How exactly is this heat exchanger an upgrade?

Curious. It says "upgrade", but how exactly is this heat exchanger an upgrade over the OEM unit?

Ferrari 355/360 Heat Exchanger - Upgraded - 180846 - AW Italian Auto Parts

 

“70 cooling tubes vs 55”.. I presume increased contact area for heat exchange.

I don’t know that this is better or worse.

 

My thoughts as well. I feel like cooling isn't the problem. Failing and breaking mixing coolant with oil is the problem.

 

That is OEM, Ferrari changed the design a few years back. I've heard mixed reviews

 

Try it and repot back

 

Is the original one not "full copper construction"? AW might know more about what makes it an upgrade.

 

I am surprised that a more simple-to-make one isn't a thing. How about one with 5 larger tubes in it?...or three? Flow restrict, if needed, with some inserts?

 

Fewer tubes would mean less surface area and less heat transfer.

 

The tradeoff in minutes to achieve full temps would be?

 

If you go from 55 to 5 pipes with equal total cross section area, it will take approximately 3.3 times as long (using conservative assumptions).

 

Good point. I will contact AW Italia. Thanks.

 

There is incorrect information about the Genuine Ferrari version of it his item being posted above.

The Ferrari 180846 has 61 tubes, arranged in concentric circles: 24 tubes, 18 tubes, 12 tubes, 6 tubes, 1 tube.

 

In my old Porsche days a company used to make a replacement oil cooler that had internal twisted (spiral) ribs. The idea was that not only was that an increase in surface area but in addition it twisted the path of the fluid for further cooling.
I had installed a few and they seemed to work better at cooling than OEM. Food for thought maybe...

 

I designed a 3D printed version of the heat exchanger and priced it in aluminum alloy. The cost was about $1,000 a unit. It would last forever as it has no yellow metal content, but for such a cost?

The issue with the heat exchanger isn't that it's a bad part. It's that the transaxle oil can be corrosive if the oil isn't yellow metal safe. Just use the right oil and the problem will likely never rear its ugly head.

 

I don't know, it seems to me that the convenience of quicker warm up of the gearbox oil is outweighed by the complexity and failure prone nature of the oil to water Hx. I mean our engine oil takes what, 20 minutes to get to operating temp, so you're babying it in that time period anyway. I'd be inclined to ditch that Hx for a conventional air to oil unit. No more risk of coolant/oil mixing.

 

And no real way of knowing what the transmission temp is without adding a sensor, or if increased wear will happen while it is cold or in the wrong operating temp.

Doing proper maintenance with proper fluids and monitoring things seems like a better approach to me. However it is your car and you are welcome to do as you see fit.

 

I honestly don't even mind just replacing the heat exchanger every major service. But if there was a better part, I'd buy it.

 

For $1000 and a one time change out-- replace it and forget for as long as you own your car?... IDK might be worth it at least for guys that enjoy, drive, and keep their cars for a long while. Small investment in peace of mind in the long run.

The problem is "the right oil" as you said and as most of us are owners of previously owned cars therein lies the variable almost none of us have the answer to. Except for those with impeccable maintenance records.

 

If it was tested and worked, there would absolutely be a market for that.

Mike

 

I took out my probably good aluminum unit and replaced it with a copper unit. When it dies.. Ill flush and replace again...

 

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I think the product being sold by AWItalian is produced by Mocal, a company that has a long history making a comprehensive line of oil cooling and fluid conveying products for automotive, marine and industrial applications.

 

The problem is that it isn't like I post the 3D model and people can get it printed. It first needs to be qualified, and that would take five or even ten units. The replacement would have to be stress tested in a simulated engine for 1,000 hours at rated temperature and twice the pressure, and that would take a dedicated test rig (or an old Chevy engine),

The cost to just qualify a replacement would run in the neighborhood of $20-30k, and then it still costs $1000 to produce a single unit. There would have to be markup to cover the development costs, which places it at $2k a unit to break even on 30 units. This assumes the hundreds of manhours of engineering would be free too.

Getting pricey?

I see the new "upgraded" unit is copper. Brass is actually more corrosion resistant than pure copper, so this new unit would be MORE likely to fail from using a non-yellow metal safe oil then the original brass unit. The bottom line is still true: Use a yellow metal safe oil in your transaxle and the heat exchanger becomes a non-issue.