Top Tips For This Summer?

[Jap_Muscle]

Hi Guys,

Just thought it be a good idea to run down a few things to make sure our cars are in the best possible running condition they can be in.

Im planning on the following.

• Replacing rubber radiator hoses with silicon hoses
• Flushing out and replacing with new coolant (any suggestions on good products?)
• Straightening fins on intercooler + a good wash.
• Cooling Panel
• Aftermarket Thermostat
• Aftermarket Radiator Cap

I was wondering though do Aftermarket Thermostats and Radiator Caps make a big difference? Is it worth spending the money?

Not to long ago i ended up ceramic coating the whole exhaust side so that was a big plus. However it seems my inlet temps are still a bit high. Sitting around 60degrees after a few spirited runs.

Any recommendations?

[JonnoHR31]

no need for aftermarket thermostats or rad caps. if everything working properly you shouldnt have any troubles. my stockish 31 cooling system doesnt go over 80 degrees even thrashing it on 40 degree days, still has the standard 15+ year old thermostat and cheap rubber hoses

[Jap_Muscle]

My water temps are sitting always sitting close to 80degrees all day long in 25degree weather. And thats without boosting. Which is why im a little worried about the weather heating up. Its still using all the standard hoses, thermostats and radiator caps. I have however upgraded the radiator though.

My application is also slightly a bit more extreme with 60mm external wastegates and big topmount turbocharger. Making close to 500hp just to give people an idea.

[paulr33]

aftermarket radiator cap is a strong no no

all it does is hold in more pressure and more heat

in turn youll probably blow the radiator core before the aftermarket cap (we've seen it before)

so strongly advise NOT to fit aftermarket rediator cap, if you insist, make sure its rated the same as your current stock one, don't fit a higher rated or higher temp rated one

[JonnoHR31]

My water temps are sitting always sitting close to 80degrees all day long in 25degree weather. And thats without boosting.

80 is normal. see how it goes first, if it starts getting up towards 100 on hot days then give everything a flush, new thermostat and coolant and try again.

[Jap_Muscle]

aftermarket radiator cap is a strong no no

all it does is hold in more pressure and more heat

in turn youll probably blow the radiator core before the aftermarket cap (we've seen it before)

so strongly advise NOT to fit aftermarket rediator cap, if you insist, make sure its rated the same as your current stock one, don't fit a higher rated or higher temp rated one

I thought the whole point was to increase pressure? so that the boiling point is higher then what it normaly would be if it was less pressurized?

80 is normal. see how it goes first, if it starts getting up towards 100 on hot days then give everything a flush, new thermostat and coolant and try again.

I guess thats a smart move. Just hate the feeling of worrying if it will be ok when the weather heats up.

edit::

after a quick google.

From www.absoluteradiator.com

It has become popular to install high pressure radiator caps in an attempt to lower cooling system temps. While some makes and models come from the factory with and are designed for high pressure caps, raising your radiator cap's pressure above factory specs increases your cooling system's maximum operating pressure above design parameters. While raising your cooling system's maximum operating pressure does raise your cooling system's boiling point and therefore helps to avoid boil-over, it does not lower your operating temperature prior to boil-over, and simply allows your engine to continue to operate at temperatures higher than it is engineered for. Water boils at 212 degrees, and for each pound you raise the system pressure it raises the boiling point 3 degrees - Example: The 1.1 bar (16 pound) cap will have a boiling point of 260 degrees. Operating your engine at higher than acceptable temperatures can destroy your engine. We wish to point out some considerations that should be taken into account before an individual chooses this approach.

There are several possible reasons that you might be experiencing higher than normal cooling system temperatures:

An engine malfunction or cooling system problem - increasing your cooling system pressure will not correct this problem and will quite possibly add to the problem. We recommend correcting the problem instead of using a higher pressure cap.

Engine or body modifications have altered the performance of the cooling system or air flow through the radiator. Again, we recommend correcting the problem instead of using a higher pressure cap.

Engine modifications have increased the HP of the engine - creating more HP means creating more heat. We recommend increasing the heat dissipation capabilities of your cooling system to match the increase in heat generation. The best way to do this is install an All-Aluminum High Performance radiator, increasing the radiator cap pressure will not help dissipate additional heat.

Your car is being driven in a harsh (high heat) environment or is being driven hard for extended periods of time. Again, the best way to solve this problem is install a High Performance radiator, increasing the radiator cap pressure will not help dissipate heat.

Raising your cars cooling system's operating pressure increases the stress on all the other components of your cooling system. Before increasing your cooling system pressure by replacing your radiator cap with a higher rated radiator cap, check to make sure your entire cooling system is in excellent condition and all of the components are capable of handling these higher pressures. These may components include, but are not limited to:

The radiator (all of the All-Aluminum radiators that we sell are rated to handle these higher pressures)

Radiator hoses

Heater hoses

The heater core

The water pump

Freeze plugs

All gaskets that come in contact with the cooling system

Increasing your cooling system pressure by installing a radiator cap that has a pressure rating higher than factory specs increases stress on the entire system. Although some race cars use high pressure caps, their cooling systems are built to handle these higher pressures (All-Aluminum brazed and welded radiators, steel braided hoses, no heater core, high performance water pump, high performance gaskets, etc). We offer high pressure caps because some cars are designed with high pressure cooling systems. We recommend that you only use a cap with the pressure rating that your car was designed for.

Edited December 28, 2010 by Jap_Muscle

[zebra]

The whole point of a thermostat is to hold the water at the set temperature. Eg 80deg no matter how hard the engine is working

[Jap_Muscle]

The whole point of a thermostat is to hold the water at the set temperature. Eg 80deg no matter how hard the engine is working

Right,

But like most OEM thermostats open (eg 80deg) to late to start cooling. So aftermarket ones open sooner (eg 70deg) to allow better cooling.

Correct me if im wrong.

[paulr33]

if its too hot and too much pressure you want the std cap to blow and give way

you dont want an aftermarket cap holding in more pressure and heat

leave it with the std cap

likewise with thermostat, leave the std one

80deg is ideal water temp

the ecu retards timing and adds in fuel until water temp is 80deg

so if its not 80deg, its basically under correction

[jrm]

Its definitely worth noting that the R34 thermostat opems much later than earlier models (starts opening at 82C - fully open by 95C) - my understanding is this for emissions reasons - but feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

[89CAL]

33 thermostat i thought opened at 76 degrees, mine sits at about 80 or 81 on a normal summers day no matter how hard or soft i drive it.

Ive read somewhere that this is about ideal temperature for your engine. On a winters night it will sometimes sit around 78 degrees. Nissan knows best unless your racing it theres no point putting a nismo thermostat or similar in. As for Radiator hoses etc, put silicon ones in if you want but the standard ones should be fine unless there damaged. Just put some new coolant in, maybe give it a flush and it will be fine. I havent touched my cooling system and I live in north queensland where it regularly hits 30+ degrees (when its not raining) and Ive never had a problem with overheating etc

[some_cs_student]

<cut>

the ecu retards timing and adds in fuel until water temp is 80deg

so if its not 80deg, its basically under correction

EDIT: Question removed, I think I worked it out. Your referring to a stock ECU

[JonnoHR31]

apart from neo all RB thermostats open at 76.5C, but they're in the bottom hose (cool side) and the temp sender is in the top hose (hot side) so the readings you get on your gauge/ecu are going to be higher than 76.5 when it opens. hence why 80-90 is perfectly normal and nothing to stress over.

with a standard cap and normal coolant it wont boil until over 110 afaik, higher pressure cap will raise this but thats too hot already, so a higher pressure cap is a little pointless and can only cause trouble.

[scotty nm35]

My new silicone radiator hoses are weeping, a common problem apparently. Stick with rubber.

[R31Nismoid]

Hi Guys,

Just thought it be a good idea to run down a few things to make sure our cars are in the best possible running condition they can be in.

Im planning on the following.

• Replacing rubber radiator hoses with silicon hoses
• - waste
  Flushing out and replacing with new coolant (any suggestions on good products?) - any old coolant is fine
  
• Straightening fins on intercooler + a good wash. - pointless, bending fins might crack stuff, leave it.
  
• Cooling Panel - huh?
  
• Aftermarket Thermostat - waste
  
• Aftermarket Radiator cap - once again, waste.

I was wondering though do Aftermarket Thermostats and Radiator Caps make a big difference? Is it worth spending the money?

Not to long ago i ended up ceramic coating the whole exhaust side so that was a big plus. However it seems my inlet temps are still a bit high. Sitting around 60degrees after a few spirited runs.

Any recommendations?

• Replacing rubber radiator hoses with silicon hoses- waste
  
• Flushing out and replacing with new coolant (any suggestions on good products?) - any old coolant is fine
  
• Straightening fins on intercooler + a good wash. - pointless, bending fins might crack stuff, leave it.
  
• Cooling Panel - huh?
  
• Aftermarket Thermostat - waste
  
• Aftermarket Radiator cap - once again, waste.

As people have said, it runs @ 80 because that's exactly - how it was designed.

Running a 70 degree thermo will potentially keep the car in cold start, take forever to warm up etc.

Once it IS as 80 - a 70 degree thermo won't make any difference at all.

The radiator does the cooling, not the thermostat.

Increasing the pressure via a higher pressure cap, simply means there is more overall pressure in the system.

If temps are @ 100 degrees you WANT it to blow, as once again that is how its designed as the system will over pressurise and could damage all sorts of areas.

Also the typical ebay piping kits/replacements/silicon fail as they are shit. I've busted I think 3 Samco hoses recently, and on Autobhan88. I will never change from stock (or similar quality/non silicon hosing from places like Enzed/Pirtek etc) again.

If you want tips to keep the car cool in summer - there are two.

1. Flush the radiator and fluid.

2. Don't drive the balls off it on a 40 degree day.

Pretty simple and more effective than most of your suggestions.

[StealthX]

Sorry to Hijack thread, but my car runs at 62 degrees operating temp ever since my aftermarket ECU install about 13 months ago. It takes ages to reach that temp too. I've edited the correction tables so that 62 degrees is now the operating temp (i.e. no fuel or ignition timing corrections).

Does anyone have any idea why my new ECU caused my temps to drops so suddenly? It still rises to about 80-90 deg when it's idling in traffic, and the thermos come on @ 92 deg and off @ 88. I'm assuming because the original tune had heaps of ignition timing taken out due to a small turbo and a restriction (i've since upgraded the turbine housing to a bigger one)?

Any ideas?

p.s. It's been running like this for 30,000kms+ and I still return good fuel economy given the engine and power (11-13L/100km).

[Rekin]

Sorry to Hijack thread, but my car runs at 62 degrees operating temp ever since my aftermarket ECU install about 13 months ago. It takes ages to reach that temp too. I've edited the correction tables so that 62 degrees is now the operating temp (i.e. no fuel or ignition timing corrections).

Does anyone have any idea why my new ECU caused my temps to drops so suddenly? It still rises to about 80-90 deg when it's idling in traffic, and the thermos come on @ 92 deg and off @ 88. I'm assuming because the original tune had heaps of ignition timing taken out due to a small turbo and a restriction (i've since upgraded the turbine housing to a bigger one)?

Any ideas?

p.s. It's been running like this for 30,000kms+ and I still return good fuel economy given the engine and power (11-13L/100km).

I thought water temperatures cant go below the thermostat value as that is when it opens/closes? Check what temperature value is your thermostat.

Else, you could have a stuck thermostat and hence why it takes forever to warm up. My friend had the same issue with his car. He would need to thrash the hell out of it, just so it got up to halfway on the temp gauge. Replaced the thermostat and warms up quickly.

[JonnoHR31]

can run below thermostat temp if theres not enough heat being produced to heat the coolant in the engine enough. its rare but does happen, my car for example has a 76.5C thermostat but doesnt got over 70C in the top hose on cool nights (or even most days for that matter), and no thernostat isnt stuck, works properly

Edited December 29, 2010 by JonnoHR31

[MrStabby]

My new silicone radiator hoses are weeping, a common problem apparently. Stick with rubber.

+1 I've had the same problem, and after two years it failed. I'm going back to Nissan OEM.

[Rekin]

can run below thermostat temp if theres not enough heat being produced to heat the coolant in the engine enough. its rare but does happen, my car for example has a 76.5C thermostat but doesnt got over 70C in the top hose on cool nights (or even most days for that matter), and no thernostat isnt stuck, works properly

My stock thermostat is 75deg and with my 52mm radiator wont go under the thermostat value. If his is stock thermostat and getting 62degrees, thats a big drop from 75deg~?