putting it inside the bumper and using the ducts as ventilation. It is a ton of work and is less effective than putting it in front of the radiator.

 

Is the pressure still the same after driving for more than 15 miles? What kind of oil temperature are you seeing?

 

Yes, the pressure remains at 100+ PSI even when the oil is fully warm. I drove a couple hundred miles of backroads this past Saturday and the oil was pretty steady around 230F with a peak just over 245F. This was with moderately aggressive driving and cornering.

 

How much extra oil, if any, is required with the oil cooler? What is the diameter of the extra oil lines?

 

Not much, i think like 1/2 to 3/4 of a quart. The lines going to the cooler are -10AN.

I bought the kit from SakeBomb garage. As far as the kit goes it's great. All the sourced components are top notch and they custom make the lines for you to whatever lengths you want which saves some hassle. Still waiting to hear back from them on this issue but I know they are busy so im not holding it against them. Overall I strongly recommend this kit.

 

I could be wrong, so someone correct me if I am, but logic tells me that anything oil cooler related (specifically a kinked line) would have no effect on oil pressure, since it would just cause the thermostat to essentially be like a bypass, with pressure being regulated by the oil pump. So it would be just like if you had no oil cooler at all. Your cooling ability would obviously be sub par, but pressure is regulated before anything having to do with what you place after the thermostat/engine block. So with that, I think I would naturally look at the pressure switch as being faulty/misreading.

 

depending on where the sensor is located it can fail. I have failed 1 mechanical one and 2 electric ones. I mounted it on the sandwich plate. I believe there is too much vibration or heat there causing them to fail. I will be relocating mine somewhere else.

 

I too failed a oil pressure sender mounted to a sandwich plate.