I just got my turbo project on the road. For a quick rundown, it's a streetported 12, running an s4 turbo with the turbonetics upgrade. The car has recently been running a bit hotter now that the turbo is on the car, which makes sense, given that the turbo is water-cooled. I have a new stock radiator, efan, thermostat, hoses, etc..., and I'm really not very comfortable with how hot the car has been running. I still have the beehive oil cooler, and will be switching over to a 2nd gen oil cooler. Do you guys think that this will lower the operating temperature of the car a decent amount? I figure since the coolant is no longer having to cool down the oil, as well as the rest of the engine, this might help, and it can't hurt that the oil will probably be cooler due to a more efficient oil cooler design. If you guys dont think this will make much of a difference, what else should I do?

 

I don't think you actually need the coolant going to the turbo...

I orginally thought you did being why would MAZDA have the coolant running to the turbo on the stock TII's... but after talking with FBII he said he wasn't running coolant just oil to his S4 turbo...??? Hopefully he'll chime in and break it down...

 

First of all...What kind of temperatures are we talking about?? Is it running hot after being driven hard? What kind of boost? Are you still on a stock guage? 190-200 degrees is not uncommon in a turbo engine. One thing you might want to check is your fan clutch...If your using an aftermarket fan...Is it on a temperature sending unit that turns it on... Are you using a turbo timmer.

I would not suggest disconnecting your water lines to the turbo. ... If you go to a LARGE oil cooler mounted in front of the car... It might be something to consider...However with the "beehive" cooler...If that oil gets hot...your going to have a nightmare on your hands...Remember turbo's get VERY hot....You dont want to start burning bearings due to cooking he oil...

 

dont know how to answer your question, but congradulations you got a 12at running. and can you post pics?

 

Get that beehive off of there!!

Running forced induction of any kind will increase engine operating temps,regardless of if its turbo,super or nitrous.....Its more air and more fuel and more bang,which means more heat.
The turbo itself will add a little more heat,but not a huge amount.The center cartridge where the oil and water go,runs roughy the same temp as the engine,or else every turbo on the road would have oil coked bearings all the time!Keep the water lines hooked up,they are not a bad thing and will reduce your need to "time-down "your engine shutdown routine.(turbo timer)

The oil cooler does a full 1/3 of the cooling on a rotary.All that heat and pressure the turbo is helping to create in the engine, is bearing down on the rotors,which are oil cooled.The beehive is just transferring the heat to the coolant,which must then transfer it to the radiator.If you have a tall style,2-row radiator you should be OK once you get the front mount oil cooler.If you wanna run a short radiator with the oil cooler under it,then youll need a 3-row radiator or a good,thick aftermarket race style unit, like my dual pass Howe.

 

i run an FC oil cooler in front of the stock radiator, stock clutch fan, 170 thermostat, no water lines to the turbo and my temps have never hit above 175 degrees. this includes all the highway runs i do on the weekends on hot/ humid nights as well. i did 84gsNC's setup the same way and he hasn't had a cooling issue, actually his temps are lower than they were n/a.

we just always make sure to not boost within a mile or so of the destination or just let the car idle for a couple minutes (turbo time as some call it). altho, i don't like to let the car just idle because often your idle temps can be higher than when you are cruising.

Sudox: ditch the beehive for the FC oil cooler and do a cooling system flush if you haven't in a while. make sure you aren't running to much coolant vs water as your mix. water will transfer the heat better. water wetter could be something to get as well, but really shouldn't be needed.

 

alright, it sounds like the front mount oil cooler is needed for sure, with all the upgrades I have done, as I expected

I'll add some water wetter, and probably change the ratio of coolant/water, in favor of the water.

For some clarification, I'm going by the stock temp guage. It's running short of hot, but it's still a little past the line that designates about where my water temps should be. What really concerns me is the amout of pressure in the system. The fairly new stock radiator cap started leaking first, and i put on a higher pressure cap I had sitting around. A few days later, an older radiator hose that was on the car burst. Yesterday, the gasket between the water pump and the little neck that goes to the upper radiator hose started leaking. Is this entirely from me running a little too hot? I'm afraid to run the car now, until I get it sorted out. Also, this is happening whether or not I drive the car very hard, and gets worse at stoplights.

 

yea sounds like your temps are a bit on the high side. how old is your waterpump?

 

The water pump is a couple of years old, but there are next to no miles on it. Also, the water is boiling in the radiator, I can hear it after i turn the car off. I would figure that I'm getting good flow through the radiator to have water that hot in there.

This is all pretty crazy, and it's really frustrating, because it's putting my newly roadworthy turbo-project on hold.

 

is your efan pulling enough air? what kind of fan are you running?

 

http://store.summitracing.com/defaul...=egnsearch.asp

I have the 16in fan if i remember correctly

 

Try hooking up a small intercooler like off an old Isuzu diesel truck. That's what I'm gonna run to make sure the temps stay in check

 

Any luck with that temp prob there buddy? Got it under control yet??

 

I won't be able to work on the car until this weekend, as it's about 100 miles away, while I'm at school. I'm sure I'll let you guys know how things work out.

Firebirdslayer666: I'm running a fairly large spearco intercooler.