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Really damn hot the needle on the gauge cluster should be considered a dummy gauge by the time you can tell your too hot with it its usually to late I hate that damn gauge. I was reading 101C on my PFC and the gauge needle was just above the half way point so if it got all the way to the H thats is pretty freakin hot.
Well the fans kick on, on a stock a FD (no PFC) at 100c. So with that, you could expect normal driving temps to reach around 105c pretty easily or higher during WOT or spirited driving. I personally like to keep the temps down below the 95c mark. I would think that a FD operating constantly above the 110c mark would be getting way to hot as far as street driving is concerned...tracking a car would probably see much higher temps around the 115c to 120c mark but I wouldn't recommend letting temps stay that high on the streets.
What is the temp limit for the rotary? I'm working on getting an after market temp gauge, but it will be useless if I don't know what too hot is.
I wouldnt let it get above 105 on the street. I've seen as high as 109 on the roadrace course and the motor was fine.
On the street with the 500R setup my temps have yet to get into triple digits, even when flogging the car.
__________________ Every man shall be held accountable for every one of his actions. The question is not 'if,' but 'when.' 1995 BB PEP (35k miles), 1993 BB R1 (12k miles), 1993 VR R1 (124k miles), 1993 VR R1 (RIP), 1990 triple black vert (167k miles)
Back from DGRR---2013B Madness
Yes and probably is, but it could also be the water pump or your fans not kicking on and etc. But I would start with the thermostat since it's really cheap, fairly easy to replace and if it never has been replaced it's probably a good idea to go ahead and do it anyway.
In the good old days when I was tracking mostly stock FDs I'd let the PFC go to 112 which is about the point where the stock gauge starts to move.
I think the conversion is 1.8 x 112 + 32 = 233.6
so at around 234 or so the stock gauge will start to move which is a good time to take it easy hehe.
At 245 and higher for an extended period (probably as little as 5 minutes) you risk the chance of warping the aluminum rotor housings. The aluminum cools faster and the iron is thin when really hot but cools unequally across the face and then compression on the aluminum housing unevenly and warping can accur. Well atleast that's my take on it Basically even though 245 isn't that hot it's crazy hot for a rotary and can permanently damage your engine.
If the temp reaches the white line below hot that's about 250F
Reading "H" is about 260 F
Don't ask me how I know this so well
FWIW I've had various FDs hitting 240F many a time but I've always backed off and let the motor cool down and never had a problem. I had one motor that probably saw spikes of 240F at time for several years and dozen of track days... however it did eventually die of a bad water seal.
However, as Fritz mentioned above... continual operation at that temp is not good.
My general rule of thumb is if the stock temp gauge moves off the standard centered position AT ALL back off the throttle ASAP and do a cool down lap.
If you are seeing these kinds of temp on the street then something is wrong with your cooling system most likely.
__________________
FD full road race car in the works...
I think now is a great time for an aftermarket water temp gauge.
or a pfc with commander
__________________
1994 Mazda RX-7 - 13B-REW with all the bolt ons plus more
1992 Lexus SC300 - 2JZ-GTE and Getrag 6 speed swap
2008 Lexus ISF - Sikky headers, ISS Forged Exhaust, Joez Intake
Engine housings warp. Apex seals chip, break, or shatter.
I caught that too. The apex seal *springs* can warp with extended time hot EGTs.
__________________ Every man shall be held accountable for every one of his actions. The question is not 'if,' but 'when.' 1995 BB PEP (35k miles), 1993 BB R1 (12k miles), 1993 VR R1 (124k miles), 1993 VR R1 (RIP), 1990 triple black vert (167k miles)
Back from DGRR---2013B Madness
The thing is, on the highway, it drops down to about 1/3rd between C and H. Only during city driving, it goes up.
I suspect your gauge might have been "linearized" where it might actually be accurate and move along with the temps you are seeing. The FAQ thread has links to Robinette and Ciriani's site where you can get info on the linearization mod.
Could be the fans or related to the fans. Higher speed has air flowing over the radiator without the need of fans...slow city driving doesn't generate a whole lot of natural airflow, so the fans are needed to create that airflow. Broken fans (or fans that aren't switching on correctly) might cause temps to go up when speeds are down. Just a guess
Basically even though 245 isn't that hot it's crazy hot for a rotary and can permanently damage your engine.
Linear Mode
