Knee Dragger

First, a mod list. 1994 Touring VR with the following:

GREDDY TD0620G Single Turbo Kit
GREDDY Blowoff Valve
GREDDY Profec B
GREDDY Turbo timer
GREDDY Intercooler
GREDDY Elbow
APEXI-Power FC+Commander
20B Fuel Pump
Magnecor 10mm wires
Autometer Boost gauge
Autometer Fuel gauge/lightshow
Racing Beat Dual Exhaust
Downpipe
Mid-Pipe
ACT 6 Puck Clutch
Kuhmo Tires Front/Rear
Slotted/Drilled Brembo Rotors & Hawk Pads
New Wiring Harness
Front Brake Calipers, Lower-Intake Manifold, Upper-Intake Manifold & Throttle-Body are all polished
Double throttle Modification has been done to the UIM
Aluminum Radiator
Aluminum AST

What I'm trying to determine is what are the various temperatures that need to be watched during hard driving, and what the acceptable ranges for those temperatures are. Right now I'm simply watching water temp on the FC. I was told recently that intake temperature needs to be monitored in some way, as my intercooler may not be up to par for the type of driving I do. If this is accurate, what is the best way to monitor that temperature, and what are the consequences to it getting too high? I have also been told I need to pick up an EGT gauge and an oil temperature gauge for hard driving. If so, what are acceptable ranges?

The area I typically play with cars and bikes is about a 10 mile stretch where the car will be run in the boost for extended periods of time. On my first outing in that environment with the car I reached 103C with the car after about 7 miles or so and chose to back down due to not knowing what safe temperature ranges are, and possibly not having enough information in the cockpit due to lack of gauges. If I am nearing the limits of water temp at 103C, what are my options for controlling this temperature? Do I need to spring for a more heavy duty radiator, or are there other options?

So to summarize, I need to know what temperatures to monitor, what the safe ranges are, and any additional cooling related mods I should do to prep the car for this type of driving.

Thanks for any information provided.

Knee Dragger

One more small question:

Is the air temperature reading on the FC reflective of intake temperature? If so, where is the sensor located, and is this an accurate enough reading to be reliable versus a manual underhood reading?

dgeesaman

iTrader: (7)

Oil temp gauge is definitely useful. EGT maybe, but I don't have experience with them to say much. Now that wideband o2 sensors are fairly affordable, so it's better IMHO to follow exact AFRs rather than EGTs. (EGT gauges were how to detect lean conditions back before wideband o2 was practical).

If you run a search for "Oil temps" you should get some good info. (Don't forget to also run the search in the Race Car Tech subforum too, since your driving conditions reflect road racing).

103C isn't terribly high - mine hit 220F when pushed hard. If that was the hottest day, longest run, highest boost you'll see I'd leave it alone. But if it wasn't the worst case situation, you should install another oil cooler (getting the additional stock cooler from an R1 is fine) since you already have an aluminum radiator. The oil does a whole lot of cooling too and will bring down water and engine temps. I'd also recommend replacing all coolant hoses and caps if that hasn't been done since purchasing the car - use OEM parts only. (except the non-OEM AST of course)

The air temp sensor is threaded into the underside of the UIM, which gets quite hot just from heat coming from the LIM and engine. In that sense, it's inaccurate because it tends to read a bit hot. On a stock ECU (which you don't have) it would richen the AFRs and you'd lose power. I believe that on a PFC it's different, but you should look into that. If your intake air temps are getting too high, more intercooling is the answer - either by fixing the ducting on your intercooler (many cars lack in this area for no logical reason) or by upgrading the intercooler itself. Again, run a search for "intake temp" and see what comes up.

Dave

Knee Dragger

Thanks for the excellent info. I will look into a second oil cooler. Is this something I can buy in kit form or something I'll need to pull off of a junked car somewhere?

What is an acceptable temperature range for intake temperatures under hard driving conditions?

Thanks

akiratdk

I get 40-50 intake temps on a regular day on my PFC~~
84-89 Water Temps~~