13B cooling
 

I just finished my first Auto-X ever (I had no DNF's and I hit no cones!!!), but i noticed that if i DIDN"T drive in 2nd gear for the whole run my engine temp would go way up and not come down unless it sat for like 30 minutes.

It was suggested that i get an electric fan and is there anything else i can do to keep my temps down?

good job on the auto cross. i killed cones like it was my day job my first time. so let me get this straight.... you're saying if you dont keep it in second your (i take it) water temp would go up? so if you upshift to third or downshift to first your car would run hotter? when i race on the autocross i never shift out of 2nd gear, but thats just me. after every run i head back to the grid and leave the car running and pop the hood to let it cool down, because my temps are in the 100*c+ (stock twins, fmic blocking aftermarket radiator). the rotaries, as im sure you are finding, run hot even on the street especially in the summer. you want to let the car cool down after runs and spirited drives on the street just to prevent future wear and damage. its a good idea to just let it sit after every run and pop the hood. if its getting dangerously hot, turn the heat way up and crank it, that will get some of the heat out of the engine bay. always drive and race with coolant on hand. water wetter is also a good solution to bringing your temps down significantly belileve me, i found that out the hard way. scary stuff. nothing seems wrong or out of the ordinary, as long as im not mistaken. good luck and have fun.

i forgot to mention it is an S4 NA. The over heating mainly occured if i would down shift into 1st alot, the course wasn't long enough for 3rd gear. I would open the hood and face it into the wind. this seemed to help.

i'll check out electric fans in the buy/sell pages

It could be your stock clutch fan is no good. When they are working correctly they are very good fans for the car.

Underdrive pulleys to slow down the water pump are very important for a rotary. The water pump will over-rev when running at sustained hi rpms, and then it will cavitate, and then you will overheat.

Good electric fan is a good idea; it takes a load off the fan belt, and it lets you cool down after your run.

water wetter helps. you can get that at murrys or autozone

Aye, that too. With a fluidyne radiator, water wetter, underdrive pulley, and a STOCK thermostat(the best choice!), my T2 didn't go past 195 water temp this whole weekend at Summit Point no matter how bad I beat on it. Oil temps did get a little up there, I had to back off for a lap halfway through as oil was rising into the 210 area.

Get a locking radiator cap too.

Run A little more water than antifreeze, also. Not almost all water. More like 60 water 40 antifreeze.

This may seem dumb, but check to see if your coolant system is full and all the air is out of it.

When I bought my FC the coolant temp sensor was pegged about 10 minutes into the trip home. I stopped and checked the system and it was half full.

Sometimes it's a simple mistake that's easy to overlook.

Welcome to the world of 7s where we check our coolant as often as the oil.