I found a beautiful 2007 IM I want to buy. Should I avoid oil cooled in favor of liquid cooled?
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Louisa, oil is a liquid and water is a liquid.
So, in a way, they're all liquid-cooled!
Both have advantages and drawbacks. The devil is usually in the details. Tell us more about this particular car, about your experience with VW-powered cars, and about your proximity to competent VW or Subaru service folks, if you're not planning on working on the car yourself.
Do tell.
I'm going out on a limb and will say you're likely interested in Tom Boney's IM. That is a beautiful ride. Unless you're a VW air-cooled mechanic or want to become one I'd buy Tom's car. It has a nice Subaru motor in it that can be serviced at any shop that services Subarus and it won't need near as much maintenance. The AC cars need an oil change and valve adjustment every 3,000 miles, some people even advocate for fewer miles between service. The Subaru will go for at least 7,500 miles between oil changes. You'll get real heat and if the car has air con it'll actually work and there's no waiting around for the car to warm up before you drive off.
I wouldn't wait too long to make a decision on TB's car. It may not last long.
I would say that for all Subie engines and FYI, the engines used are the older engines rebuilt. ( This is due to ECU lockout issues on the newer cars which make it more difficult to transplant. )
Those engines came with lower oil change intervals like 3000-5000miles.
The best advice I can give is for you to check your oil at every 2nd gaz up and top up as needed.
Why? Some engines use oil and it is considered normal to use upwards of 2 USQuarts per oil change.
Other than that cleaning your air filter and MAF sensor at oil changes is about it.
Just saying.
You won't find much nicer than Tom's white 2007 Subaru powered Intermeccanica.
Low mileage and in great condition from what I can see and hear, with so many creature comforts. Subaru engines are so easy to maintain, and that car will give a beautiful ride.
I'd go with Bonzai 911 powered IM! With like 11 quarts of oil it is more oil-cooled than air-cooled. Stock T1 Bug engines only have 2.5 quarts of oil so not a lot of reliance on oil to cool them.
Greg, I respectfully disagree. The 911 carries that large quantity of oil because it is a dry sump, insuring that there will always be a steady supply of oil to the oil pump. A VW engine is a wet sump, thereby not needing that large a supply, although the 2.5 quarts is a small quantity. Any performance engine should have at least a 1.5 quart sump extension for safety's sake.
These engines are aircooled. Try running one for more than a few minutes without that fan forcing air over them........
Actually, Danny, a 911 air cooled Porsche engine is just as much an oil cooled engine, maybe more in some situations. Because of the larger mass of the six cylinder, the fan cannot keep the engine cool by itself, more so than a four cylinder engine. I know both need oil coolers, but the 911 needs them a lot more.
I was being simplistic to meet the original poster's desire of an "oil cooled vs water-cooled" Speedster. I had early 1965 911 (2L) that took 9 quarts with no real external oil cooler - the dry sump's tank held 6 quarts! Between that and the then costly platinum plugs - it was costly to maintain (back in 1972). Newer 911s with twice the hp have remote oil coolers up front that explains the need for the additional 3 quarts to fill the long feed lines and cooler. The oil does act to "cool" (or at least act a transfer agent) valve stems and piston skirts. Oil does NOT circulate through the cylinder sleeves or heads - air cools them (no oil-filled jackets - just air-cooled fins). About the only thing that is truly oiled cooled then is the crank/cam and turbo - all bathed with life-sustaining oil.
In the 80s, Suzuki called the GSX bikes "air/oil cooled"-- they had (essentially) 2 oil pumps: one for lubrication and one that circulated oil through cooling jackets. There were still cooling fins on the heads and cylinders, but oil was considered a cooling medium. This was a major innovation.
Air-cooled 911s used oil squirters aimed at the bottom of the pistons (down by the crank) to cool the crowns. It's possible to add them to a Type 1 or 4 (I have them), but the heat they pick up needs to be rejected somewhere (a cooler or 2). The Hoover mods we've been talking about are all about getting more oil to the top end of the 1/2 side of the engine-- so that the valve-stems, springs, and guides can be more effectively cooled. Neither of these things are stock, or even widely used.
I'd say it's fair to note that the air-cooled 911s use oil as a cooling medium, but it's air that does the bulk of the work. In it's stock configuration, the Type 1 (and 4) really don't. Yes, they pick up heat-- but no, they aren't actively using it as a coolant.
The 911 started out as a 2.0 liter with no forward/external oil cooler. As displacement increased, the cooling needs increased for the oil just like our 4 cylinder VW hotrods. Anything over a 1915 really needs one, up to the big 2332 type 1. Type 4s are more of the same, from above a 2.0 all the way up almost a 3.0.
At first, Porsche installed a thermostat and ran the oil to a fender-mounted tube cooler with NO fins on it. Then they added fins. Then they moved it under/into the bumper and gave it airflow. As the displacement went from 2.0, to 2.2, to 2.4, then 2.7, and finally 3.0. Eventually they ended up at 3.6(or was it 3.8?) with the 993.
To start out though, both engines did not require as much oil cooling, but did increase the cooling needs with displacement.
Danny. The 993 - as in my car - was 3.6. Henry placed two oil coolers w. fans in the front wheel wells, and I do need them for engine cooling. The oil starts flowing to the coolers at 180 degrees, but rarely does the engine stay at that temperature.
I find I need to have the oil cooler fans on to keep the engine in a decent range, as the engine fan itself does not do enough. I'm not sure if Henry's set up does not allow enough cooling air in, but that's how things work for me.
More mass = more cooling, as you say.
O.K....so this brings us to the question...what is the best oil to use in my air-cooled T-1?
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
For you Jim? Coconut oil.
MusbJim posted:O.K....so this brings us to the question...what is the best oil to use in my air-cooled T-1?
You just had to do it, didn't you...
He can’t help himself, Bob. 🤣
@TRP @Bob: IM S6 @Lane Anderson @Robert M
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"The 911 started out as a 2.0 liter with no forward/external oil cooler...." - Danny P.
The main cooling factor in this '68 911S Targa (with upgrade to 2.2L), was El Guapo and his banging 'fro! (circa 1974)
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MusbJim posted:...The main cooling factor in this '68 911S Targa (with upgrade to 2.2L), was El Guapo and his banging 'fro! (circa 1974)
So, technically, Jimbo, it's hair-cooled.
Sacto Mitch posted:MusbJim posted:...The main cooling factor in this '68 911S Targa (with upgrade to 2.2L), was El Guapo and his banging 'fro! (circa 1974)
So, technically, Jimbo, it's hair-cooled.
But that look was HOT so technically it had no cooling factor. But looking hot was cool so............I’m so confused.
MusbJim posted:O.K....so this brings us to the question...what is the best oil to use in my air-cooled T-1?
Crisco. It keeps the oil pressure up.
Stan Galat posted:...Crisco. It keeps the oil pressure up...
And - it's on sale this week!
Just avoid the pre-Thanksgiving crush at the local grocery.
Love the pants!