Proper Operating Temperature on Redtop?

[mynismo]

The only thing NO one should rely on is the factory needle... it's horribly inaccurate and YES, you can be overheating with the needle still in the middle.

the factory needle DEFINITELY sucks. but as long as the needle never goes above the middle, you're fine.

i had a nismo thermostat on my last 240, never had problems, but thats not the issue... the issue is that it may be running cooler than what it was intended to run at.

another cool thing to use is the techtom cmx-100 for determining water temp. its a little pricey but worth it because it has some extra features and just plugs into the consult connector. i think the project silvia used the same thing... im definitely getting it for the ease of installation and i find the injector duty % useful when upping the boost. ( http://www.specialtyz.com/techtom.htm )

[msaskin]

the factory needle DEFINITELY sucks. but as long as the needle never goes above the middle, you're fine.

That's not true. What nismo_freak and myself have been saying is that real temps can approach 240+ degrees (definitely too hot) and the needle will still be pegged in the middle.

~matt

[MrIllegalX]

I test drove a SR20 S13 the other day, and im taking delivery tonight, and when I testdrove it the autometer temp gauge didnt go above 155, and he was bragging how hes the only SR20 that doesnt heat in arizona...and i he didnt tell me how hes doing it. any ideas how to RAISE the temp. of the engine?

[mynismo]

to raise the temp of the engine, just drive it and have a thermostat hooked up to the fan so the fan only comes on at a certain temperature (and off at a certain temperature). he most likely had a nismo thermostat, koyo aluminum, no fmic, dual flexalites and an aftermarket waterpump. i remember when i had my old one when it first started running, never went about 160 and all i had was a koyo, 14" permacool and nismo thermostat.

when i was having overheating issues, i remember watching the stock gauge to see when it would start to move. it started to move between 220-230, not 240.. (hey, 240.... )

[s13sr20chris]

if it did not go over 155 then something is wrong. 1) that is just too cool(ecm no worky at that temp)2) if you drove it for a while and it still said that, its wrongi dont care how good your cooling sys is, you cant keep an engine at 155 for any length of time. if you were just idling for like 15 min and it was cold out, ok. take it down the road and its a normal day out, no go. he prob has the gauge and sender mismatched or a bad ground for the sender.

[mynismo]

when it was cool this last spring, i consistenly kept the car at 160... and when i mashed the gas, it went up to 168. 175 tops...

it very well could have been 155. i dont know why anyone would want it that cool though because its not operating at peak temp as discussed above

[MrIllegalX]

Ok, well I now own the car and have concluded a few things.

The guages seem to be correct.The clutch fan may be siezed. The thermostat may be stuck open.

Daily driving, in 100 degree weather, engine temp is 125-130. Same situation, with A/C ON, temp. reached 150-160. Night Driving, 125 degree temp.Always takes a long time to heat up, even to get past 100 deg.

100% stock cooling system from the KA engine.Wierd thing is, when I pop the engine after driving, it feels much hotter than 125-150, I'm trying to get ahold of a pyrometer - not sure if that'll work or not.

How can I narrow it down to see what the problem is, or should I just leave it alone? I'd hate to see what the temp reaches in the winter...

[nismostate]

i guess leave it alone and get rid of the clutch fan. get a electric fan that turns on at 180.

[mynismo]

its most likely the thermostat. even with the clutch fan running all the time temps should reach 160-170.