After years of testing and development, we are proud to announce the arrival of the Rogue Engineering E46 M3 RACE oil cooler!
It is commonly known that factory oil temps of a stock E46 M3 are around 210 deg F at idle. Of course, this will increase during track days and when the vehicle is stressed. The factory setup is ill-prepared to handle extreme temperatures and can easily ruin track days or races because of it's inability to handle this heat. With the manufacturing expertise of CSF, we were able to create a product that would be suitable for the track/race customer.
Precision Motor Werks' WRL endurance E46 M3
Why Factory Components Are Not Enough
BMW had planned for additional oil cooling by adding it's own oil cooler. This oil cooler sits right below the radiator and gets airflow front the front bumper area. Unfortunately, when pushing the car hard and oil temps hit (and can pass) 260 deg F, this means it's time to shut down since it can mean catastrophic issues for the engine.
While this is a great start, it's single-pass, 103 cu. inch volumetric size is not quite enough to take care of oil cooling duties when the car is pushed hard. That's where the aftermarket comes into the equation.
Rogue Engineering's Idea for More
Back in 2017, we had an idea to improve on the E46 M3 factory design so we contacted CSF, a leader in aftermarket cooling products and they were able to produce a dual-pass oil cooler that fit in the OEM location. The
Rogue Engineering/CSF oil cooler (#8032) has been a great success and has become the industry leader in the aftermarket oil cooling segment. It's
243 cu. inch volumetric size more than doubled the capacity of the factory version. So while OEM coolers cannot handle the heat, this allows for HPDE drivers and racers the chance to keep their cool!
When More is not Enough
While the Rogue Engineering/CSF 8032 oil cooler continues to have great success, we realized we needed more. Based on our endurance racing, we saw that oil temps over the course of 8 hours or more needed a different strategy for cooling. Some E46 M3s are fine with a smaller cooler for shorter races, running long stints in endurance racing is different. This is when we devised our plan.
We started planning our idea for adding more volume in our relatively small space. After a few prototypes, we finalized or design, and called our friends at CSF again. From out conceptual drawings, they were able to create this monster of a cooler for us! By doing so, we were able to create a cooler with 445 cu. inches of volumetric size. More than FOUR times the size of the factory OEM cooler! Additional features include 1/8 NPT threaded ports to allow for monitoring oil temps leaving and returning back to the engine! Get the true delta of what the cooler is doing for your car!
Fitting this cooler also means creating the appropriate lines to replace the factory oil lines, since they cannot be used.
As this is not a standard part number from CSF, the cooler and associated parts with the kit is sold exclusively by Rogue Engineering.
Features of the E46 M3 RACE Oil Cooler
- Designed to fit like OEM, under OE style-radiator connections
- Fits under OEM underpanels
- Dual 1/8 NPT ports (for measuring input and output of oil flow)
Included in the Kit
- Rogue Engineering E46 M3 RACE oil cooler, custom-made by CSF
ATTENTION!
Note that this item is designed to be used for race-only, track-only vehicles. Since this is a race-only part, Rogue Engineering assumes NO responsibility to fitment with OE/OEM parts used on street driven vehicles. Returns are NOT accepted for fitment issues such as underbelly supercharger cooling tanks, aftermarket skid plates or additional intake/cooling ducting that may hang under the vehicle. If you have any of the aforementioned items, DO NOT purchase this item.
Since this is a race part, it is up to the customer to produce their own AN10 lines from the oil filter housing to the cooler.
