Installed Boss FRPP Boss 302 Oil Cooler

[WJBertrand]

Just installed a FRPP Boss 302 water-to-oil cooler on my 2013 GT. FRPP #M-6642-MB. This is factory fitted to the Boss 302 and I think also the GTs with the track pack. Since putting a tune on my car I was interested in a little bit more safety margin.

One mild concern I have is that the coolant lines, that run between the cooler sandwich under the oil filter to the lower radiator hose, lie just atop the front roll bar and I'm worried that over time, with the engine moving about in its mounts, this might lead to a leak problem. Has anyone had a problem with this?

I am thinking of using a tie-wrap or similar to try and lift the hoses up off of there. Anyone else solve this contact in this manner or any other fix? Thanks

 

[Sky Render]

Congratulations on installing your oil heater.

Zip ties would probably chafe through those lines faster than the sway bar would.

 

[WJBertrand]

Congratulations on installing your oil heater.

Zip ties would probably chafe through those lines faster than the sway bar would.

Well, it may in fact actually help the oil warm up a bit faster, as the coolant usually reaches operating temperature before the oil in most engines. Once fully warmed and driving however, in gauge mode, my oil temp shows just below center of half-way whereas it was at dead center half-way before installation. Wish here were actual temperature values on the scale instead of just the green "normal" and red zones though. Other folks have reported ~30 degree reduction in oil temp with this cooler. Presumably they used an aftermarket gauge of some kind.

Thanks for the comment on the tie-wraps but I guess I was not clear. I would use them to tie up the lines to something that moves with or is mounted to the engine. There would be no relative movement of the tie wraps and the lines. I'm not yet sure if such an anchor point exists, it was just an idea. As set up currently, there may be relative movement between the fixed section of roll bar and the engine on its mounts.

 

[Sky Render]

Well, it may in fact actually help the oil warm up a bit faster, as the coolant usually reaches operating temperature before the oil in most engines. Once fully warmed and driving however, in gauge mode, my oil temp shows just below center of half-way whereas it was at dead center half-way before installation. Wish here were actual temperature values on the scale instead of just the green "normal" and red zones though. Other folks have reported ~30 degree reduction in oil temp with this cooler. Presumably they used an aftermarket gauge of some kind.

Thanks for the comment on the tie-wraps but I guess I was not clear. I would use them to tie up the lines to something that moves with or is mounted to the engine. There would be no relative movement of the tie wraps and the lines. I'm not yet sure if such an anchor point exists, it was just an idea. As set up currently, there may be relative movement between the fixed section of roll bar and the engine on its mounts.

You have much to learn, young Grasshopper.

http://www.s197forum.com/forum/showpost.php?p=2030541&postcount=29

Of these two models the GT's don't seem to have overheating problems but the Boss302s sure do. They overheat with mild track use as delivered from the factory and it only gets worse they harder they are driven on track, especially at high altitude and in high ambient temps. Ford has sent out a considerable number of free parts and upgrades to Boss302 owners that had overheating issues - kudos to them for some good customer service. And after enough parts get changed out they seem to overheat less. But they rarely achieve the rock solid cooling of the GTs.

For the Boss302s I've see all sorts of tricks and doo-dads, special hoods and grills, but the 2011-14 GTs just have virtually no overheating problems with the same motor and power levels. Why is that? What is different on the Boss302?

Two things pop out to us, and they are things we have removed from Boss302s that see track use - with positive results:

1. The factory coolant/oil "cooler" is not a very good design that, we feel strongly, should be removed. It is an oil heater. The GTs don't have this design and they don't overheat on track. So....

Furthermore, it doesn't matter what you zip-tie those lines to. The vibrations from the motor will create a subtle sawing effect that will gradually cut through the rubber lines, because zip ties are hard plastic with teeth on them. Ever see a telecommunications datacenter or server farm? There's a reason zip ties aren't used. They damage things like that.

 

[WJBertrand]

OMG, now I have no confidence at all in the rest of my car!! How could Ford have gotten this so wrong??? They must have screwed up several other things just as badly for sure!!!

 

[07TGGT]

Omfg please tell me you're joking.

 

[Wes06]

OMG, now I have no confidence at all in the rest of my car!! How could Ford have gotten this so wrong??? They must have screwed up several other things just as badly for sure!!!

quoted for future lulz....bahaha

remove it, or remove it and install a true oil cooler. this setup is fail

 

[WJBertrand]

OK, all joking aside, sky render's assertion that this is an oil heater seems backwards. If we accept that the overheating referred to is meant in the traditional sense, i.e. that the coolant is overheating, then this oil cooler should be called a coolant heater, not an oil heater. The evidence cited tends to support that the heat removed from the oil is substantial, enough to overheat the coolant in fact. The oil cooler I fitted must be even more efficient at removing heat from the oil than expected. This is actually reassuring to me because as long as I don't see overheating on the traditional dash temperature gauge, I can rest assured that my cooling system is adequately handling the added heat load of the oil COOLER.

So far, spirited canyon driving, stop and go traffic and freeway cruising, the coolant gauge is running right where it did before fitting the oil cooler. At the same time, as I mentioned above, the oil temperature gauge is indicating slightly lower than before. My cooling system seems to be handling the additional heat extracted from the oil just fine.

I don't track my car and don't plan to, so whatever is happening to those Boss 302s on the track is of little relevance to the way I use my car. Also, I suspect tracked cars get their oil changed fairly often. I intend to change the oil only when the oil life monitor system says it's due. That's well over 7,000 miles in my experience. I believe, more than before now, that this oil COOLER will help my oil better cope with these long change intervals and improve engine durability.

 

[Sky Render]

So, you're driving on the street and need an oil cooler. OK. Generally when people install such parts, it's because they actually drive their car hard. Forgive me for assuming that.

FWIW, the additional thermal load on the stock radiator from that oil cooler WILL cause overheating on track. And the same people that found that out the hard way are the same ones who noted that the oil stayed cooler without it.

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[Dubstep Shep]

Lol this guy is hilarious.

The DATA speaks for itself. The GT runs COOLER than the Boss on the track. Street driving is irrelevant, so good job wasting your money.

You could have gotten an oil cooling system that actually worked, but if you aren't doing anything but street driving you don't need it.

 

[Wes06]

does the 2013 come with actual oil temp gauge, or is he talking about the oil gauge, which atleast in the 06 is a dummy pressure gauge, either on or off

 

[Sky Render]

I believe he's referring to the oil temp reading that can be displayed on the info screen on 2013+s. And I believe that parameter isn't even the actual oil temperature; it's an interpolated guess from the PCM.

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[Mystickeith50]

Here's my opinion for the pinch of shit it's worth....I have the boss oil cooler. It was cheap and while I had everything ripped apart I put it on. I don't see how it's a heater. Early one when these tests were done, why did the bosses run hotter???...my opinion, the boss is different in two ways...1) it's has a higher redline, mo revs mo heat...2) the boss didn't have the oil squirters which in there on right were used to cool the bottom of the Pistons to keep heat down. These two reasons are more substantial imo than a stupid cooler that is just circulating the coolant that is used to cool your engine.

 

[Dubstep Shep]

Here's my opinion for the pinch of shit it's worth....I have the boss oil cooler. It was cheap and while I had everything ripped apart I put it on. I don't see how it's a heater. Early one when these tests were done, why did the bosses run hotter???...my opinion, the boss is different in two ways...1) it's has a higher redline, mo revs mo heat...2) the boss didn't have the oil squirters which in there on right were used to cool the bottom of the Pistons to keep heat down. These two reasons are more substantial imo than a stupid cooler that is just circulating the coolant that is used to cool your engine.

You realize that when the coolant us a higher temp than the oil that it's heating the oil, right?

 

[ford20]

Having discussed this ad nauseam on the Boss forums the Boss oil cooler does provide some benefit and is worth something more than a lot of people give it credit for. The vast majority of people are keeping this in conjunction with the air to air oil cooler to help keep the oil cool as well as coolant temps down.

Also there are no need for zip ties that I can see. No one I know has used them in the past either so no need to worry about anything like that.

 

[Mystickeith50]

You realize that when the coolant us a higher temp than the oil that it's heating the oil, right?

I do realize that principle....and again my comments were with no real data lol. What do you think the average temp of oil on a road course in this situation is compared to the coolant? I was under the impression that it's not uncommon to see 275-300 degree oil in road track situations. I still see no way that the little amount of contact the oil has with that little cooler is heating up the oil....in the same way I don't see it cooling the oil down alot. My point is I think it's unfair to call it a heater.

 

[Sky Render]

I think y'all need to go read a little bit about thermodynamics.

 

[Mystickeith50]

Know about it. I worked in the water industry in geothermal applications for 15 years. Can you explain? Seriously I'm asking. Lol I don't claim to be an authority on this. I just don't see the logic.

 

[Sky Render]

It's actually pretty simple. I was just giving you a hard time.

So, the purpose of the radiator is to dissipate heat, right? In a stock GT, it dissipates the heat created by the engine and conducted into the coolant. The radiator is designed to be able to dissipate a certain amount of heat (BTU/hr) at a given nominal ambient temperature. By adding the oil cooler, you are using the coolant (and thus the radiator) to dissipate MORE heat than before. So if you're running the car WOT on a road course (higher thermal load) and/or doing so in hot temperatures (higher ambient conditions), then the radiator has more of a thermal load to dissipate, which may push it above that designed capacity.

There's also the fact that instead of using air to cool the oil, you're using coolant, which last time I checked is significantly hotter than air.

 

[Dubstep Shep]

Think of it like this: which goes up faster when you first start your car, your oil or your coolant temps?

For me, it's my coolant.

That would make sense considering water has much better heat transfer properties than oil, hence why we use it to cool stuff.

Therefore, when you suddenly start heating up your motor, whether that be flooring it or what not, that heat mostly goes into the coolant. Your oil temps will follow in time, but it will take them longer to reach that temperature.

Introducing an exchange between the coolant and oil means that the oil is now heated much more quickly by large temperature increases in the motor. Usually it would take it longer to heat up, maybe even long enough that the heat would dissipate through the cooling system. I've seen my coolant temps go up and up and my oil temps rise a couple degrees at most before the coolant temp comes back down.

That would be my guess at what is happening anyways.