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The oil restrictor in the return line is designed to keep the pressure valve in the oil tree open. As we all know, the stock OEM TT oiling system is designed to work in parallel, with some of the oil flowing to the engine, and some flowing to the cooler. But how do you control the amount flowing to each? Too much flow to the cooler, and you might not get enough oil in the engine. Too much flow to the engine, and you're not using the cooler and could run hot. The stock TT oil tree has a pressure relief spring designed to open and allow oil to flow to the cooler at approximately 50 psi, or 2000 rpm. When the valve opens, some oil starts flowing through to the cooler. If the restrictor were removed, the pressure relief spring in the oil tree wouldn't work properly. As soon as the spring opened, the oil would rush through the cooler, dump into the pan, and reduce the pressure on the spring (slamming it shut). Then the oil pump would have to catch up, build pressure back to 50 psi, and open the spring again. By adding the restrictor, the oil fills the lines and the cooler, but slows down at the restrictor, allowing the spring to stay open and continue flowing oil through the cooler. When you switch to a series oiling system, you eliminate the pressure valve in the oil tree, and the need for the restrictor in the lines. You can add a thermostatic plate, but it is not required. The thermostatic plate just prevents the oil from circulating through the cooling system until it has warmed up. If you idle your car to operating temperature before driving, the thermostatic plate becomes redundant and unnecessary. In an extreme scenario when the weather is extra-cold, it might not be possible to get the oil warm enough through idle alone. In that situation a thermostatic plate would be required. But if the thermostatic plate were to fail in the "closed" position, you would never get any oil to the cooler. In my case, I think the thermostatic plate is just one more thing that could fail. I'm not in a rush to drive my car after I start it, and I don't drive it when it's really cold, so I don't use one. Hope this helps.
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