Performance oil coolers

[Zac]

Hi guys, I’ve been running my gsxr1216m motor on a Gsxr750f oil cooler (as it was allready on the 750f frame)

Im thinking to upgrade to a 19 row cooler, I can buy generic ones with an10 fittings for about £60 but as soon as anyone throws in a bit of pipe and a bracket it becomes a £440 kit.

is there any easy way to use the original oil cooler lines on a generic 19 row cooler for a cost effective solution ?

something like this would be good but not sure if lines would be compatible or adaptable:

https://www.speedingparts.co.uk/p/engine-tuning/oil-system/oil-cooler/setrab-oil-cooler-19-row-330mm.html?utm_term=&utm_campaign=PMax+-+England+(wide+top+performers)&utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=ppc&hsa_acc=7354305844&hsa_cam=18006596581&hsa_grp=&hsa_ad=&hsa_src=x&hsa_tgt=&hsa_kw=&hsa_mt=&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_ver=3&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=17348111645&gbraid=0AAAAADNs3vEieHQyLPf8AFBOx2BSQrpWm&gclid=CjwKCAiAvaLLBhBFEiwAYCNTf6Lz7vHMSy_eoURC_-ry8HaNRRYfTA6iv5IunqoS1ic0dE6XvyMTVxoCl4gQAvD_BwE

 

Edited January 16 by Zac

[spiderpig]

Buy fittings and line from torquesuk on Eblag, costs feck all 

[wraith]

I've used the £60 oil cookers on my last 5 builds, and one of them has been on the bike for at least 15 years now. You can get them with AN-8 fittings that make fitting the holes a lot easier as the an10 are quite big. 

As above buy the fittings and hose of eblag and make them up yourself (lots of videos on U tube if you're not sure) 

Make mounting brackets out of Aluminium angle 50x50x3 or 5 mm 

And you will save yourself about £250 ish

[Dezza]

You can also find bona fide Earls, Goodridge, Sppedflow, Aeroquip fittings secondhand on eb@y for a fraction of their retail price. These are obviously all re-useable and ultra-high quality. Torques stuff is good value for money though and much better than the cheap cack seen at most autojumbles.

[Gixer1460]

In answer to OP question - No, there are no available options for using original hoses with after market coolers. Not to say its not possible, just just that bespoke adapter/s would / may be required which could total up the same as DIY hoses! I don't think I've ever spent more than £250 for cooler, hose, fittings and mounts - all -10 size and NOT using Torques products (not because I don't like them, just that Mocal supplier is local & I can walk in and match odd threads/fittings without back & forth aggro) 

[Zac]

That’s awesome guys, I just watched some YouTube videos and never realised the lines were so easy to make, thanks

Edited January 16 by Zac

[fatblokeonbandit]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[spiderpig]

They the nylon braided hoses @fatblokeonbandit? Any issues compared to the ss?

[fatblokeonbandit]

Nope just make sure they don’t touch the pipes

 

 

[wraith]

@fatblokeonbanditwhat the aluminium bars on the side of the cooler that the bolts are going into?

[fatblokeonbandit]

The small bars are just to brace the brackets and support the cooler, takes the strain off of the ally matrix.

just 10 mm bar I had drilled and tapped to m6

 

 

[DAZ]

@fatblokeonbandit a picture is worth a thousand words , those few pictures are a brilliant tutorial on how to fit an uprated oil cooler , maybe one of the moderators could consider making it a " sticky " I'm sure it would help many wether members or visitors to the site .  

Edited January 17 by DAZ
Addition

[fatblokeonbandit]

Glad it’s of use 

 

I have  many more pics if needed 

[Zac]

Wow thanks for that, it’s basically a step by step how to.

 

are there any issues with having the oil cooler fittings at the bottom ? Like a lot of oil draining down into the sump when off, I’ve seen some people have them at the top thats all.

Edited January 17 by Zac

[wraith]

No,all depends on what you like the look at or if you have the room at the top.

[Zac]

1 hour ago, Zac said:

Wow thanks for that, it’s basically a step by step how to.

 

are there any issues with having the oil cooler fittings at the bottom ? Like a lot of oil draining down into the sump when off or air locking when it fills, I’ve seen some people have them at the top thats all.

 

[Gixer1460]

1 hour ago, Zac said:

are there any issues with having the oil cooler fittings at the bottom ? Like a lot of oil draining down into the sump when off, I’ve seen some people have them at the top thats all.

My pet 'daft' question ! The oil, once the cooler is full and contains no air - only oil, CANNOT empty whilst the engine ends of the oil hoses are below oil level ! To do so would require air to get into the system which it can't as its a 'sealed' loop. Only when you drop the oil during a change will the loop be broken, air can enter to replace the draining oil.

[Zac]

14 hours ago, Gixer1460 said:

My pet 'daft' question ! The oil, once the cooler is full and contains no air - only oil, CANNOT empty whilst the engine ends of the oil hoses are below oil level ! To do so would require air to get into the system which it can't as its a 'sealed' loop. Only when you drop the oil during a change will the loop be broken, air can enter to replace the draining oil.

Ok fair enough but how about the idea that the oil cooler air locks and oil just flows in and out through a number of the rows at the bottom whilst the top section of the cooler just holds an air lock ?  Just another thing I heard about these.

trying to figure out why Suzuki fitted extra long hoses to reach to the top of their oil cooler when they could have saved weight and used shorter ones to fit the bottom, there must be something in it ?

[TLRS]

Filling fdom the top and overflowing at the top ensures it stays full. Would be interesting to see if a bottom filled cooler fills up too.

[clivegto]

They fill up fine from the bottom and you can make up whatever you want really. 

[fatblokeonbandit]

On 1/18/2026 at 2:49 PM, Zac said:

Ok fair enough but how about the idea that the oil cooler air locks and oil just flows in and out through a number of the rows at the bottom whilst the top section of the cooler just holds an air lock ?  Just another thing I heard about these.

trying to figure out why Suzuki fitted extra long hoses to reach to the top of their oil cooler when they could have saved weight and used shorter ones to fit the bottom, there must be something in it ?

Who did you hear that from???

 

I’ve had 29 bandits and never an air lock

[Enjoythesilence]

I use both top and bottom feeds,depending on space and exhausts etc-no problems.

[wraith]

Suzuki put top feed oil cooler pipes on the gsxr but bottom feed on the bandit's.

I've never had a problem ever way, most of the time I fit my oil cooler pipes to the bottom, looks better and easier, I do have (well it's the miss) gsxr1100 with the oil cooler pipes coming in at the top.

But like I said, never had any problems ever way.

Sometimes you can just over think stuff and get no where 

[Dezza]

I have top feed on main cooler, and a head cooler. The oil capacity of the bike is now about 3/4 litre higher than with a single main cooler with bottom feed. When the oil is drained  the main cooler stays full of oil so it needs to be removed and emptied manually to prevent the old oil in the cooler from contaminating the new oil. This isn't a problem; it's a quirk of modifying the bike.

Edited January 21 by Dezza

[Duckndive]

Side Mount just to be different