Trackday Running Temps

[Livelee 0]

My last track day was in March. The day was warm but not hot. My mi was running standard oil / water cooling with a standard 309 rad. That day the oil was as hot as 125 degree Celsius and the water was getting close to 90% on the standard gauge. These temps would come up within 2 laps of Bedford (8 miles).

 

Since then I have fitted a mocal 13 row oil cooler, 205 TD rad, removed the standard grille and replaced it with mesh, removed the number plate and drilled out the front bumper. I've also removed the heater pipework so the water system is "shorter" Oh and i've cut alot of the plastic out holding the rad fan and custom mounted it.

 

I was back at Bedford this weekend; the day was colder than March but not a great deal. Anyway. Even after 20 mins of flat out driving the water temp was sat at 70 degree Celsius and the oil was at 82 degree Celsius. If I came into the pits and stuck the fan on the water would go up to 90ish and the oil maybe 87. I could have driven all day if I wanted to.

 

A marked improvement Id say.

[James_R 3]

Sounds like you're all sorted now, is that with a tin sump or a alloy job??

 

I was running a tin sump and 13 row mocal std rad on mine and at the ring was very stable, but on slower more twisty thing (less flat out speed) I found I could still get the oil temp to start creeping up especially anglesey.

[C_W 3 1 Cars]

It sounds to me like there was as slight problem to start with, particularly if the water temp was going up like that; I find mine with standard water and oil radiators that the water temp stays central (as it is on the road), it's only when the oil temp starts to get really hot that it seems to drag the water temp up slightly, but still only a little hotter than normal running temp.

[James_R 3]

C_W do you have an air/oil cooler?? think it's the water/oil ones that cause the coolant temp to climb so much as the water cna no longer dissapate the extra heat being put in to the coolant system from the oil

[Livelee 0]

I had a tin sump when it was getting hot. I've not got an alloy sump from an XU10.

 

In March I though the HG had gone (because of the temps) but it looked fine when we took it apart. It's possible there was a problem somewhere I guess.

[Anthony 1,003]

It's the oil/water heat exchanger that causes this issue in my experience, especially on slower tracks where there's not as much airflow over the radiator.

 

Certainly at Anglesey I had the oil and water temperature pretty much on the end of the gauges in my 309 GTi (mostly 2nd and 3rd gear), and yesterday at Cadwell the water temperature was getting dragged upto nearly 110 degrees in my 306 (mostly 3rd and 4th gear). Both cars have what look like nearly new radiators on them, water/oil heat exchangers and run stable temps on the road.

[C_W 3 1 Cars]

C_W do you have an air/oil cooler?? think it's the water/oil ones that cause the coolant temp to climb so much as the water cna no longer dissapate the extra heat being put in to the coolant system from the oil

 

Running the air oil cooler. As people have said the water cooler seems to be worse for high oil temps bringing water temps up but I think it does this with the air oil cooler too as the engine is working with very high oil temps the water will bit cooling this too somewhere along the lines.

[pug_ham 245 3 Cars]

I've got an oil/ water exhanger on mine & althoguh at FCS all was Ok with water & oil mid rage & matching, on trackdays later through the year they were both at the upper band of the guages, oil slightly higher if anything. The water temp was questioned as high by the instructor last time I was @ Cadwell but all was fine, the fans were on after a session.

 

On the road after a good blast within a few miles of driving gently the oil temp soon drops off from mid scale to the first mark.

 

Graham.