[Ehloo]

as the title reads i took a gamble on a oil cooler/skid plate off Ali Express. I couldn’t justify the prices for the big names for something that was hidden under the car.

The pictures looked good but you don’t get much when buying from Aliexpress. limited or no description. it’s really a gamble.

All in with shipping i was at 185 usd. Not many options at that price range beside Zunsport which i dont believe looks like much protection. shipping was actually more than the item.

Got the package today 6 days after i ordered it even though it said it was going to take more than a month. pleasantly surprised. Item was package nicely and came in perfect condition. The plate is heavy gauge steel, maybe aluminum and only reason i say steel is it has some heft too it. nice textured black powder coat and a bag of bolts and screws. like any Ali purchase there was no instructions, manual etc.

i watched a couple videos on YT on general skid plate installs and they are all the same on the g8x platform. Some plates are a little easier to install and some harder. what i wanted was just general instructions what needed to be removed

took me about an hour and half to install on my back with the car on some race ramps. not ideal but that’s what i had.

the plate uses all oem bolt/ screw locations and no additional holes needed. everything lined up perfectly.

the only difference i see from other plates is that they give you a long bolt, big metal spacer. couldn’t really figure out what it was for till i had all the oem parts off. then it was pretty simple. this section bolts directly to the oem metal skid plate. you need to remove the stock bolt and replace with longer supplied bolt.

I am pretty happy with the purchase and really glad i didn’t spend 500+ on the other options. This could easily be mistaken for a 500 item.

i can’t say all parts on Aliexpress have the same outcome but the manufacturing is getting much better and like many said its the same factory pumping out parts for many US brands”

sorry didn’t take many pics working off the race ramps but i would say if you are looking for a oil cooler protector and don’t want to spend all that money this is a very good option.

not going into air flow and all that jazz. i don’t believe many of the more expensive options have good airflow from the looks and those that do remove the protection aspect. the reason i got it. it looks like more than enough cooling for me

[aerobod]

Looks like a good way to block oil cooler air flow

[T-Rexx]

Originally Posted by Ehloo

as the title reads i took a gamble on a oil cooler/skid plate off Ali Express. I couldn’t justify the prices for the big names for something that was hidden under the car.

The pictures looked good but you don’t get much when buying from Aliexpress. limited or no description. it’s really a gamble.

All in with shipping i was at 185 usd. Not many options at that price range beside Zunsport which i dont believe looks like much protection. shipping was actually more than the item.

Got the package today 6 days after i ordered it even though it said it was going to take more than a month. pleasantly surprised. Item was package nicely and came in perfect condition. The plate is heavy gauge steel, maybe aluminum and only reason i say steel is it has some heft too it. nice textured black powder coat and a bag of bolts and screws. like any Ali purchase there was no instructions, manual etc.

i watched a couple videos on YT on general skid plate installs and they are all the same on the g8x platform. Some plates are a little easier to install and some harder. what i wanted was just general instructions what needed to be removed

took me about an hour and half to install on my back with the car on some race ramps. not ideal but that’s what i had.

the plate uses all oem bolt/ screw locations and no additional holes needed. everything lined up perfectly.

the only difference i see from other plates is that they give you a long bolt, big metal spacer. couldn’t really figure out what it was for till i had all the oem parts off. then it was pretty [...]

Thanks for the post!
Am definitely going to need one when my car arrives but I agree with you in that I didn’t want to spend $800+ AUD on it.
I think that this is a great option and still has good ventilation.
I have been others and more exspensuve versions that have much less open vents.

From what I understand the cooling is not from the air hitting it (as the stock uncovered cooler is not in line for direct impact from moving air) however the cooling comes from heat and air being pulled away from it via vacume / low air pressure of the moving air underneath it.

[T-Rexx]

Originally Posted by aerobod

Looks like a good way to block oil cooler air flow

From what I understand the cooling is not from the air hitting it (as the stock uncovered cooler is not in line for direct impact from moving air) however the cooling comes from heat and air being pulled away from it via vacume / low air pressure of the moving air underneath it.

[Dixie12]

I got the same plate ,really good quality but I drilled out the stars and made some more holes , no more whining about cooling problems

[a358970751]

Go for it , won’t be any problem . It’s just metal plate . I have Artek skid plate . No any issue so far

[mrdudley]

Originally Posted by Dixie12

I got the same plate ,really good quality but I drilled out the stars and made some more holes , no more whining about cooling problems

If I didn’t have the Mishimoto already, this is definitely the route I’d go. Nice job.

[aerobod]

Originally Posted by T-Rexx

From what I understand the cooling is not from the air hitting it (as the stock uncovered cooler is not in line for direct impact from moving air) however the cooling comes from heat and air being pulled away from it via vacume / low air pressure of the moving air underneath it.

That is part of the flow mechanism, but the air still has to flow through the top from the front opening to underneath, any restriction in the flow will reduce the cooling efficiency.

The use of stars for cooling holes in a plate is the work of a stupid person rather than an engineer. They minimise the strength of the plate along with minimising the flow and introduce lots of stress risers.

The design using stars for holes also gives an illusion of more flow area than there is. To calculate the blockage, if a circle of radius (r) = 1 connects each star point, the 5-pointed star area is r^2 / (tan 72 + tan 54) = 1.123. The stars can be fitted in a rectangle halfway between each star with a width (from the photo) of 3.1r x 2.4r = 7.44. This means that the blockage is 1-1.123/7.44 = 0.85, or 85%!

Overall a terrible design that isn't much better than just covering the oil cooler with a flat plate from a flow perspective. In contrast the Zunsport grille has wire that is about 1/6 of the hole width, leading to less than 20% blockage.

The modification Dixie12 did increases the flow of the Aliexpress plate to a usable level.

[Carefree]

Originally Posted by aerobod

That is part of the flow mechanism, but the air still has to flow through the top from the front opening to underneath, any restriction in the flow will reduce the cooling efficiency.

The use of stars for cooling holes in a plate is the work of a stupid person rather than an engineer. They minimise the strength of the plate along with minimising the flow and introduce lots of stress risers.

The design using stars for holes also gives an illusion of more flow area than there is. To calculate the blockage, if a circle of radius (r) = 1 connects each star point, the 5-pointed star area is r^2 / (tan 72 + tan 54) = 1.123. The stars can be fitted in a rectangle halfway between each star with a width (from the photo) of 3.1r x 2.4r = 7.44. This means that the blockage is 1-1.123/7.44 = 0.85, or 85%!

Overall a terrible design that isn't much better than just covering the oil cooler with a flat plate from a flow perspective. In contrast the Zunsport grille has wire that is about 1/6 of the hole width, leading to less than 20% blockage.

The modification Dixie12 did increases the flow of the Aliexpress plate to a usable level.

Ali Express’ target market is not rocket scientists.

[JABCAT]

Originally Posted by Ehloo

All in with shipping i was at 185 usd. Not many options at that price range beside Zunsport which i dont believe looks like much protection. shipping was actually more than the item.

Curious why you think the Zunsport doesn't offer much protection? It's steel mesh, almost nothing you drive over is going to break through it & damage the cooler.

[mike@x-ph.com]

They are not good upgrades, in my opinion; the airflow is obviously restricted by these designs.

Lots of good options that dont cost a fortune and are better designed than what is posted on this thread.

Originally Posted by Ehloo

All in with shipping i was at 185 usd. Not many options at that price range beside Zunsport which i dont believe looks like much protection. shipping was actually more than the item.

MAD is $199, including shipping and a much better design, plus US support and a full warranty. There are other brands that offer this product for this price range with a better design.

[Info@mad-us.com]

Our initial design was focused mostly on protection but we quickly changed it and ended up with this design for max flow and protection.

Prototype


Final version

[youloze]

Originally Posted by Info@mad-us.com

Our initial design was focused mostly on protection but we quickly changed it and ended up with this design for max flow and protection.

Prototype
Attachment 3540050

Final version

Dang it. Had I known yours was coming out at that price point I would have bought that rather than the same one the the OP installed. 🤦

[Ehloo]

i would love some actual data on oil temps between the options. i have a feeling that it will be marginal with normal driving. Track days might be a different story

[youloze]

Originally Posted by Ehloo

i would love some actual data on oil temps between the options. i have a feeling that it will be marginal with normal driving. Track days might be a different story

I would agree. I'll keep an eye on my oil temps, but I'm willing to bet the different is marginal at best for a street car.

[Ronin76]

Originally Posted by Info@mad-us.com

Our initial design was focused mostly on protection but we quickly changed it and ended up with this design for max flow and protection.

Prototype
Attachment 3540050

Final version

Just sent you a message about your skid plate .

Does your skid plate incorporate the OEM rubber lip (or air damn)?

[Info@mad-us.com]

Originally Posted by Ronin76

Just sent you a message about your skid plate .

Does your skid plate incorporate the OEM rubber lip (or air damn)?

No, oem rubber the shield itself will allow negative pressure. We saw no change in temps compared to oem.

[T-Rexx]

Originally Posted by aerobod

That is part of the flow mechanism, but the air still has to flow through the top from the front opening to underneath, any restriction in the flow will reduce the cooling efficiency.

The use of stars for cooling holes in a plate is the work of a stupid person rather than an engineer. They minimise the strength of the plate along with minimising the flow and introduce lots of stress risers.

The design using stars for holes also gives an illusion of more flow area than there is. To calculate the blockage, if a circle of radius (r) = 1 connects each star point, the 5-pointed star area is r^2 / (tan 72 + tan 54) = 1.123. The stars can be fitted in a rectangle halfway between each star with a width (from the photo) of 3.1r x 2.4r = 7.44. This means that the blockage is 1-1.123/7.44 = 0.85, or 85%!

Overall a terrible design that isn't much better than just covering the oil cooler with a flat plate from a flow perspective. In contrast the Zunsport grille has wire that is about 1/6 of the hole width, leading to less than 20% blockage.

The modification Dixie12 did increases the flow of the Aliexpress plate to a usable level.

Thanks mate!
I can’t argue with that math!!!
85%!!!! Holy crap!!!!
The above MAD design looks good yes?

[T-Rexx]

Originally Posted by Info@mad-us.com

Our initial design was focused mostly on protection but we quickly changed it and ended up with this design for max flow and protection.

Prototype
Attachment 3540050

Final version

That final version looks good!
How much and where can I buy it?
Do you have a website?
Can you ship to OZ?

[Ronin76]

Originally Posted by Info@mad-us.com

No, oem rubber the shield itself will allow negative pressure. We saw no change in temps compared to oem.

Can you or another forum member explain negative pressure and its importance? Sorry this is all above my head.

[TallGibbs]

Originally Posted by Ronin76

Can you or another forum member explain negative pressure and its importance? Sorry this is all above my head.

Negative pressure is the same as vacuum (suction). It’s how you can create upward flow on the bottom of the car to get air to pass through the engine oil cooler. The OEM rubber air dam creates turbulent air behind it which will also then have negative pressure (like an airplane wing has negative pressure on its top surface which creates lift).

[mrdudley]

Originally Posted by TallGibbs

Negative pressure is the same as vacuum (suction). It’s how you can create upward flow on the bottom of the car to get air to pass through the engine oil cooler. The OEM rubber air dam creates turbulent air behind it which will also then have negative pressure (like an airplane wing has negative pressure on its top surface which creates lift).

Wouldn’t negative pressure under the oil cooler create downward flow (pull air out with high pressure air pushing out)?