Sorry if this is a "newbie" post, but I searched and was having trouble coming up with a definitive answer. I have both Water and Oil Temperature gauges. Autometer variety, and both read from 100*- 250*. I have a few questions regarding temps.

1. What are the acceptable ranges of temperatures?

2. At what temperatures (both water and oil) should I become concerned and get to the side of the road?

3. I know not to drive the car hard or boost the car until normal operating temperatures have been reached. What is "normal"?


I don't have an upgraded radiator yet. It is my first planned thing to do to the car. As of right now, on my water gauge, it runs pretty consistently at just below 180*. I pretty much keep the fans running all the time because I don't want it to overheat at all. Can anyone she some light on acceptable temps? Thanks very much. Sorry if this is a post that's been asked before.

 

Also, what oil temps do people with "touring" models run? My car is an R1 and has the twin oil coolers, and temps hang, again, just below the 180* mark. This seems a little high to me, but I'm not sure. Thanks for any help.

 

Water temps at over 230 degrees are nearing overheating. Normal operating temps are anywhere from 175 to 220. Your car is considered to be fully warmed up a few minutes after it reaches 180 ish.

I like to see oil temps of around 200 degrees before I think the car is warmed up. 260 is getting very hot.

Personally, I don't like the water temps to get over 200. I have a fan mod, and I use it regularly to keep the temps down. If my car stays at 180, I am a happy camper. Of course, on a hot summer day, it may be impossible to keep it much below 200.

A typical easy drive (for me) will show water temps at around 180, and oil temps around 200-210.

 

I spoke to an engine builder at Mazdatrix about oil temps recently. He said when the oil temp hits around 250 the apex seal springs become soft, allowing the seals to chatter against the rotor housings.

 

Sweet. Thanks guys.




(If anyone else has more input, feel free to post).

 

if your temp goes to 220, I'd pull over to the side of the road and shut it down.

P.S. all cars should ahve the fan mod to turn it on to low once temp has gotten to 180 degrees. if not, just have about 5k for a new engine and you'll be fine

 

Yeah, I only recently purchased the car, but I've had one before. I'm very cautious about temps while driving the car. Water temps have never gotten over 200*, and I use the AC to turn the fans on if temps reach 180*.



Koyo radiator and the fan mod are the first things on my list to do.

 

As usual, the temps threads bring out the loonies...

The factory ecu doesn't even turn the fans on until 221F. Water temps below 220F are just fine. Oil temps are typically 10-20F hotter than the water temps with the single stock cooler.

I don't consider the car really warmed up until the water temp is 185-190F and oil temp is above 180F.

Personally, if your gauges are reading 180F water and oil, the gauges either suck or your senders aren't mounted in good locations.

 

I'm with rynberg on the temps. The car is not even warmed up until coolant hits 180+F! I do not begin to even watch the gauge until coolant temps hit 225+F. 220F is NOT too hot! Most who insist your coolant temps need to stay below 200 are the same ones who think you need to change your oil every 1000 miles

Running an engine hard at too low a temp is just as bad as running it hard at too high a temp. I will not run the car hard unless I see 180+ of water temp (which is when the thermostat begins to open). Ideally you would like oil the same temp as the water, but normally oil will be hotter than coolant.

There are plenty of better things to worry about than 200F degree coolant temps. That's ridiculous.

The FD can be maintenance intensive but it is not a timebomb that must be handled with kid gloves. I can't begin to get over how crazy it is to feel 200F is hot!!!

 

my car's oil temp is between 70 80 celsius and my water temp is always between 85 and 90.

 

a) Unless you have some type of fan mod, your water temps are not accurate. Without fans turning on, you will easily see 100C in any kind of stop-and-go city driving.

b) I don't buy your oil temps for a second. The oil t-stat doesn't even start opening until about 85C. Unless you are running huge dual coolers without a t-stat, your gauge isn't reading right.

 

MY PFC Water temp is Never below 87C when warmed up and HWY driving and I've seen it at 108C in city driving......I Never see my stock guage even move in that range.

 

My water temp doesn't get above 95'c sitting in traffic. While driving it sits between 84'c and 86'c.

 

1) Your t-stat must open earlier than most.
2) When do have your fans coming on?

 

My water temp never goes above 85C, it's usually around 80C. My OEM oil temp fluctuates too much, I need an aftermarket gauge.

 

Not possible with the OEM t-stat. Those temps are too cold anyway.


My OEM oil temp fluctuates too much, I need an aftermarket gauge. [/QUOTE]

I don't know what car you have, but the FD didn't come with an oil temp gauge....

 

Mazda factory t-stat from Ray Crowe.
Miata thermoswitch mod.
Koyo Radiator
CWR oil coolers.

 

Ah, bigger oil coolers lower your water temps too....still your temps are pretty cool.

 

Rynberg, it is completely possible to have water temps that never go above 85. It all depends on what your set up is and how much redundancy you have in your coolant system.

Everything helps.

Here is a list of things that can help keep temperatures under control.

-fan mod
-synthetic motor oil.
-10w30 instead of 20w50
-large after market radiator
-Mazda factory issue thermostat (not the cheep auto store brand)
-vented hood
-duel oil coolers
-favorable water to coolant mixture
-evans

Any combination of the above list will help keep temperatures lower then they would otherwise be. Every little thing helps.

 

Only if your fans are coming on at 85C or lower. It's not physically possible to be in stop-and-go traffic and stay at 85C without the fans running.

BTW, I have:

-fan mod: PFC turns fans on at 91C
-synthetic motor oil: Mobil 1
-10w30 instead of 20w50: Mobil 1 10w30
-large after market radiator: Fluidyne
-Mazda factory issue thermostat: Yep
-favorable water to coolant mixture: I run 75:25 water:coolant

I constantly hit 91-92C with this setup in city traffic. Without airflow over the radiator, it doesn't matter what cooling mods you have, you're going to run hotter.

I have Chuck's (RE's) dual 25-row oil coolers coming next week, so we'll see how much cooler the water and oil temps drop....

 

you will like the oil coolers. Your temps are about what mine are. My fans come on at 93c and I don't see above 95c sitting in traffic. While driving my temps stay arund 85c. My oil thermostat is set at 180f

 

I don't know what car you have, but the FD didn't come with an oil temp gauge.... [/QUOTE]

Lol, I shouldn't type while I'm on the phone. I wanted to write oil PRESSURE.

Also, while sitting in heavy traffic my temps don't go over 83c, while the fans are on. Temps are taken from the PFC.

 

Non-PFC guys, where are you guys mounting your temp-senders??

For those interested, a little Cooling Systems 101:
http://www.centuryperformance.com/coolingsys.asp

Paraphrased from above, somewhat reiterating what's been said before: Too low temps (oil below 190F)increase engine wear and lower engine effeciency.
...of course each engine varies by design

 

The oil temps sound suspect.

But the water temps sound fine.

I personally see 180F wtemps (DEFI gauge, sender on tstat housing)/88C (PFC) at cruising and around 95C max in stop and go. I never see 100C unless the weather is excessively hot and I'm locked in traffic - in which case I'm usually not driving the FD anyways.

 

From the Racing Beat technical manual & parts catalogue (p63 2002)
"The factory stock thermostat opens at approximately 180F. Under normal driving conditions the water temperature should not exceed 185F. Should the temperature reach 200F fairly slowly, engine damage is not likely. If the rise is fairly rapid- [...] engine damage is more likely."