JC Racing Aluminum Radiator and SARD thermostat Install
My previous post mentioned addressing the car's stock cooling system. I feel this is the way to go mod-wise because not only will it prepare the car for the track while NA, these mods will also be great supporting parts in my upcoming supercharger install in a couple of months.
The stock radiator does a good job if you drive it spiritedly on the street and winding back roads, but you can see its shortcomings on the track. To show you an example, I took some shots of my water temp/oil temp gauge to show you how the stock radiator behaves.
Normally, I would be at 90degC for water and 100-105degC on oil temp during my daily drives.
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k8...pse01a40bd.jpg
On spirited drives, water temp usually is at 100degC and oil temps reach 115degC. On the track, water temp goes to around 110degC, and oil temps spike to as much as 135degC. Pretty alarming tracking the car with no oil cooler. I also noticed an AT safeguard that makes the car shift softer when water temps reach 100degC, not a good thing when going for that time attack lap on the track.
Deciding to upgrade the radiator is a no brainer, and I went with the JC Racing aluminum radiator.
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k8...pse8eec89f.jpg
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k8...ps7da73b9f.jpg
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k8...ps7b7cb99d.jpg
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k8...ps9ee325a0.jpg
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k8...ps5df8a560.jpg
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k8...ps4a60bed0.jpg
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k8...ps3a379704.jpg
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k8...ps0ad1b057.jpg
Construction seems nice, fins are good quality, the welds are clean, and the core is three times thicker than the stock one.
Stock and JC Racing side by side:
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k8...ps21098f2b.jpg
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k8...ps199ae28d.jpg
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k8...ps2237192d.jpg
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k8...ps79b8b9d4.jpg
Install is a PITA! You almost have to remove everything on the front end to get to the radiator.
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k8...pseb6be763.jpg
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k8...ps409cc548.jpg
I also took out the stock thermostat and replaced it with the SARD 68degC cooling thermostat.
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k8...ps0679a4c4.jpg
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k8...ps4f8e0d92.jpg
The stock thermostat is set at 88degC shown here:
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k8...pse1b2f131.jpg
The SARD is set at a lower 68degC here:
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k8...ps89d3c670.jpg
The JC Racing radiator is a drop in, with all the stock parts bolting on to it with no problem.
Mounted on the car:
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k8...psa97ab1cc.jpg
I used Toyota coolant mixed with distilled water:
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k8...ps2ca21734.jpg
Testing the car after the install, I noticed that the water temp and oil temp has gone down significantly. Water temps on the street usually sits around 80degC, and the oil temp has gone down too, usually around 85degC.
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k8...psfe2cf59c.jpg
Temps rise when the car is still, like in traffic, but when the fans kick in, temps go back down quick.
I tried driving it hard and the most I can get is this:
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k8...psb89d72d8.jpg
Definitely the radiator and thermostat has given the engine more room to operate temperature-wise. I have to see how this fares at the track. Oil cooler is on order, hopefully arriving ahead or with the supercharger.
I also changed the AT fluid after logging 15,000kms. Dealer was skeptical at me for wanting to change the fluid which was scheduled at 40,000kms. I'm glad I did, because the junk that came out of the transmission was scary. The service reps were surprised how 15,000kms looked like that. Glad I did not tell them I was tracking the car.
I used Toyota WS AT Fluid:
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k8...ps9aad1670.jpg
