GR Yaris Review - HEL Engine Oil Cooler Kit - C-Tec

[RichM]

Good Evening Folks,

I've recently had a HEL Oil Cooler kit fitted by Nigel at C-Tec, so I thought I'd share thoughts in case of interest or use to forum members.

My GRY use is exclusively for spirited B road drives, no commuting, no track work. Almost always, I'm out early morning for quiet roads, and typically, it's cooler than later on the day.

I like data and numbers and knowing that the GRY is prone to getting warm, using Torque Pro App on my phone and OBDII Bluetooth reader, I have been logging engine oil temp, engine oil pressure, intake temp, CACT and tyre temps. I've been collecting data for 12 months which showed my that engine oil temps were peaking at or just over 110deg C, which I understand is close to the top of the engine oil effective operating window, so I wanted to bring the temps down. There's also some future proofing in mind as I would like to start Euro road trips in future which I hope will include long alpine passes in mid day sun / heat.

I have read stories about cooler installs going wrong so I wanted to leave the install to an expert. Seeing Nigel's attention to detail and quality of working fitting my titanium C-Tec exhaust, it was an easy decision.

The HEL kit I chose comprises a Setrab Proline 9 Series engine oil cooler, oil filter sandwich plate and braided hoses.

I'm very happy with how well made and installed the kit is, Nigel showed me everything that had been done and checked as part of the install and he explained the correct process for filling the oil cooler to avoid air bubbles, possibly obvious to some but not to me.

So, the results..I've been on two typical spirited B road drives in the last month so have two post instal data sets. Both drives show max oil temp at 95degC, so in my use case, based on the data I have collected, there is a clear 15degC reduction from 110degC to 95degC as a result of the cooler, which I am really pleased with.

It's also worth mentioning that the cooler is thermostat activated so only when oil is up to temp does the cooler kick in. Also, I opted for a 9 series cooler which is typically recommended for track use, with a 6 series cooler typically recommended for fast road use. I discussed pros and cons with Nigel, and as the cost of the 9 series is less than £100 more than 6 series, I was in !

I've attached graphs of before and after and some install pics.

There's only one possible drawback for me which is that I wonder if the oil cooler mounting location means I can't fit a Lazer light bar in future which I really fancied at some point..

I'd thoroughly recommend Nigel at C-Tec Rotherham for this, or any other GRY work. When I've been there, there has always been lots of GRYs and Evo's queuing for work.

 

[Altocumulus]

Good Evening Folks,

I've recently had a HEL Oil Cooler kit fitted by Nigel at C-Tec, so I thought I'd share thoughts in case of interest or use to forum members.

My GRY use is exclusively for spirited B road drives, no commuting, no track work. Almost always, I'm out early morning for quiet roads, and typically, it's cooler than later on the day.

I like data and numbers and knowing that the GRY is prone to getting warm, using Torque Pro App on my phone and OBDII Bluetooth reader, I have been logging engine oil temp, engine oil pressure, intake temp, CACT and tyre temps. I've been collecting data for 12 months which showed my that engine oil temps were peaking at or just over 110deg C, which I understand is close to the top of the engine oil effective operating window, so I wanted to bring the temps down. There's also some future proofing in mind as I would like to start Euro road trips in future which I hope will include long alpine passes in mid day sun / heat.

I have read stories about cooler installs going wrong so I wanted to leave the install to an expert. Seeing Nigel's attention to detail and quality of working fitting my titanium C-Tec exhaust, it was an easy decision.

The HEL kit I chose comprises a Setrab Proline 9 Series engine oil cooler, oil filter sandwich plate and braided hoses.

I'm very happy with how well made and installed the kit is, Nigel showed me everything that had been done and checked as part of the install and he explained the correct process for filling the oil cooler to avoid air bubbles, possibly obvious to some but not to me.

So, the results..I've been on two typical spirited B road drives in the last month so have two post instal data sets. Both drives show max oil temp at 95degC, so in my use case, based on the data I have collected, there is a clear 15degC reduction from 110degC to 95degC as a result of the cooler, which I am really pleased with.

It's also worth mentioning that the cooler is thermostat activated so only when oil is up to temp does the cooler kick in. Also, I opted for a 9 series cooler which is typically recommended for track use, with a 6 series cooler typically recommended for fast road use. I discussed pros and cons with Nigel, and as the cost of the 9 series is less than £100 more than 6 series, I was in !

I've attached graphs of before and after and some install pics.

There's only one possible drawback for me which is that I wonder if the oil cooler mounting location means I can't fit a Lazer light bar in future which I really fancied at some point..

I'd thoroughly recommend Nigel at C-Tec Rotherham for this, or any other GRY work. When I've been there, there has always been lots of GRYs and Evo's queuing for work.

I've seen oil temps on track up to 125C, which is not ideal if sustained but I generally give it a cool down lap every few laps.

I'm planning to fit the same HEL oil cooler, it's a good price for a setrab core.

 

[eckoflyte]

@RichM Hey mate, thanks for providing such good feedback on the kit. Did you notice coolant temps suffer at all? I am worried about the cooler blocking airflow to the radiator.

 

[RichM]

@RichM Hey mate, thanks for providing such good feedback on the kit. Did you notice coolant temps suffer at all? I am worried about the cooler blocking airflow to the radiator.

Hi, glad u found review helpful. Tbh, I haven't collected any engine coolant temp data pre or post installation of oil cooler. Worryingly high engine oil coolant temps aren't something I had picked up on as a concern to the same extent as engine oil temp. I may be able to add engine coolant temp as a PID in TorquePro to collect some data on fast road use post cooler instal.

In the meantime @ctecperformance - Nigel - any thoughts on the question posed?

 

[Michael Knight]

I have oil cooler cell in different place but see no difference whatsoever how fast car water temps rise. it warms up really fast still. so no concern really.

 

[ctecperformance]

Hi, glad u found review helpful. Tbh, I haven't collected any engine coolant temp data pre or post installation of oil cooler. Worryingly high engine oil coolant temps aren't something I had picked up on as a concern to the same extent as engine oil temp. I may be able to add engine coolant temp as a PID in TorquePro to collect some data on fast road use post cooler instal.

In the meantime @ctecperformance - Nigel - any thoughts on the question posed?

Absolutely no detriment to water temps, but absolutely essential to run an engine oil cooler for track use......and beneficial even for fast road use.

 

[RichM]

Sooo...an update on the oil cooler...
The cooler has continued to perform very well managing peak oil temps, but...by chance, I recently spotted a small amount of oil leaking on to the undertray of the car. I checked the oil level via dipstick and that was all good and my data logging showed no oil pressure lows but the precise cause and extent of the leak was unknown so driving the car was not a risk I was prepared to take.

I called Nigel @ctecperformance who installed the oil cooler, Nigel was absolutely fantastic, without hesitation agreeing to collect the car in a covered race shuttle to take it back to base in Rotherham for investigation.

Investigation involved removing the undertray and cleaning the oil cooler and fittings to remove any leaking oil to identify exactly where the leak was coming from. Nigel's subsequent correspondence with HEL prompted an admission from HEL that there had been a faulty batch of banjo fittings last year! Replacement banjo fittings were dispatched by HEL for next day delivery and fitted to the car after a full drain and refill of Ravenol 0W-20 GF-6A. Across the two days Nigel was working on the car, I had photos, videos and messages to keep me informed of progress.

Once the new banjo fitting was installed, there was no leak. Nigel didn't stop there, he disassembled the faulty banjo fitting to identify exactly where the manufacturing defect was. For me, being 100% confident what was causing the leak, and that any fix was 100% guaranteed was the only way the cooler was staying on the car. I'm pleased to report after c200miles of spirited B road driving, there are now zero leaks.

While the car (4y/o) was with Nigel, I had some previously purchased HEL (the irony!) braided brake lines installed along with a brake fluid change for Ravenol R325+. To me the brakes felt firmer during a spirited drive home, and my sense was it took less braking pedal effort to trigger the brake related hazard lights. This could obviously also be the placebo effect!

Without being asked, the car was also cleaned inside and out, tyre pressures checked and it was pointed out to me some that there was some feint crazing on the top edge of the drivers side rear light cluster, something to pick up as a warranty matter.

I've posted up my experience to thank and credit Nigel (& Wayne) at C-Tec for out of this world customer service from a passionate petrol head owner, but also to say give a heads up to other Zoo members with a HEL oil cooler fitted in the last year, keep an eye for any leaks from the banjo fittings (pic attached).

HEL have supplied Nigel with new banjo fittings which Nigel will replace as a matter of course at no cost on any cars that come in to him with with a HEL cooler fitted. If in doubt...

 

[notfub]

@RichM many thanks for posting this. As I have the same oil cooler kit, was the fault with one or more of the banjo fittings? Also, was the fitting the one attached to the sandwich plate?

 

[RichM]

@RichM many thanks for posting this. As I have the same oil cooler kit, was the fault with one or more of the banjo fittings? Also, was the fitting the one attached to the sandwich plate?

@notfub yep, pic attached of banjo fitting location. The precise cause of the leak was a slight imperfection on the thread of the banjo fitting. Replacement banjo fittings inspected for absence of thread imperfections have sorted it

Edited to add pic @notfub

 

[TheManWithTheStick]

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