Hi guys,

Yesterday I spent a rather crappy day at the track (road course) that seemed to be plagued with small issues from the start. No matter what I tried to plan for, it seemed Murphy was one step ahead of me.

I could really use some expert advice on two key issues I can't seem to get worked out in my head.

For starters, let me start with the basics on the car....

1995 Acura Integra GSR
-Fully built motor by ENDYN (9.3:1 CR)
-Full Race Stage 2 GT AC Kit (GT3071R)
-Edelbrock Victor X Intake Manifold
-Hondata Heatshield Intake Manifold Gasket
-Precision 68mm Throttle Body
-Hondata s300 Engine Management w/Boost Control
-RC Engineering 750cc injectors
-ENDYN Bosch 10208 fuel pump
-AEM High Flow Fuel Rail
-AEM High Flow Fuel Filter
-Vortech Fuel Pressure Riser
-Unorthodox Adjustable Cam Gears (Intake and Exhaust)
-3” SRI w/K&N Filter (RE-0910)
-Full-Race 3” Down Pipe
-3” Test Pipe
-Thermal R&D Turbo 3” Stainless exhaust
-Moroso Aluminum Oil pan
-Z10 Engineering Catch Can System
-Koyo Half Core Aluminum Radiator
-Spal Slim Fan (x2 Mounted pusher)

Those are the key ingredients. The car has quite a bit more.

For reference, the last dyno run (two weeks ago) was 423whp and 312ft lbs @ 18lbs of boost.

Also note that despite the issues below, the car never ran anything less than spectacular on the track. Neither of these issues seemed to affect performance AT ALL.

Although this was not the first time for me to take this car to the track, it WAS the first time with the Full Race turbo kit. Previously the car was supercharged (JRSC) and never had any issues.

The car was running the entire time at the track with Hondata boost control turned off... wastegate only... 10psi.

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Issue #1
Z10 Eng Catch Can. After less than 3 laps on the track my Z10 catch can is LITERALLY overflowing with oil seeping out of the canister filter. Per the Z10 kit, I am using both the crankcase adapters on the back of the block with no drain back. I have a breather filter on the valve cover and no additional lines running to the can. The catch can itself is mounted on the firewall all the way at the top (almost touching the bottom of the hood when closed).

I know I could add a drain back line, but I really felt like I did not want to do that. I seriously would have thought I could have made it at least a single 20 minute track session and been able to empty the can after each session.

A. Does this sound normal to others with the same setup?
B. If not, could this be a sign of a larger issue?
C. Could a high oil level cause this? With my Moroso pan I have been using 5.5-6qts of Mobil1.
D. Is my catch can inadequate?
E. Thoughts on a solution? Do I just add the drain back and call it a day?

Issue #2
Overheating. I finally threw in the towel after a few quick laps in the afternoon netted me a CEL and a occasional light mist of coolant coming through my vented hood. After swinging into the pits to check with sManager, it came back code 11 (overheating). The stock temp gauge was less than halfway between 1/4 and 1/2. Certainly nothing that would have concerned me without the CEL. sManager was showing the ECT at 224F. After a failed attempt to clear the code (kept coming back on) I called it quits to be on the safe side. After shutting the car down it was apparent that the coolant was boiling, which obviously led to the mist of coolant I was experiencing which was seeping through the overflow tank. There are NO leaks. The coolant looks absolutely perfect and green and the car was running great at the time. No smoke. No other obvious indicators.

I was running the car with a modified stock hood that has been vented above the FR exhaust manifold. I also added the "JDM/Ricey" rear hood prop with 1" spacers and removed the pass headlight for an extra measure. The car has 2-12" fans mounted pusher on the front of the AC condenser and a Koyo half core. Normal ECT's for the car hover around 200F +/- off the track. I expected they would be slightly higher at the track.

A. First off, 224F coolant seems low to trip a CEL. Does anyone know what the threshold for the CEL is? The Honda service manual does not say.
B. Also, 224F seems low for coolant to boil at all. Prestone claims a boiling point of 267F. Why would it be boiling?
C. Could the act of boiling create the CEL even if 224F is low?
D. Could running a stock Honda radiator cap on a Koyo radiator have anything to do with this?
E. Am I simply asking too much of this cooling system? Ideas to fix the issue?

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I know this is a very long post, but I am really stumped on these two issues. They actually kept me up last night.

A sincere thanks for any suggestions you may have. I am sure I am not the only person to experience issues similar to this.

If you have any questions about my setup, please ask. A link to pics of my car are in my sig.

Thanks!

Allan

 

get rid of the breather ports on the back of the block and just add them to the valve cover. the overflowing is normal if you have the breather ports there. been there done that. i don't know who thought up that idea but it sucks ***.

224f is way overheating........normal temps should not exceed 205-210f MAX.

check your coolant strength -35 should be good enough. make sure your rad is getting proper air flow and make sure you have GOOD cooling fans that flow 1500cfm or more. the bigger the fan the better.

 

You have a picture of your setup, mainly what the rad and fan look like?

 

I can say from personal experience, once you block the radiators airflow with an intercooler a good fan setup works wonders for ects...

 

You should really consider a return for the catch can.I return mine to the pan at the turbo drain port (tee).Drag cars at that power level can fill the can after a dozen passes or less.As far as cooling the boiling point of typical 50/50 coolant under pressure is above 240*.With that said I agree your running to hot.It matters where the temp is being taken.The ecu sensor is different than the dash sensor.The radiator temp is probably a lot different too.If the rad cap is not holding pressure it will steam off coolant without actually boiling.I have seen stock car guys add an other rubber washer to the cap (not recommended).This raises the pressure and limits the flow of coolant to the overflow tank.Raising the hood at the windshield end maybe screwing up the flow through the engine bay.At speed this is a high pressure zone.Air is trying to enter the back of the hood , not exit.This may or may not be an issue.Some boxing between the grill/bumper cover and the intercooler/radiator will help.You need to direct the air through and not let any go around the coolers.

 

I might not be an "expert", but I still have a couple things to say..
First, the above post is correct about the hood thing. Opening that area to the engine bay slightly decreases the pressure difference across the radiator/intercooler/etc, reducing airflow across them. The hood vent above the manifold is a good idea, it is in a low pressure area, so it draws air up and out. As far as removing the headlight, seems to me like all that would do is make air bypass the radiator, sabotaging your setup like the rear vent.

Why did you not want to add a drain back line? Do you think the oil in the can is more contaminated than the oil still in the motor? It shouldn't be..depending. If it drains back just as quickly as it gets there, it will be maintained at a temp high enough to boil out any water from the blow by..

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 11psiGSR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Issue #1
Z10 Eng Catch Can. After less than 3 laps on the track my Z10 catch can is LITERALLY overflowing with oil seeping out of the canister filter. Per the Z10 kit, I am using both the crankcase adapters on the back of the block with no drain back. I have a breather filter on the valve cover and no additional lines running to the can. The catch can itself is mounted on the firewall all the way at the top (almost touching the bottom of the hood when closed).

I know I could add a drain back line, but I really felt like I did not want to do that. I seriously would have thought I could have made it at least a single 20 minute track session and been able to empty the can after each session.

A. Does this sound normal to others with the same setup?
B. If not, could this be a sign of a larger issue?
C. Could a high oil level cause this? With my Moroso pan I have been using 5.5-6qts of Mobil1.
D. Is my catch can inadequate?
E. Thoughts on a solution? Do I just add the drain back and call it a day?
</TD></TR></TABLE>

Drain it back, my 1000cc can would fill up after 8 1/4 pass's at my 333whp level. i believe REAL drag cars can fill up there cans and puke oil in as little as ONE PASS, which is what lead Tony1 to develope his unit (per text on his website) So yes it is somewhat normal, some say with the head vented it reduces the oil problem, i personally run 1 -10 drain back on the bottom of the can that Tee's back into one of the lines for a drain back and my oil is always clean. So in short go with option E.


Now for the overheating, that is a battle many of us face, start with a good high pressure cap, keep an eye on your rad hoses to make sure they are not ballooning. make sure your fan is rated at a high enough CFM, if the fan cost less than $75 new its JUNK! Good luck on the heat battle, you can experiment with ducting/shrowding etc..

 

for the z10 kit i would add the drainback feature or change them out to 2 ports on the valve cover

as for the overheating, i would:
get the manifold and turbo/dp coated
make a shroud for the fan on the manifold, take a look at T1's site to see the kit he sells to get ideas
check all hoses
try using a water wetter

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by EARLdaSQUIRREL &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">for the z10 kit i would add the drainback feature or change them out to 2 ports on the valve cover

as for the overheating, i would:
get the manifold and turbo/dp coated
make a shroud for the fan on the manifold, take a look at T1's site to see the kit he sells to get ideas
check all hoses
try using a water wetter</TD></TR></TABLE>

good call on the ceramic coating, i had it done on my last setup, my current setup does not have it and its a major difference on radiant heat, I'm gonna use a turbo blanket this time and just wrap the downpipe next time i take it off...