Oil Cooler for 2018 Tri Glide Ultra Question.

[HarrisBikeNut]

Good morning to all forum members and seasons greetings! Asking for feedback from owners who have fitted either the DK Customs oil cooler / filter relocation package or the Ultra Cool kit which has built in fans. I am keen to fit an oil cooler but unsure which to spend my £ notes on. To my mind, the DK unit has the advantage of no modification to bodywork or electrical connections to apply while the Ultra Cool kit has fans that operate if needed when the trike is stationary or slow moving so still provides a cooling effect which the DK unit would not. It appears the Ultra Cool unit is a little cheaper as well. Before committing I am hoping to gather owners thoughts on the two options. Any feedback on either unit would be appreciated.

TIA

Bob

 

[Rogue1]

Good morning to all forum members and seasons greetings! Asking for feedback from owners who have fitted either the DK Customs oil cooler / filter relocation package or the Ultra Cool kit which has built in fans. I am keen to fit an oil cooler but unsure which to spend my £ notes on. To my mind, the DK unit has the advantage of no modification to bodywork or electrical connections to apply while the Ultra Cool kit has fans that operate if needed when the trike is stationary or slow moving so still provides a cooling effect which the DK unit would not. It appears the Ultra Cool unit is a little cheaper as well. Before committing I am hoping to gather owners thoughts on the two options. Any feedback on either unit would be appreciated.

TIA

Bob

I have the relocator and oil cooler on my 2019 TG. Here in central NC it gets hot during the summer with high humidity. My oil temp averages 210 - 220 on the hottest days. I love the DK system. Looks good on the bike too. Lots of compliments.

 

[nevinpratt]

I have done every single mod I am aware of for keeping my 2022 Tri Glide engine cooler, *except*:

1. oil cooler, and

2. de-catting (either with cat removal, or header replacement)

I don't de-cat because I ride year round, and find the cat heat to be a benefit.

I haven't added an oil cooler out of (perhaps irrational) fear that adding all those extra external hoses just adds another possible failure point-- and in this case, a potentially catastrophic failure point (loss of engine oil that leaks out of an oil hose somewhere, such as a hose wear point, stressed hose end from a clamp, loose clamp, or whatever).

My Power Vision reports warmed-up engine temps around 230 in the winter, and about 260 in the summer (I realize that engine temp is not the same thing as oil temp). It wouldn't be that low (230 to 260) had I not performed all of the other mods to lower it-- such as tank lift (front and rear), cooling deflector wings, Jims force flow fan, Harley Coolfan (yes, two different fans), and full stage 1 (so it breaths easier).

I am willing to listen to arguments to dissuade me from those conclusions, but that is where I stand right now. No de-catting, and no external oil cooler.

Nevin

P.S. If I were to de-cat, I would replace the headers rather than drill the cat out of the Harley headers. And if I were to add an oil cooler, I would choose the one that added the least extra hoses.

 

[David792]

Good morning to all forum members and seasons greetings! Asking for feedback from owners who have fitted either the DK Customs oil cooler / filter relocation package or the Ultra Cool kit which has built in fans. I am keen to fit an oil cooler but unsure which to spend my £ notes on. To my mind, the DK unit has the advantage of no modification to bodywork or electrical connections to apply while the Ultra Cool kit has fans that operate if needed when the trike is stationary or slow moving so still provides a cooling effect which the DK unit would not. It appears the Ultra Cool unit is a little cheaper as well. Before committing I am hoping to gather owners thoughts on the two options. Any feedback on either unit would be appreciated.

TIA

Bob

I'm also interested in the cooler or relocation. I'm riding a 2018 with a stage 2. I haven't really had any problems with the engine heat. I live in Idaho. I think south Texas is hotter. If it ain't broke... don't fix it?? But how do I know it's not broke? I plan to keep this trike until I can't ride any longer. Another 15 years? I do know that my engine seems to like cold weather better than summer heat. I guess I could shell out the bucks and if It isn't right I could always return it to stock.

 

[Dan SC]

If it ain't broke... don't fix it?? But how do I know it's not broke?

Are M8 Tri-Glide engines (without oil coolers) wearing out prematurely?

I don`t think so, if they were, the forums would be flooded with posts.

As you said: If it ain`t broke, don`t fix it.

 

[Old Road Dog]

My '76 FXE Superglide still runs the Lockhart oil cooler I installed when new. I've only had to do two top ends on it over the years and to date havnt touched the lower end. Does this tells us anything? IDK. Clean oil is just as important as cooled oil.

 

[Jack Klarich]

I'm also interested in the cooler or relocation. I'm riding a 2018 with a stage 2. I haven't really had any problems with the engine heat. I live in Idaho. I think south Texas is hotter. If it ain't broke... don't fix it?? But how do I know it's not broke? I plan to keep this trike until I can't ride any longer. Another 15 years? I do know that my engine seems to like cold weather better than summer heat. I guess I could shell out the bucks and if It isn't right I could always return it to stock.

What is your oil temperature running at?

After oil temps of + 240 engine power starts to drop off, so does internal cooling of critical engine parts

Oil temperatures, as measured in the oil tank or the sump:

230* F everyday riding, with no more than 260* F in extreme circumstances.

(at 270* F you will feel the sluggishness in power, and damage is occurring to the oil and there is accelerated engine wear)

 

[Notgrownup]

I was running a fan assisted Ultracool on my 07 Electra Glide with a 103HO and it made quite a difference. I don’t know in actual numbers but the feeling was way cooler.

 

[DK Custom Products]

Good morning to all forum members and seasons greetings! Asking for feedback from owners who have fitted either the DK Customs oil cooler / filter relocation package or the Ultra Cool kit which has built in fans. I am keen to fit an oil cooler but unsure which to spend my £ notes on. To my mind, the DK unit has the advantage of no modification to bodywork or electrical connections to apply while the Ultra Cool kit has fans that operate if needed when the trike is stationary or slow moving so still provides a cooling effect which the DK unit would not. It appears the Ultra Cool unit is a little cheaper as well. Before committing I am hoping to gather owners thoughts on the two options. Any feedback on either unit would be appreciated.

TIA

Bob

We have done over 1 year of testing on using a fan on an oil cooler. Here is what we discovered in rough numbers (do not have the exact test results in front of me right now).

1. When traveling under 25 mph there is a slight drop in oil temps...less the 15 F.

Since stop and go traffic is when there is less load on the engine, and less heat generated than when going down the interstate at 70 mph, this drop is not nearly as important as the oil temps at speed.

2. When traveling over 50 mph, there is an Increase in oil temps...around 5-10 F.

This is because the fan is slowing down some of the air flow over the oil cooler, simply by being in the flow of air.

Our conclusion has been: Even though we could make money selling a fan as an option to the oil cooler, it is NOT something we would run on our own bikes, therefore we are not making it available. The downside of hotter oil at the upper range is not worth the drop of oil temp at the lower range, where it is not really needed.

The only scenario where a fan on an aux. oil cooler for Twin Cooled bikes make sense is for a bike that is primarily ridden in stop and go traffic, and does not see many miles ridden over 50 mph. In that scenario (if that even exists in real life for anyone) then an oil cooler fan is beneficial.

Kevin

 

[DK Custom Products]

Are M8 Tri-Glide engines (without oil coolers) wearing out prematurely?

I don`t think so, if they were, the forums would be flooded with posts.

As you said: If it ain`t broke, don`t fix it.

The slow degradation is so gradual, most folks do not recognize it.

We have a leakdown test video on our YT channel, but can only post one video in a post here, so you can search it if interested.

The hundreds of Twin Cooled bikes and trikes we have seen that have had to be rebuilt due to excessive heat is just a fraction of what is out there. It is much more frequent than one would think, since the bike/trikes keep running (most of the time), even though they are compromised because of heat damage.

Kevin

 

[DK Custom Products]

I'm also interested in the cooler or relocation. I'm riding a 2018 with a stage 2. I haven't really had any problems with the engine heat. I live in Idaho. I think south Texas is hotter. If it ain't broke... don't fix it?? But how do I know it's not broke? I plan to keep this trike until I can't ride any longer. Another 15 years? I do know that my engine seems to like cold weather better than summer heat. I guess I could shell out the bucks and if It isn't right I could always return it to stock.

Really easy test-

Kevin

 

[Highaltidude]

I have the DK kit on a 2019 Tri-Glide.

VERY happy with it. You should consider the oil cooler a just one part of your efforts to keep engine temps under control. DK wings and tank lift are fairly economical things to go with it....

Chuck