Oil cooler..........round two, AKA fun with foam! Options

[East coaster]

So after a little brainstorming on an oil cooler layout, I figured I better actually do it.

Started out by figuring out the mounting of the cooler itself. It's a very large (4 x 24 fin area) and I think a good fit for a 3.6 since it doesn't have an engine mounted cooler. I started by cutting sections out of the front support tray for clearance and then re-boxing the area to keep the shelf rigid and serve as a mounting point for the front of the cooler.

Here's a pic of the cut outs...........

[East coaster]

As far as thermostat placement, there seems to be 2 schools of thought.

One says place the thermo near the engine so as to prevent having to pump cold oil to the front and back needlessly.

Second says place the thermo near the cooler to protect the cooler from the pressures created by all that cold oil in the lines (if thermo was at rear).

I read about a bazillion threads on this and it seems there's no real answer. I definitely could not find any answer backed up with data. I've seen more installs with the thermo up front than in the rear and I've not heard any horror stories yet. I think a coin toss (heads up front, tails in rear) is as scientific an approach as I've seen so far.

JP - As far as the -12 vs -16 lines thingy. I've not made up my mind yet. I could easily change the plan at this point, I'm just looking for information on why? If -16 is necessary I would certainly go that route, but no one has backed up that claim with any info? I'm all ears and open to any suggestions.