ProjectD

iTrader: (15)

Well, today i noticed a few strange things with my water temps. I'll start with the weather, this is the warmest day we have had this year, about 70-75(don't know the humidity.) And of course i wanted to take advantage of the clear skys and go for a drive.. well the first thing i noticed was my water temps are lower in stop and go straffic, then they are on the highway . In town, the temps fluctuates between 84-89 degrees, usually around 87-89. Now when i got on the highway the commander read a solid 91(reached 92 with some boosting). I'm not sure but i think this may be because i do not have an undertray on the car, which brings me to another problem that i'll get to later lol.

The next thing I noticed is when I turned the car off, temps were about 85 deg, then come back to turn it on a few minutes later the commander said my water temp raised to 107 the coolant system started cycling*sp* right away and temp were back to normal within a few seconds. Of course i was more than a little worried about this. I went ahead a shut the car off again and left the key on the on posistion so the commander would still be functioning. and sure enough the temps started to climb again. WTF. when it reached 104 i turned the car on and it once again, it cycled and cooled right down. Well I then shut the car back down and left it off, untill the sun set and the outside air temp dropped to low 60s/high 50s. With the colder outside air, the temps in traffic were now 83-86. and on the highway iy was about 87-89. This was better but still a little high for my taste. Well when i would shut the car of at about 83 it would still rise(but only to about 88-89)

And finally, later, after letting the car warm up and run for a good 15-20 minutes, i left the A/C on @ 4 with the temp set all the way to red. well when i got back in the car it was sitting steady at 77 degrees. i sat there another few minutes and still no rise or fall in temps. Untill i drove off, and the temps went to the "normal" 85-87. When i got home i checked the overflow tank, and it was extremely low so i added some coolant.(don't know if that helped at all) But anyway i was looking for some insight as to what might be going on and if the undertray may be "part"of the problem.

Speaking of the undertray, I bought one from another forum member and did a little test fitting on the car and the oil cooler lines seemed to be in the way(driver's side) I am thinking of just trimming the plastic to make it fit. would this be a problem? *The add coolant light never turned on during this*

sorry for the long post/looking forward to some experienced help

thanx for reading,
Cyan

ProjectD

iTrader: (15)

Oh yea my mods are:

PFS SMIC
stock radiator
intake
DP,MP,CB
aluminum AST,
PFC and commander(base maps untuned)
12 psi

soon to come:
aluminum radiator
fan mod
FC thermoswitch
boost controller

mgoddard1

The commander has a way of making you super paranoid when it comes to water temperature but the temperature swings you described are perfectly normal. Your car has behaved this way since day one but the idiot water temp gauge on the dash hides all of that. Temperature spiking when you turn your car off is normal. For me normal water temps are 87 on a cool day and 95-100 on a very hot day. Everyone has their own opinion on this but if you see your temperature exceed 105 while driving then you have a problem. As long as the coolant isn't boiling then you're ok so you should figure out what that value is based on your coolant mix and the pressure value on your radiator cap and then give yourself a conservative margin for error.

ProjectD

iTrader: (15)

mgoddard1

Thanx for the resurance. I feel a lot better about the situation. The temps never went over 92 while driving, but i was concerned that it reached 107 after turning the car off. I guess that did make me a little paranoid about everything That was just the first time i ever looked at my water temps b4 turning the car on but after a recent drive...if that makes any sence. Anyway thanx again.


Does anyone else have anything to add? particularly about why my oil cooler lines are in the way of my undertray? I have a Touring BTW, and if it will be ok to trim the tray to make it fit.

cloead

The reason your temps get so high when you turn your car off is all that heat under the hood is just sitting there baking everything. I have the fan mod done to my car so my fans run for an extra 10 mins after taking the key out to help keep the air moving under the hood.

badass7

Man are you kidding me ?? Stop typing and get yourself a friggen undertray on that car !! That is without a doubt your problem. Air is not going through your radiator, rather just hitting the ground.

I know this for a fact btw bec. I was having some work done to my car and couldn't figure out why the hell my temps were so high. Well, I'm looking around and notice No undertray. Went back to the shop where it was being worked on and sure enough..........Jerry Lewis didn't put my undertray back on.

Get an undertray.

ProjectD

iTrader: (15)

Speaking of the undertray, I bought one from another forum member and did a little test fitting on the car and the oil cooler lines seemed to be in the way(driver's side) I am thinking of just trimming the plastic to make it fit. would this be a problem?
Does anyone else have anything to add? particularly about why my oil cooler lines are in the way of my undertray? I have a Touring BTW, and if it will be ok to trim the tray to make it fit.