hey : )

i have a essentially stock '7. i bought it recently.

my question is that since on road driving my oil temp gauge reaches the halfway mark. i've heard that the needle should only go as high as a quarter up the gauge.

my defi water temp meter often reads close to 110C (230F). note this is only from fast highway driving, crusing back and forth from 45mph to 70mph frequently for up to 20mins.

my vital fluids are topped up often so that isnt the problem. i dont think this is acceptable is it? the temp when i drive ranges from 75 to 86F

can anyone guess what's wrong?

i live 3 hours away from the sepang racetrack in malasia. track temperatures there soar as high as 35C (95F)

i bought this car to take to track. what steps whould i take to protect my car? it really runs too hot. and i wanna make sure it can last as long as 15-18 mins hard running on track.

please advise, any thoughts or help would be so appreciated to run this car as it was meant to : )

 

p.s.

the stock airbox has been removed and instead there are twin blitz air filters.

would the Vmount setup solve my problem?

 

I would not take the car to the track until you sort out your "issues". You will almost certainly overheat the car if you race it as is.

Start by replacing your thermostat with a new OEM unit. See if that helps.

 

230F is awfully high just for highway driving. Are your fans coming on?

 

oh yeah a V mount will not solve your problem. Since your radiator is already getting fresh air directly. Now if you had a FMIC then that would be a different story.

 

When you have time, take a read here:
https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generation-specific-1993-2002-16/fd-road-racers-only-your-upgrades-your-rationale-136678/

First thing try blocking up any areas around your radiator:
http://www.scuderiaciriani.com/rx7/r...r_ducting.html

Next, what coolant/water percentage are you using? You might try a 30/70 mixture of coolant/water.

After that, for track days, run a heavier oil like 20w50. I prefer Royal Purple for my track days.

 

Thanks guys for the quick replies.

the fans: they turn on before the motor starts, with the electrical systems

adam: thanks man, it's been a couple of months, but i'llcertainly heed th advice and hold out till the car's ready for it

thermostat: yeah, that is a good idea. but if the fans are always on, does it still apply?

vmount: i think i'll be going that route unless there are any significant cons to the idea. the way the setup is now, the small bumper air opening just isnt enough the way the IC is tilted. i'm sure theres a heat soak problem now.

radiator: i remember it being thoroughly flushed when the car was handed over to me less than a year ago.

 

just to check, when the fans are on, should the temp go down to 90C (194F)or something?

so if my fans are on and all is well, should the temp never go past 194F? or is there a safe and normal range it should fluctuate along?

is the overheating due to the IC or the radiator? or is that a silly q'n?

thanks guys!

 

Being in Singapore also means the humidity is high. Being in Washington, humidity is very low and at sea level. Would humidity make a difference in cooling effects? I know it does for humans with sweat and evaporation but does that apply to cars as well? Sorry if I'm hijacking your thread but this might help you out with your cooling issues.

 

If you are hitting close to 230F with the fans running in normal driving conditions, there is a big problem. Adam is right, check the thermostat. If it isn't opening all of the way, the coolant flow through the radiator is reduced and higher temps will result.

Once you've fixed your cooling issues, do a search for track mods on the forum. There are several threads with lots of good input from those of us who track their cars.

 

got a down pipe??

 

Hell yeah it does. If it's stuck closed you are not getting cooled water from your radiator.

Since your fans are coming on the next culprit is your thermostat as Adam pointed out. It's very good practice to change the thermostat whenever you flush the radiator. Get an OEM mazda one too, not some autoparts store generic brand.

 

Assuming you have gotten all the air out of your cooling system and that your water pump is working properly,

In order of difficulty and cost, until you get where you need to be:

1. drill out or gut your thermostat to increase coolant flow
2. 10% glycol, 90% water mix
3. fabricate ducting so that all the air coming in the "mouth" of the car goes thru the radiator, rather than taking the easier path around it.
4. Underdrive pulleys (decrease cavitation in the water pump at 5K rpm and higher)
5. Aftermarket radiator (aluminum, increased capacity)
5. Improve oil cooling (more and/or larger oil coolers)
6. Ceramic-coated downpipe
7. Vented hood
8. Single turbo conversion
There is plenty of info in this forum on all these mods.

 

In order of difficulty and cost, until you get where you need to be:

1. drill out or gut your thermostat to increase coolant flow

you dont want to make the hole that big, the thermostat must restrict flow or the coolant will not stay in the radiator long enough to make a differnce! you will overheat by removing it all together or drilling too many holes


2. 10% glycol, 90% water mix

good idea alhtough i would suggest closer to a 15-20% glycol mixture, perhaps you should consider evans collant

3. fabricate ducting so that all the air coming in the "mouth" of the car goes thru the radiator, rather than taking the easier path around it.

this ususally drops temps about 10-15 degrees F. for me it took me from 200f to 180-185 all the time. this is a very very cheap and easy mod as well as being one of the most useful. just get some scrap metal and cut it up and fit it in to place.


4. Underdrive pulleys (decrease cavitation in the water pump at 5K rpm and higher)


5. Aftermarket radiator (aluminum, increased capacity)

this will help quite a bit, most after market ones are about 2X as thick as the stocker.


5. Improve oil cooling (more and/or larger oil coolers)

so very true, oil does just as much cooling as your coolant does! go MOCAL


6. Ceramic-coated downpipe

idk about how much a ceramic coating will do but i can tell you first hand a wrapped dp will cool off the engine bay a lot (espeically one wrapped 8X )


7. Vented hood

personnaly, the jury is still out on this one for me, remember you want more flow thru your radaitor and not just in to your engine bay. metal to air cooling is not very efficient alhtough your vaccum hoses will thank you for it

8. Single turbo conversion

dont we all want this


There is plenty of info in this forum on all these mods.

very true, there are pictorial write ups and some video how to's on all of these subjects! one of the best reason to own a FD


BTW: i dont think your collant temps should not be any where near 230F. while doing those speeds, if you were going 140+ for a while, then perhaps but not at 70mph, unless your still in second gear for 15 mins haha

do you have your a/c on? what is the ambiant temp?

 

Do you have distilled water or tap water in the radiator? My temps never went much past 92C when I had my car, I would pull over and let the car sit if my temps got over 100C.

 

dudes, that's some really helpful stuff. i now know where to start.
let me keep you guys updated : )

btw is it easy to get to the thermostat? i'll put in an order for one today : )

 

guess what guys

went to my garage with the list of stuff suggested by macdaddy and the rest of you guys, (thanks again)

all they did was check all the fluids and take off the plastic tray under the engine.

all of a sudden my car runs at (water temp) 80C and (oil temp) 90C

read >>>> 194F <<<<<

i dont know if removing the tray was the best idea, what with the often heavy rain we get here, but dudes, for the first time ever, i drove all night (6 hours with a couple of stops for snacks) on light boost (and heavy boost here n there) with no high temps at all.

it was so relaxing. dont know if it'll last or if i should put the tray back on but it was my best night of ownership ever.

 

That's just weird. The plastic undertray helps make sure the air coming through the mouth of the car goes thru the radiator rather than around it. Removing it should worsen your cooling problem, not help it. I'm wondering if when they checked the fluids they may have "burped" out an air bubble or something. Well, there's no arguing with success, but personally I'd run the car, put the tray back on and go run the car again in the same conditions and see what the difference is before I'd believe taking the tray off helps.

 

dont touch it till it breaks. or till i switch to the vmount. if i keep the car.

thing is, its 25C cooler than ever before so i'll just leave it like this.

i stll think i have a problem with the cooling system. i lose coolant too quickly. i often have puddles of coolant inder the car, after driving, and i'm not talking about after topping up the tank past the overflow mark

 

Ahh I love these water temp threads... LOL...

 

So you have a coolant leak. It leaked, and ran hot when it was low. Your mechanic filled up the system with coolant, and now it runs cooler ...... just like magic. Since you have a coolant leak, what do you think you should do? Its not a trick question

 

Put your undertray back on. Fix your cooling system. And please, do yourself and other drivers a big favor and don't take it to the track until your car is in proper working order. Coolant is more slippery than oil when leaked on the track -- you don't want to be responsible for someone losing control....

 

thanks guys. i'll be lookin into it over the next few weeks so that it'll be ready to take to track and DRIVE home : )