The factory oil filter location has always been a point of frustration for me. Mounted up-side down and on top of the motor cause oil to drip all over the block when changing the filter.
To resolve this problem and open up the ability for a much larger oil filter, we decided to relocate the oil filter with the Improved Racing Remote Engine Oil Filter Mount with Thermostat. This remote filter and integrated thermostat allows us to mount the filter wherever we want, while replicating the function of the stock oil cooler thermostats, bypassing the coolers when oil temps are low, improving the warmup time of the oil, improving engine start-up oil pressure, and feeding hot oil to the coolers when the engine is up to temperature.
Made in the USA, the quality and engineering of this remote filter mount with thermostat is unparalleled in the market with no other product coming close. The lifetime warranty backs up Improved Racing’s confidence in their products, which is great to see. The patented high-flow design features no valves, springs, or other obstructions to the primary oil flow as well as a lifetime warranty. Having tested the Improved Racing remove oil filter and thermostat extensively on the street and at the track during the development testing of our dry sump system for our Project NSX, I am a big fan and highly recommend it.
We chose the lowest opening, 145*F thermostat for our engine due to the recommendation of our engine builder and record-setting drag racer Abel Ibarra. Abel has made countless drag racing pulls at oil temps that many would consider way too low for piston engines. When considering the simplicity of the rotary engine and running out of reasons why it wouldn’t be good, we decided to go with his recommendation and use the 145*F thermostat (PN: ENV-171-T1).
The Improved Racing Remote Oil Filter Mount has options for M20x1.50, M22x1.50, ¾”-16 and 13/16”-16 oil filter threads. We went with the M22x1.50 thread pitch and are using the 3.66” tall and 3.82” diameter, fully synthetic WIX XP Oil Filter (PN: 51372XP) with a burst pressure of 275psi.
We were a bit late to install an oil temp sensor in the oil pan. To get accurate oil temperatures (which should be measured HOT in the oil pan or pre-cooler, unlike what is commonly measured post-cooler, right before the oil enters the block) we used a 1/8” SHORT NPT RIFE Liquid Temp Sensor from Motion RaceWorks (PN: 52-1225) fitted to a Fagola -10AN Male to -10AN Female Gauge Adapter 1/8” NPT Port (PN: 495008-BL). This sensor will not block any of the flow of the oil line and give us accurate temperatures of the hot oil.
We mounted the Improved Racing Remote Oil Filter Mount with Thermostat to the chassis brace in front of the engine. This will allow for easy access to the oil filter from under the car and the filter will be able to be changed without making a mess on the engine block.
Quick Reference:
Page 1 – Stock FD RX-7 Oil Coolers
Page 2 – Hayden HD Cool 778 Oil Coolers
Page 3 – Oil Cooler Ducting
Page 4 – Improved Racing Remote Engine Oil Filter Mount & Thermostat
Page 5 – How to Make Earl’s Performance Stainless Steel Hose
Page 6 – Oil Plumbing Series vs Parallel & Radium Low Profile Swivel Fittings
Page 7 – Raceonly Billet Remote Oil Filter Pedestal & Front Iron Oiling
Page 8 – Raceonly Billet Oil Filler Neck & Improved Racing Catch Can
Page 9 – Crank Venting from Gutted OMP Port & Turbo Drain Fittings
Page 10 – Raceonly Billet Power Steering Reservoir
11 comments
I don’t think I could park this thing on the street knowing the man hours invested.
Good job. Helluva build.
This has been a great build to follow along. I noticed in the radiator articles you were calling it the BJR radiator. Are there plans for some of these parts to go into production?
I called it the Billy Johnson Racing (BJR) Radiator to give it a name because it was a custom build to my specifications for the FD platform. I’ve sold a few to people who reached out to HQ Engineering and ordered one, but this is a high-end motorsports radiator that’s priced in line with similar 50mm motorsports radiators (>$1,000) that should outperform anything on the market from my research based on its dimensions and efficiency (that fits within stock frame rails). The majority of FD owners are street guys who are use to $400-500 drop-in replacement radiators that are only slightly better than stock. If you need a significant improvement in cooling, you’ll have to spend more than double that wherever you go.
Thank you 🙂 It’s far from over…
Wow, beautifully done!
Out of curiosity why did you go with stainless braided lines over nylon braided? I’ve been choosing nylon braided lines since they’re lighter and easier to work with but I don’t have the experience with A/N lines you do.
I’m a big fan of nylon and use it in many applications, especially for those areas that will not see abrasion or impacts. We chose stainless because it was the only option at the time in the PTFE UltraPro -10AN hose, stainless is generally better protected for mission-critical fluids like oil lines that might see debris impacts, and because this new hose is so flexible and light, there really aren’t any downsides other than maybe a few ounces per foot. This -10AN is very light (37% lighter than traditional rubber w.stainless braid) and is extremely flexible with a 1.772″ minimum bend radius (vs 6.0″ minimum bend radius for the all-rubber Super Stock hose and 4.0″ for the rubber-lined stainless steel braided Auto-Flex hose). The UltraPro and new Ultra Flex 660 Stainless & 650 Kevlar Steel & Pro-Lite 390 Nylon hose are a significant improvement in quality than the impression that you or I might have on thinking of Earls as old-school, old-technology ‘hotrod’ hose vs many high-end motorsports hose brands. I’d bet that once you experience UltraPro & UltraFlex hose first hand, you’ll change your impression on Earl’s, like I did.
Thanks for the info Billy. I’m actually working on an oil cooler and catch can setup for Project EF Civic. I was going to use Earl’s nylon braided line but I will definitely take a look at the UltraFlex lines for the cooler itself. It’s a shame this sort of info isn’t easier to find on their website.
Happy to see that parallel flow oil cooler setup. A bit curious to hear that in prior history, others’ experience with the parallel vs series flow didn’t show dramatic differences in performance. I wonder if that was due to airflow restriction of the factory bumpers. Anyway, the reduction in pressure drop is worth the parallel setup alone. But I expect your setup to do well as you’ve properly accounted for the airflow.
Any particular reason you went with the Radium catch can over the Improved Racing one? Or just personal preference.
Love the update. Love all the blue anodized parts. Love the attention to detail.