damn drifters [heating issues]

[krayton]

well im running out of ideas. ive been having some heating issues with the RB in the s14.

my problem is no air flow. i can push the car as hard as it'll take and as long as im moving (getting that air flow) itll stay cool. but of course drifting doesnt allow for high speeds a lot of the time.

my setup consists of 2 12" permas pushing (worse then pulling). i have a 3" FMIC they have to pull through, then they have a condensor and a koyo they have to push though. I've even made a shroud so theyll push as much as they can through the whole setup. its still not doing the job for low speed drifting. ive also tried water wetter, which helps it run cooler, but still cant take hold my temps down under hard conditions.

as of now, im taking measurements to push the top of the radiator back. to put it at an angle and open room for a clutch fan. then id take a FCs shroud (since there stock radiator sits at an angle and i have access to one) and re-install the clutch fan. or may just put the fans as puller if i can open enough room.

anyone else have any ideas? im open for suggestions thanks in advanced

[JonPowell]

Sounds stupid, but take the thermostat out and see what that does...see if NO thermostat allows it to run cooler, then get a thermostat that opens cooler than the stock one.

Other than that, I dont really have any ideas...you did replace the water pump, right?

[Joe]

yes. remove thermostat temporarialy.

not a permanent solution.

[93RPS13]

make a system that sprays water on the radiator

[gprodigy85]

the nismo thermostat opens earlier i believe its like 12 degrees earliers, says its good for road racers... so that might help you out...

[Joe]

only if his thermostat is bad will that help.

the thermostat regulates the flow of coolant when the coolant in the engine reaches a specific temprature. if he is overheating at idle that means the radiator isnt doing its job because it isnt getting enough air to cool the coolant in the radiator. so a broken thermostat is an unlikley cause of this problem but its something that can be easily checked.

[goofynick6]

1) Make sure your headgasket isn't leaking and heating up your coolant

2) Try a lower temp thermostat

3) Get an oil cooler ASAP

4) vented hood if you can afford it

5) drift faster

Nick

[krayton]

lol @ option 5

lower thermostat wont help. since my car has already opened it and the car is warmed up. (brand new thermo and water pump too)

i was under the impression oil coolers wouldnt lower temps, but it would help the life of the engine. (its already in the works though)

i could try a vented hood (could release some of that upward heat), but my main problems are when im not moving (or moving fast to get air flow). as of now, im throwing my stock radiator back in and putting my 2 12"s as pullers. going to see what happens. either of my options im trying are requiring waiting time for parts. so we'll see what this does

[NISMO_RB25]

Is there no room to put even a small puller fan? I have been thinking about going back to pullers or atleast adding one small one. I am still running the SMIC, but I fear the same issues when I upgrade to a FMIC.

Option 6: Take the nose off your car

[BoostFab]

are the fan engage properly and remain operational for a certain period? ?

[goofynick6]

The oil cooler will help a lot, because when oil gets hot, it heats the block, and therefore the coolant, and the cycle never ends until you get going fast or turn off the engine. Keeping oil cool will prevent the vicious heat cycle from starting. I'll be running an oil cooler on mine.

NIck

[krayton]

good to know nick. the oil cooler should be done soon.

but as of now, i was able to throw my stock radiator and put 1 of the 12" permas as a puller. i kept the other as a pusher.

i pretty much was just to lazy to do the cutting right now. going to see how 1 puller helps. so it seems im trading the huge koyo for my stock radiator and more air flow (which seems to be the better end of the stick since i dont have enough airflow to cool the koyo)

also the fans have always been on. well one was on a switch, but now both are constant.

oh, it ended up being a close call. i had to cut a bigger hole on the bottom. if anyone is doing the same thing i am and didnt use mounts that push the engine back, i can take some pics to show clearance. just let me know

[cyris3d]

mine was the exact oppisite... it ran super cool on regular street traffic.. but on the highway it got hot.. i have a stock radiator(dual core) and 2 huge fans that come on DSMs.. they are mounted on the front of the radiator..

[rbsileighty]

Make sure you system is fully bled of air and look into a higher pressure cap. Since it is summer you can also run a lower amount of coolant and run more water since water is a better heat exchanger than coolant. Make sure you are using distilled water for its superior thermo properties and the fact that it is less corrosive on your system. Hopefully this helps you out.

[JonPowell]

Higher pressure cap is going to put alot of stress on the heater core, I recommend staying away from a higher pressure radiator cap unless this is a full race car without heat....

Just my opinion, take it or leave it.

[Imissmyturbo]

How about putting some heat rap on the turbo/DP to direct the heat away from under your hood? Another little trick to increase underhood air flow is a front air dam. They help form a low pressure area under the car which will draw more airflow through the front air inlet. Hood vents would help too. You could also try the good old washers under the hood bolts to give a little bit of a lift on the hood. These things will help even at low speeds.

[mark slide squad]

You should NOT have a shroud on the front, this is not going to help the cooling. A shroud only works when it directs the air when its a puller type set up. You're only blocking airflow, its like cutting off half of your cooling fins. Also might want to consider a larger radiator, and cut out a vent in the bumper for better cooling, or do the vented hood idea that will direct air through the radiator thru the duct out the hood. These should solve your cooling probs.

[goofynick6]

I think, by "shroud", he means a small ring around the fan, not one covering the whole rad. Otherwise, pusher fans just push the air out to the side.

NIck

[krayton]

I think, by "shroud", he means a small ring around the fan, not one covering the whole rad. Otherwise, pusher fans just push the air out to the side.

NIck

on the dot. the pushers tend to bounce that air right off.

as of now though, having a puller seems to be helping. i havent been able to fully push the car in a drift situtation, but it should be coming up soon

[GTR Shop]

Are your fans sealed against the rad with foam (can get it from AC shop.If not then the are just hits rad and then goes under edge instead of through the rad.

[Porschephile]

Is it your oil or coolant that is getting too hot? You should invest in an external oil cooler. You can get a cheap but decent one from Jegs for $150 or cheaper on ebay.

[JonPowell]

When I wired up the last car, I ran a relay with 2 switches coming from it.....

I had the battery going to the relay, then also going to the thermo switch. I also put a manual switch inside the car hooked to switched power from the cigarette lighter.

I ran 2 trigger wires to the one relay, one from the manual switch(which lost power when the key is off so the fans wouldnt keep running on & on & on no matter what) and one from the thermo switch (which had constant power so if the coolant was too hot the fans would keep unning till it cooled down).

Then I ran the wire to the fans, then grounded the fans to the body right up front.

Works great, mostly the fans are self sufficient, but if womething happens and they dont kick....there is still a manual switch.

[emperor_lunchbox]

a friend of mine has a mazda mx-3 with the BPT swap in it and his car was having a similar problem, what we did is we made some fiberglass scoops and put them in holes in the bumper and ducted the air from the scoops on to the face of the radiator, you could do something like that and use a water sprayer on top of the scoops. as long as your moving(slow or fast) the scoops will duct plenty of air across the rad.

[elballoonrat]

run hard pipes to the back of the car and do a trunk mount radiator setup, the metal lines running along the center tunnel will help dissipate heat as well plus you could make a sweet sheet metal scoop for under the car, people will take one look and be sayin "WTF!!!"

[JonPowell]

yeah, that sounds easy.

[Wulfgang]

I think imissmyturbo has the best idea. Lots of people remove the plastic under the front of the engine bay thinking it is just dirt shielding. It's not! That piece of plastic (in addition to the front lip) helps create a low pressure engine bay as imissmyturbo said.

It's a cheap piece of plastic (~$30). Make sure you didn't throw it away after your swap!

You could also switch to the high performance PermaCool 12" fans. But I have to warn you... they are louder than my dual N1 until maybe 3000 rpm. I would stick with the Koyo if you can fit it, though. (cooling rate) = (heat transfer coefficient)*(delta T)*(area). And the Koyo rules on area (as long as it's not choking your fans).

If you still find that your Koyo doesn't work... then ship it to me

[sil820]

which thermostats out there will fit on the rb20det?

[emperor_lunchbox]

i was wondering where to find aftermarket support for the RB20, i havent seen much out there for the RB series. Does anyone have any suggestions?