While we are on the topic, what makes the thermostat assembly OEM so much different from an aftermarket counterpart?

Why exactly are we unable to safely use a non-OEM thermostat?

 

i love these threads with the very informotive people...its a good learning experience. good job guys

 

OEM = Quality.
Always.

aftermarket = unknown


there's no reason why you can't use an aftermarket thermostat, but it doesn't make much sense to cheap out $3 every 100,000KM on something that could cost you your motor.


removing your thermostat can DESTORY your motor. This happened to someone in the canadian forum.. bah, I forget his name.

 

the hoses blew because the thermostat restricted the flow of your coolant when it failed so the coolant temp rose above normal and the fluid expanded and started to boil since it can only hold so much heat, this is why your hoses blew.
not sure what u mean about silicone here and there either u or your mechanic most likely dont know what u are talkign about but no big deal.
if any of you guys have ever been out of your rooms and have seen sunlight or use your cars for what they were meant for u will learn that there are many circuit racers out there run with no thermostat for this one soul reason to not have the thermostat restrict the flow and also it would be one less thing to have failing on you. if there is no air in your cooling system there will be coolant touching every wall of the engine inside the cooling passages and therefore remove teh heat properly from your engine and you will not see a temp of 170 degrees or whaetver it may be when your engine is really running much hotter and is nto gettign rid of the heat properly.
the thermostat is there to lessen the time it takes for teh car to warm up because there will be less fluid to warm up without it havign to circulate thru the entire coolaing system.
and about half of you said rotary this rotary that, this has nothign to do with a rotary, and everything with the cooling system.
good luck

 

good write up kahren

 

ok, ok. Well whatever the case, that was what i was told and thought i understood. Im not questioning your knowledge, cause i know you know more about it than i do. At whatever rate, that was his story and i thought that that was what happened. I didnt know that no thermostat was a horrible idea, and i just finished putting one back into my car...quesiton. i think the stock temp thermostat is like 170...is it cool to run a 160 or is that a bad idea (i cant remember what the stock thermostats temp was, but i think the one i just put in is 10-20 degrees cooler)

Blue88gxl - I commend you on your ability to take constructive criticism. I have seen too many threads escalate into back and forth personal verbal assaults. There is very good information available on this forum and also some very bad information, look to knowledgeable ones such as Icemark to provide the good info. It is simply amazing what some folks come up with. And when in doubt, ask questions.

 

Last time I went to the track with the racing team I work with, we ran no thermostats, as in the remote chance that they fail, they could cost us a race. We fabricated some flow restrictors, similar to the ones that moroso makes:
http://www.moroso.com/catalog/catego...?CatCode=29018

We have tested some of our cars at the track, both with and without the restrictors, and then checked our engine temperatures with a digital infared pyrometer, and found the engine overheated running without a form of restriction, even though the coolant temps were actually lower.

Here is a layman's example for you: take a lighter and hold it under your finger. You finger will burn. Now, pass your finger over it very quickly, and you'll notice you hardly even feel any change in temperature. the equilibrium establishment of heat bewteen two materials is never instantaneous. If the coolant flows through the passages too quickly, the transfer of heat cannot effectively take place.
If you'd like the equation to explain why this occurs, I can provide it.

Please actually work with some professional racing teams, and talk to some engineers (such as myself) about heat transfer before making such blanket statements as to accuse us of staying indoors.

 

Couldn't have said it better myself.

 

Good show. I have learned alot!

 

a few q's for the knowledgeable:

A) I've established that normal operating temps are 170-190 degF. What's the threshold where you see "THIS MAGIC TEMPERATURE" and pull over immediately?

B) What's the "MELTDOWN POINT" where everything is FUBARED?

I'm beginning to worry. On a really hot day (like 80-90degF ambient outside temperature), I see temps of 210 degF with the A/C on full blast, in the worst condition (idling). Bad/Normal?

 

thats bad, something is up with ur fan or raditar, i dont think it should go that high,correct me if im wrong

 

No that is in the normal range for a/c on and engine idling. If you were at 225 deg, I would be worried.

 

The issue at hand is to keep the water in the motor and the radiator long enough for complete thermal transfer. The faster the flow of the water through the system, the lower the effeciency of of the cooling medium: water/coolant. There's probably a forum somewhere that deals with this:

pump flow X thermal effeciency of water / heat generation = coolant temprature. I probably have that backwards....

anyway that's not the point. Why not create (for a race car) a restrictive cooling system by design? Without the use of a thermostat.

I was contemplating the use of a second radiator to help with some of the heat problems I have now. Every since I pu the FMIC in the car it heats up when I get on it, then the car never really cools down unless I just sit at idle.

So what do you guys think about running another radiator in series? I bought some stainless steel hoses that I was going to use on a custom radiator setup. I thought I might use a smaller aircraft radiator or something to help cool. The only thing I worry about is the water pump keeping up and the smaller radiator being to restrictive. In that case maybe running the radiator in parallel woul be better.

 

you could go with a black magic fan instead of another radiator. Definately worth the $170 imo.

 

I've done that already, nothing changed.

 

There is a difference in OEM and aftermarket. Let me tell you how I know:
95 Mazda Millenia, overheated until I replaced the aftermarket therm. with OEM
92 Ford Probe (mazda MX6) overheated until I replaced the aftermarket that I put in (forgot probe = mazda)
86 Base overheated (actually still too hot, but better) until I put in OEM therm.
I don't need any more proof. I am tired of replacing thermostats.

 

By the way, on the probe, the OEM doesn't even remotely resemble the aftermarket. It has a bypass in it.