Just installed my gretty FMIC I overheat at cruise 60mph or +. Cooling fan light comes on even with heater on. Brand new thermostat flow tested the radiator and did a radiator flush. Keeps perfect temp at idle and light cruise. Obviously this has restricted my airflow to my radiator what should I do???

Thanks!

 

what are you boosting

 

boosting to the max of a stock turbo. all the regulator mods fcd Safc fmic 3" ehxaust stage one street port. i dont have to boost to over heat just crusing at 60 mph over heating

 

what are u running in the rad? straight water? 50/50? water wetter?

did u trim the bumper?

 

i am running a perfict mix of coolant to water the ph is right on as well but i have not trimmed the bumbper and dont want to, but is that what what its going to come down to? how much should i trim?

 

pure distilled water cools better then premix... premix is to prevent corrosion...
u should consider adding water Wetter it will help..

are u using the stock mechanical fan, or did u "upgrade" to electric? do u still have the stock fan shroud? or did u remove it?

u could consider removing your A/C condensor if u don't "need" it... that will help air get to the radiator....

trimming the bumper will help get air to both the FMIC and the radiator... some ppl will make 'ducts' to help redirect air as well... just like many cars have for their brakes...

 

Do you still have the underbelly cover?

 

i have the stock fan and shroud but the fans only purpose is cooling at idlle. the fan does not cot cool the engine at 60 mph cooling is done by air flow which i guess i will have to trim the bumper but i dont want to. is there no one out there who has an un trimmed bumper with out cooling problems. trimmed bumpers look like ****

 

no under belly cover and no ac condensor or air pump
my intercooler is a greddy
this is obviously an air flow problem becaus e it only does it at cruse at 60 plus

 

u can also try the "drifters hood"

basically u use big rubber "spacers" between the hood and the arm.. on the rear of the two bolts to "prop" the back end of the hood up... so all the hot air "drafts" up and out...

but our hoods are a little diff, but i'm sure u can improvise something...

i'm surprised it over heats at high speed.. u have all that air comin in from the hood scoop right down onto the engine itself...

are u sure u bled all the air out of the system after u flushed it?

if u don't wanna trim the bumper.. then u should consider buying a beefier radiator instead

u say it happens at "cruise" which means little engine load...imagine at wot

do u still have any cats? or straight exhaust?

 

i will be getting a beefy rad later but i have a brand new one in there rite now
and supposadly the stock cooling in proper working order can handle up to 300 whp

 

straight exhaust. no cats
i may have to pull the w/p to see it the vains are rusted off but ther were ok 3 months when i did the rebuild. i guess i will have to trim
i was also thinking of fabing up a little scoop for the bottom of the radiator

 

This would be my guess as to why your overheating as well.

 

I'd get an underbelly cover and go from there.

 

why would not having an under belly cover cause me to over heat
that doesnt make sense to me

 

bump

 

Its just the way it works, the underbelly pan forces a low pressure area under the car and forces the air to go through the radiator, rather than under and around it. Just put the belly pan back on.

Theres not really any reason to bump, you have the most logical and cheap answer. Sure... we can say somethign needs to be replaced... but wouldn't you rather it be something simple and easier to fix than "rebuild your engine"?

 

'premix' is also good to keep everything from freezing!
It also raises the boiling point! (Very importaint)

Water Wetter is a band-aid solution, and I doubt it will help if he is even overheating at 60mph.

If installed correctly, it should be fine to use an e-fan, but if the car is overheating at 60, that obviously isnt the problem, it's the flow.

Yeh, it would, but then you loose your A/C! :p

Theres tons of threads on how much this mod sucks and doesnt work.


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I reccomend looking into an underbelly pan, as mentioned. I also reccomend making sure your radiator is not clogged. As Ottoman said, if you dont 'need' it, go ahead and remove your A/C condensor. You might be looking at a need to upgrade your radiator!

 

it's not a "bandaid" it improves the thermal absorbtion and dissipation properties of the water

I live in a desert so freezing isn't really a concern for me :P

yes that's a big IF.. hence why i put the "", a e-fan can also harm ur cooling capabilities if u don't do it right.. thought it was worth asking

can't win them all can ya? :P

interesting.. we did it on my friends S13 and deffinately noticed a difference..

makes sense to me as well.. hot air rises.. hits the hood and flows up and back the out the gap in the hood... with the high velocity air rushing over.. i thought it would actually "draw" air as well.. cool air comes in the front.. displaces the hot air out the "gap"

maybe it's one of those things that works in theory and not in practice...

maybe I shouldn't bother popping my hood a couple km's before home to "aid" in cooling before shutting down either

 

I know what water wetter does, and you are certainly correct. However, to use that stuff to stop an existing overheating problem caused by a lack of flow is a band-aid solution to me :P


I think the best point against popping up the hood was made by Icemark, who mentioned that in an accident, the hood will go through the windsheild and streight for your neck :O

 

happened to me... Could be your coolant seals.

 

no its no the coolant i dont consume coolant and ive done a hydrocarbon test

 

I ran my car out here in the desert (AZ) during summer w/o belly pan, never overheated. I gutted my thermo tho.

 

If your car is overheating, look to these components (many of which you may have already addressed)

Water Pump
Thermostat (dont take it out, put the CORRECT one in)
Belly pan (this is critical, ducting air properly makes a HUGE difference at speed)
Upgraded aluminum radiator (should be mandatory in my opinion)
Proper fan Function


Ive done LOTS of experimenting with ducting/belly pan stuff on my T2 with a FMIC and i found that sealing off all leaks and making sure air is traveling through the radiator and oil cooler was VERY IMPORTANT in keeping my cool temps. For reference, on an 80 degree day going 70 down the highway, water temp is 185 and oil temp is 185 in the pan.

Cutting your front bumpet helps alot. It only looks like crap if you do it wrong. Take a look at mine, i cut 2" from the top, and 2" from the bottom of my bumper, but is spent a good amount of time drawing things out and making sure they would look right. Take a look......

 

Here is another shot (dont mind the unclean car )