Track Heat Management

[NoHaveMSG]

I have been having an issue this season with heat management and am looking for suggestions.

Car is NA
E85
Header is ceramic coated inside and out. FP/OP is not.
Driveway Labs hood duct
AC Delete
Added Koyorad about a month ago

Last year I was seeing 220-225F max on coolant temps which I was okay with. This year went E85. Since last year I moved my oil cooler to give it cleaner flow but it is center of my radiator right in the opening. My oil temps have been good, about 210-220F, much lower then before. My water temps where hitting 240F at around 85F ambient. Went to a Koyorad, still seeing 230F and sometimes still approaching 240F water temps during longer sessions 80-85F ambient. I am thinking more hood ducting and moving my oil cooler over to behind one of the fog lights. I haven't really heard too many complaints about water temps NA so I am kind of surprised by this. Again, other suggestions welcome.

[Ultramaroon]

Do you lose coolant?

[DarkSunrise]

Something seems a bit odd about your coolant temps. I’ve logged pretty frequently at the track (93 octane) and the canyons (e85). I think my setups have generally been similar to yours (NA, various catted/uncatted headers, center mount 13 row setrab oil cooler). No hood ducting though.

In the worst conditions, I’ll typically see peaks of 245-247F oil and 210-212F coolant), and I think that’s typically what most frs/brz drivers see (higher oil vs coolant temps). Your temps are the reverse for some reason. What kind of oil cooler do you have? If it’s a massive 19+ row that’s dumping heat into your radiator (especially with the hood ducting), maybe that’s the reason?

[NoHaveMSG]

Originally Posted by Ultramaroon

Do you lose coolant?

Nope.


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[NoHaveMSG]

Originally Posted by DarkSunrise

Something seems a bit odd about your coolant temps. I’ve logged pretty frequently at the track (93 octane) and the canyons (e85). I think my setups have generally been similar to yours (NA, various catted/uncatted headers, center mount 13 row setrab oil cooler). No hood ducting though.

In the worst conditions, I’ll typically see peaks of 245-247F oil and 210-212F coolant), and I think that’s typically what most frs/brz drivers see. Your temps are the reverse for some reason. What kind of oil cooler do you have? If it’s a massive 19+ row that’s dumping heat into your radiator (especially with the hood ducting), maybe that’s the reason?

I used to see oil temps like yours when my oil cooler was mounted to the lower tray. The “chin” of the bumper was masking it so I remounted it to the crash beam in the middle of the opening. It is a Setrab 613 core.


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[DarkSunrise]

Originally Posted by NoHaveMSG

I used to see oil temps like yours when my oil cooler was mounted to the lower tray. The “chin” of the bumper was masking it so I remounted it to the crash beam in the middle of the opening. It is a Setrab 613 core.


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Did you have similar coolant temps as mine (210-212F) when your oil cooler was mounted to the lower tray? Or have your coolant temps always been high?

[Ultramaroon]

Could be the air gap between the rads. Try an experiment. Make a shroud behind the oil cooler to keep the air from cutting up between them. Just some aluminum tape should do the trick.


I should get mine out to that CSCC HPDE in August to really beat the piss out of my setup but I'm already pretty sure the results will be similar to my uphill wide open jaunts. Water below 200F. Oil below 190F.

[NoHaveMSG]

Originally Posted by DarkSunrise

Did you have similar coolant temps as mine (210-212F) when your oil cooler was mounted to the lower tray? Or have your coolant temps always been high?

It would be 210-220 peaking in the mid 220’s before.

[NoHaveMSG]

Originally Posted by Ultramaroon

Could be the air gap between the rads. Try an experiment. Make a shroud behind the oil cooler to keep the air from cutting up between them. Just some aluminum tape should do the trick.


I should get mine out to that CSCC HPDE in August to really beat the piss out of my setup but I'm already pretty sure the results will be similar to my uphill wide open jaunts. Water below 200F. Oil below 190F.

This is a good point. I’ll try blocking off the gaps. It isn’t helping I lost some of both my inner fender liners. I am probably venting a good amount of flow out those gaps too.

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by NoHaveMSG

This is a good point. I’ll try blocking off the gaps. It isn’t helping I lost some of both my inner fender liners. I am probably venting a good amount of flow out those gaps too.

Oh, yeah! I have all the factory shroud in place.

[ZDan]

If you had oil temps <250F and coolant temps <220F before repositioning the oil cooler, I'd just move the oil cooler back where it was and done! Synthetic oil is gonna be fine at WAY higher temps...

[DarkSunrise]

Originally Posted by NoHaveMSG

It would be 210-220 peaking in the mid 220’s before.

Yeah that's pretty high for that setup (at least from my experience), by about 10-15*.

If your cooling system is in good shape and fully bled, and shrouding is in place, then ducting sounds like a good idea and replacing those damaged inner fender liners like you mentioned.

[NoHaveMSG]

Originally Posted by ZDan

If you had oil temps <250F and coolant temps <220F before repositioning the oil cooler, I'd just move the oil cooler back where it was and done! Synthetic oil is gonna be fine at WAY higher temps...

I am rather enjoying the much more stable oil pressures. I will probably shift the oil cooler behind a fog light opening or offset it farther and duct it separately.

[ZDan]

Originally Posted by NoHaveMSG

I am rather enjoying the much more stable oil pressures. I will probably shift the oil cooler behind a fog light opening or offset it farther and duct it separately.

Are pressures more stable, or just higher in general due to lower temp? My understanding (I haven't logged pressure so I'm going on info from others here) is that the pressure becomes unstable at high rpm due to cavitation rather than from temperature...