radkins

I went to the track friday, and my engine temps seem to go up to 110C on the PFC after about 4 laps, or 7 min. Ambient temps were around 80F. I am thinking about getting a Mazdaspeed CF hood, but am wondering if this will help much. I have a PWR radiator, plus the mods in my sig. I also only have one oil cooler, which I am also looking into. I really dont want to put on a aftermarket front end. Any Ideas

EDIT:
Since my sig didn't post, here it is

Pineapple Racing Large-Raceport motor
Greddy Power Extreme CB
M2 DP
MP
M2 Intake
M2 Med IC w/ fan
Profec B
Fuel Upgrades (pump, 1600's, rail)
HKS Twin Power
Tuned by Badog

airborne

thats pretty high as i understand it. people have plugged up the holes to either side of the radiator to force all the air through it, that has helped a number of people. since you're movin pretty fast on the track the fans shouldn't be the problem. gotta be either coolant/water mix, water pump, t-stat, or rad.

you shouldn't need a vented hood, though it may help.

r0t0r-rooter

Would this help?
http://www.pineappleracing.com/Prod-EvansNPG.html

ZeroBanger

I think everyone is missing the point..his engine temps should never reach 110. The only reason it would is the following:

1) losing coolant. (he would know if this was the case)
2) Fan problem
a) the fans dont turn out because the relays are damaged
b) one of the fan motors burned out.


when my temps hit 112 on a hot day I found that the fan under my SMIC went bad. It was bad for a long time, I just did not know. you have to take your IC/Battery out and see if it moves.

Good luck.

airborne

i mentioned it shouldn't be the fans because if you're going 100mph (remember he said he was on a track)you don't need fans to help airflow. i went to a race in summit point, WV and the 2nd gen rx7s running there had the cooling fans entirely removed.

the evans coolant may be better stuff but with an upgraded rad you shouldn't have a problem keeping temps under control with the regular green coolant.


make sure the tstat is opening fully and maybe flush/fill coolant with more water in your mix this time? even with out the extra oil cooler the R1 has that shouldn't happen...i think. maybe also check out all the fins on your rad and oil cooler...

ZeroBanger

maybe we should get more details. My fans were both dead at one point due to a fuse. It was about 60 degrees. I drove to work on the highway, my temps went to about 95 or so while I drove. as soon as I stopped they went to 108+ and i shut the car off.

regardless if his fans are working, moving or not, the cars temp will never goto 110, regardless of how hard you push the car.

Kento

Should bring up sealing the sides of the radiator again (to force airflow through the core, instead of escaping around the sides and through all the holes from brackets and mounting, etc.), an often overlooked mod that pays big dividends. I noticed a big drop in temps during aggressive driving after sealing up all the gaps. The biggest rad in the world won't do you any good if you don't make the airflow "want" to go through the core, rather than take the least path of resistance (which is any open space in the rad intake nacelle area).

airborne

That was my first thought and I agree Kento, thats likely the solution here...

matty

honestly...at 110c i would shut the car down. that is way too hot. Get the car fully inspected..something is wrong.

ZeroBanger

Thats funny you mention this, a few months ago I decided to remove the plastic insert that is attached to the undercarrage plastic. It seem to have no use. I noticed my temps getting high on the highway and my fans come on when they didnt need to before. I put that thing back in and back to normal. I guess it forces air through the rad, like you said.

rceron

Interestingly I've run many track events with water temps at 110 C with no ill effects (those days with ambient temps above 85). Of course, this isn't optimal, but I know of many people hitting these numbers on the track. When it gets to 115-118 then I short shift and come off the track.

Two things that I do that might help:
(1) run with the heat on (instructors love this
(2) lower your boost to about stock levels (10-11 lbs)

R

redrotorR1

What do you have the fan temps at? I've got mine set at 85C for setting 1 and 90C for setting 2. It's rare that I see 100+C, especially at speed. The highest I've seen it climb to while on track is 94C ... it did jump up to 102C in the pits, but quickly came down to 90C after opening the hood and spraying down the oil coolers (water sprayer). I also use rceron's trick: turn the heat on. It's not too bad while you're on course.

Kento

Aerodynamic airflow management is hugely important, especially on a car like the FD that has an extremely packed engine compartment. If you were to look at some of the rads on some open-wheel racecars, you'd be surprised at how small they are. That's because the airflow management is excellent.

I'm not an aerodynamics expert by any means, but in examining the FD's cooling components, it's pretty apparent that a lot of the airflow management was carefully thought out. While not anywhere near perfect of course (hence the necessity to seal up the gaps in the intake nacelle, or the plastic end-tanks on the stock rad), the design was well-done within the confines of production and cost-efficiency for a mass-market car.

I noticed some threads/posts on running without the plastic engine "belly pan". While some report no problems on running without it, there's no doubt that their radiator would be far more efficient if the pan remained in place (although I don't know what mods are necessary to fit a FMIC).

CrispyRX7

iTrader: (139)

A list of things to do to bring temps down: For general consumption:
1) Bigger radiator
2) 80/20 or 70/30 (minimum) water to coolant mix
3) Bottle of water wetter
4) Twin, or large single, oil coolers (for track use OE units at a minimum)
5) Synthetic engine oil (no debates please...it lowered my engine temps a few degrees where every degree counts)
6) Run lower boost
7) Turn on heater full blast when on the track
8) If have a PFC set fans to come on at lower temp.
9) Drilled thermostat (summer months track only)
10) ***Perfectly sealed radiator*** Ducting on the sides and to the nose, foam in holes around piping pass throughs, etc etc. Hold a bright light behind/under the undertray, in the engine bay near gaps, and look through the nose of the car. See light? Got a hole...plug it
11) Vented hood
12) Throttle body coolant line bypass
13) larger intakes in nose of the car - NTech Sharkmouth mod for stock nose or aftermarket nose piece.
14) Relocate the battery. It acts like a giant heat sink and once heated up it keeps the radiator hot too.
15) Fix anything that's supposed to be working that's not - both fans, any coolant leaks,etc etc.
16) Reinstall plastic undertray

FWIW 110degC is not a problem and will be something not out of the ordinary if the car is tracked frequently and in warmer temps. I see 110 on occaision and I've done all the above. I do however lift at 110 becasue I have the PFC set to retard timing 6deg at 110 to save the motor. No point pushing harder if the car is down on power, so I lift. Please add to the list...I'd love to see some other suggestions. Going single not withstanding
My 2 cents,
Crispy

airborne

Shark what mod????????????????????

I just looked it up on the n-tech site and they have a pic but is is not very helpful, and there is little description.

"This mod is used to open the center hole in the front of the car up for increased airflow. Comes with all necessary parts to complete the job, including aluminum rods, and stainless steel hardware. Drilling is required."

i'll start a seperate thread so as to not hijack this one

that is if radkins even comes back

rceron

Any one have better pics of the Ntech Sharkmouth modification?

http://www.ntechengineering.com/inde...make=&cat_id=8


Also, is there anything better than duct tape + insulation to close the gaps? My duct tape seems to come off every few weeks.

Ramon

radkins

Thanks for the responces. My fans seem to be forking just fine (at least the one I can see, I will check the other one) and they are set to come on at 87C and never have temps over that while driving around town. My engine if new, and they told me they did a 20/80 mix of coolant. Maybe I need to flush it, there could be some grease from assembly floating around in there. My plastic undertray does have a piece that cracked off under the overflow tank. Also do you think the fact that I have a IC fan running at the same time, and pressurising the engine bay could be hurting the fans performance? I am pretty sure all the other cooling components are in good working order and the radiator is new. BTW how do you seal off the area around the radiator? Does anyone have pics?

ZeroBanger

I wanna say one more thing and then I'll shut up. My fan under my blitz SMIC went bad 2 times. I do have a KOYO radiator which I think was part, because it raised everything higher. Anyway the shroud collapsed under the weight of my SMIC and the fan motor went bad.

It will be worth it to take it apart to check. Good luck.

DamonB

I am on a stock motor, stock turbos and a stock radiator. For track duty I run 90% distilled water and 10% coolant. I also built metal fences that close off the gap in the nose between the inlet and the condensor/radiator. Never have temp issues whatsoever. The fences make a nice difference with the car at speed.

Very similar to what skunks did here (except mine are all metal minus the duct tape ) :

TailHappy

My last track event had me hitting 110 degrees on about an 85 degree day. Like some said, you run hard and boost for long periods of time, you'll see temps that high. That's the limit where I pull the plug on the fun though. Cruise around a couple laps and it drops again.

Just want to second what others have said. Proper ducting makes all the difference in the world at these speeds. However, I found that just a bottle of water wetter brought my temps under 100 that weekend. That's the cheapest and easiest fix, at least until you can address everything else. Also, running the least amount of antifreeze possible while still keeping enough to lube your water pump will result in the best cooling.

rotary-tt

Here's one nobody mentioned. Make sure your oil cooler duct still has the rubber piece rivited to it. Most get brittle and fall off with age. When this happens, the air can just come in the duct and go through this opening instead of the cooler. I rivited some thin roof flashing to mine where the rubber was. Easy and solved the problem:

http://www.adornedmerchandise.com/Ma...Bumper0006.jpg

http://www.adornedmerchandise.com/Ma...Bumper0007.jpg

ZeroBanger

thats what I was talking about in my earlier post. I removed that piece. The only thing, my fans kept my car from over heating. My fans are scheduled to come on at 90C. I noticed when I removed it, even on the highway at cruise my fans came on. But properly working fans will keep the car from overheating. Thats why you can stand still without even moving and the car will not over heat.

CrispyRX7

iTrader: (139)

"sharkmouth" mod. Not specifically the Ntech product - my own creation but the principle is the same. You might also see a bit of the radiator ductwork on the left and right sides of the nose opening.
Regards,
Crispy

CrispyRX7

iTrader: (139)

One more of the bit of ductwork I did to stop air from slipping by the sides of the radiator (Mazdacomp). Ductwork is sealed with foam strips.
Ignore the comment, it's there for another purpose.
Regards,
Crispy
PS If anyone wants I have more pics of the sharkmouth mod - PM me and I'll see if I can dig them up.

Kento

Negatory. Maybe the coolant won't be overheating, but the oil temps will continue to climb. There's no fan or airflow on the oil cooler(s), and the FD's high engine temps will send the oil temps soaring to dangerous levels if you don't get some airflow (i.e., get moving) soon.

I was pondering trying to fabricate something using a small fan from a motorcycle radiator onto the oil cooler for this reason.