Heater Bypass Ok For Track Day?

[VisaGTi16v 1]

The main pipes through the bulkhead to the heater in my ZX 16v exploded recently so I have bypassed the heater for now which is not great during the cold etc but anyway.......citroen cant get a new pipe until after a track day at Brands I have entered. The temperature is running normal on the road and it ran fine on a 200 mile round trip at the weekend without ever going over the normal position on the motorway so do you think its ok for the track day? My logic is that it has less coolant but the stuff that is in there is going through the radiator quicker so would cool down a bit quicker than normal which may cancel it out. Im thinking its probably ok, just keep an eye on the level and the gauge

 

Opinions?

 

cheers

[allanallen 528 2 Cars]

my brothers been running his 2.0 mi without a heater for ages now without any problems. It gets quite a bit of hammer and has never overheated. al

[Martin W 0]

I have bypassed the heater on my Mi and dont have any issues with the running temperature on track. Its just damn cold inside the car at this time of year!

[tri_longer 25]

Same with our hillclimb car, the heater matrox has gone altogether and no issues with overheating at all.

[VisaGTi16v 1]

Thanks for the replies, I thought it was probably ok as the matrix doesnt really hold that much extra coolant. Hmm maybe I can save another couple of kilos in the sprint Visa removing its heater etc and just wear even more clothes going to events

[Henry Yorke 269 3 Cars]

The only risk you have is steaming up on a damp trackday.

 

When I do a trackday, I tend to whack the heater blowers on full hot just for additional cooling. It is only paranoia I guess (plus I usually have got the roof off!!)

[WooDooUK 1]

I like to think of the heater as an Auxilary radiator for emergency use

 

But as long as the rest of the cooling system is in good working order you will not have any issues.

[cybernck 403 1 Cars]

the rear engine on the Mi32 didn't want to cool down when we blocked the heater outlets and inlets at first,

but it started cooling down fine once we added a bypass hose. though i think we at the same time added

a header tank too, not exactly sure now .

[VisaGTi16v 1]

Did the track day today and it was fine

 

No steaming up issues other than when standing in the garage, blower on 3 or 4 (out of 4), windows 1" open anyway. My friends in an alfa and a clio were steaming up like mad with working heaters heh. Running temperature wise, again fine, didnt budge off the middle of the gauge which is indicated as being 90C in the ZX (but who knows how accurate as its French!!) and oil also only went over half 15 minutes into a stint, pressure 6 bar all the way, excellent fun despite it being torrential rain although I love that. Lack of bhp was a bit of a pain on the straights, couple of minis I was all over and a Nova in the corners would then pull away sigh. Still, at least I didnt roll like one car did!

Edited November 10, 2008 by VisaGTi16v

[VisaGTi16v 1]

Damp

 

[jengis 0]

Looks like a nicely set-up car (or good driving) really leaning on its outer rear tyre.

 

I bypassed the heater matrix when the popes started corroding and it somehow seems to have cured a slight overheating problem, weired I know! Trouble is my 205 is a road car and needs a heater. Doh.

[VisaGTi16v 1]

Must be the driving lol, cars standard Citroen spec except exhaust, filter, wheels, steering wheel and front brake pads

 

Yes this is my road car too and im sick of being cold and taking about 8 hours to defog the screen heh, think the pipes in at Citroen now, will get it and hopefully fit this weekend!

[engine killer 6]

most 205s have the heater bypassed because we quite DON'T need it in Hong Kong (very short winter 5-15 degree celcius for 1-2 months), and we can survive trackdays. So I guess bypassing the heater shouldn't be a problem in UK.

[cRaig 273 1 Cars]

Quick question on a similar vein.. Have recently bypassed the heatermatrix on my 1.9 205, and I noticed today it got rather hot in standing traffic (temp guage creeping towards max, and lots of steam out of the expansion tank overflow.

Is this likely to be caused by the removal of the heater matrix from the system, or something more serious, such as thermostat etc

 

Thanks

 

Craig

[jackherer 543]

Sounds like your fan isn't working. Does it cool down when you build up speed again?

[cRaig 273 1 Cars]

Hmm. Good point. I didnt notice if the fan was on when I stopped. I shall go get it up to temp and see if the fan cuts in.

 

Thanks

 

Craig

[cRaig 273 1 Cars]

Yup. fan didnt come on. thanks for the heads up. Now got to figure out why the fan isnt working.. joy

[VisaGTi16v 1]

Possibly just the sensor in the radiator, unplug it, it has 3 pins, short out 2 of them and it should go slow speed then try a different combination of 2 and you should get full speed, if that works then its the sensor in the radiator, if it doesnt work, its the fan or wiring to it

 

Finally got my pipe from Citroen, I look forward to it taking less than 15 minutes to demist when its a frosty morning, just have to fit it and deal with the FOUR bleed points on the stupid engine, old 8v in the Visa only had the 1!