searched here, google, and read the faq thread but didn't find anything that helped me.

where do most of you guys source your coolant temperature? i have an autometer gauge as well as the ability to see coolant temp thru hondata s300. the autometer gauge probe is in the top coolant hose. the weather has been warming up and i had the car on the highway in 75 degree weather. cruising at 70-75 the autometer gauge got to about 220* and the ecu was showing 208*. not too far off from one another considering, but i was wondering which one i should pay more attention to? i also have the ability to change the cooling fan settings which might help, but i'd rather not have to count on the fan running all the time when the car is on track. right now the fan stays off above 55mph. i'm going to experiment with letting the fan run at highway speeds to see what it does.

i'm sure i'll be fighting temps like everyone else with a turbo car. i have a mishimoto 3 row half rad with their fan shroud setup. any turbo guys out there that care to share the coolant temps on track please chime in also.

will be adding ducting etc that is similar to the other guys turbo setups.

thanks.

-Drew

 

on its way out of the head like you have it now. you should go with a full length radiator if you can.

 

I too run mine in the top coolant inlet near the head on my K series. That is the after radiator temp and what is going in to the engine. The thermostat opens and the fluid moves through the radiator and to the upper inlet.
If you are reading 220 in the after cooled temps going in to the inlet you must be a bit warmer on the lower radiator hose so it's probably running pretty hot. Are you using coolant or water or a mix? What thermostat are you using? How much room do you have up front for a full size radiator?

 

X2 above. can get no better cooling than to have that full size radiator.

 

do i trust the autometer over what the s300 is saying? i forgot to add that the stock temp needle in the cluster stays rock solid at just below halfway between C and H.

thermostat is stock replacement to the best of my knowledge. should i go to something that opens earlier? i've read thru the cooling threads and it seems that there are mixed reviews about eliminating the thermostat. doesn't seem to help much if removed and maybe better off drilling some holes in it.

using a coolant/water mix right now. i had distilled water with water wetter in it when i first fired the motor up but switched because i was worried about corrosion without coolant. thinking i might switch back to water with water wetter for the summer.

no room for full width radiator. that's why i got the 3 row with mishimoto shroud.

thanks for the input. i'll keep reading and re-reading the boosted setup threads on here and get it fgured out. time to heat coat/heat wrap everything and chop up my hood :-)

-drew

 

The first problem is that you need to put that fan on the other side of the radiator. Secondly get one of thesehttp://www.slimfan.com/92_00_Honda_Radiator_Fan_Shroud_p/hondashroud.htm. Thirdly go to Lowe's and get a piece of sheet metal to cover up the space to the right of the radiator to force more air where it needs to go.

 

Since the auto meter is on the inlet hose, and the oem gauge cluster/ecu reading is from the head near the distributor, they will read different temps most of the time. If the ECU has a warning light set with the hondata for a certain temp like 225, you will know if it gets there with a check engine light coming on, I like that feature. But I would lean on the auto meter because if you are having inlet temps of 230-240 and higher you need some better cooling before you hurt the engine.

The fan, is it a pusher or a puller because you have it mounted in a push style, like mentioned above.

The radiator is not mounted closer to the opening as it should since the fan is there, you are loosing some cooling there too. Is that because of the inter cooler when its installed?

 

the fan runs just like stock. it sucks the aire from the front of the radiator thru the shroud and into the engine bay. i don't think i need to flip it or get another fan. when it's on the temps stay down...at idle. that's why i mentioned messing with the ecu settings to have it stay on at highway speeds. not ideal to have that current draw, but i want to see if the fan keeps it cooler at highway speed. i plan on making a block off for the other side of the radiator. was waiting til i get an oil cooler setup on it so i could incorporate the oil cooler on the side of the block off plate. radiator pretty much in the stock location. maybe a little to the passenger side to keep it away from the manifold as much as possible.

there are definitely of lot of things to be done to help the temps. just have to find the time to do it all. the car was only up and running 6 months ago and shortly after it was tuned my daughter was born, so i've spent virtually no time on it.

here's a pic with new radiator and intercooler.

 

Ehhh, you have it backwards. Water flows the other direction on b,d,k and h series engines than what you describe.


To the op, I'd recommend putting the fan on the backside and shrouding the the radiator very tightly on the front to guide air through. Air is like water and electricity, it takes the path of least resistance. At highway speeds the air would rather go around the radiator than through it. You have to force it.

 

how is a half size going to work when there is a full size intercooler make all air hot before rad?

move wastegates, do you really need a 700hp intercooler? duct work, heat wrap everything

 

I put my temp sensor right on the back of the block. After removing the OEM oil cooler there was a nipple threaded into the block that I needed to plug, so I removed it and sourced the proper adapter to thread the sensor in its place.

 

you talking about oil temp or coolant temp?

drove the car to work this morning. ecu is set to run the fan above 175* and below 90mph. cruising to work at 70mph, ambient temp about 60*, the autometer gauge got to the highest of 210* and the s300 highest reading was 199*

i'm gonna see what it does on the way home with higher ambient temp.

thanks.

 

if it is a 94-95 Gsr when removing the oil heater/cooler you need to unscrew on of the things and plug it. I think that is was he is talking about.

 

That pusher fan [if that is what it is] in the OP's photo, is not going to help much at speed, it may increase temps actually because the fan is off when at speed which will reduce the flow of air when you need it most. Get a puller fan setup.

That small rad I hope is large enough for the job. Is this your track car setup?

 

I think he'll eventually melt a few bumpers. Temps get sooo hot in the boosted set ups.
Mr. Legoman can tell ya about those. if its not the hood burning up its a bumper.
It takes alot of work to keep the temps down and everything routed just right to make it all work without cooking your car.

 

Fan is set to run at speed. Temp above 175 and speed below 90. The 220* temps came when the fan shut down at 50mph. S300 let's u override fan settings. Also set to limp mode if it goes above 220*.

Now I get what atmosfear was saying. I still have the stock cooler on there.

Hoping to get the car out for hpde, TT, etc. just autox for now til bugs are worked out. Car went from DD/autox to drag only and now back to autox/track day toy from 2002-now.

 

You have your fan turn on at speed? hummmm. why not just leave it on all the time?

atmosfear was talking oil cooler, correct?

 

Strange you think that but you are incorrect. I notice when I work on cars and bleed coolant systems, I feel the cold lower hose become hot when the t stat opens... that would tell me the direction it flows. The upper hose feeds the engine.

 

You should also seriously consider investing in an oil cooler.....a real one not the OEM poop.

 

Even with a fancy oil cooler that lowers oil pressure it will have trouble, that charge air cooler is blocking and redirecting all the air from the little tiny rad, it needs some real creative ducting and cooler layout work to be able to do laps properly.

I am confused about the fan though, one pic its in front of the radiator and one is behind...

 

This is just an example of how important cooler placement and inlets are, and one way to cool both the rad and the CAC. This is my daily beater SRT4, the CAC takes air from the bumper, and the nostrils near the hood are ducted and aimed right at the radiator. When the Dodge special vehicle team was designing this car they did not have the upper bumper inlets near the hood, so it looked more like a DC2 integra front bumper all solid. The car had cooling issues so they made these inlets to help and it was enough for them to be satisfied and release the car to the public. This shows just how any little differences help, and if you lay it out all right you can have a reliable and cooler running set up.

I daily drive this car, have done over 2 dozen track days with it in 2005 and 2006 some in 100 deg ambient temps, and it now has over 88K miles. Stock 2 row plastic full size radiator from factory with dual fans, stock 13psi boost and the short oem Charge air cooler. Never have any cooling trouble and never gets past 220 water.

 

In engine testing you always want to measure coolant OUT. Unless you want to figure out the efficiency of the cooling; Since you have s300 and the autometer you can do this... and may be a good way to calculate how your changes effect the cooling system in different ambient temps... rather than "it got this hot today".

 

that is what i'm messing with today. changed the settings to see if leaving the fan on at highway speeds makes a difference. can't "truly" test it since on the highway i'm not running it thru the ringer.

sorry the first pic is old. the fan is in the stock location with the mishimoto shroud

 

If things are properly wrapped or have adequate space you shouldn't melt anything. That little half radiator with a fan in the way is not going to keep your car cool at all on the track. If you are seeing 210 cruising on the freeway you wont make it a lap before you are way beyond melting everything.

What turbo are you using? What hp goals? Why did you choose that manifold along with the intercooler?

 

Correct, the right way to test the radiator cooling efficiency is Measure the lower hose/outlet with an external gauge, and the upper hose/inlet as he currently has.. The ECU is pulling temp from the head near the distributor so that's what the engine actually is and not quite the outlet temp. That's why I mentioned if the inlet temps are 220-240 the oultet is cooking and so is the engine. Wait so if the s300 saw 208 (which is fine) and the upper hose inlet was 220, it sounds like the water is heating up as it goes through the radiator? Maybe I am wrong. This is where a gauge in the lower hose will help.