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Hi guys,

Hoping for some thoughts on this.

i've replaced my factory radiator with a new 40mm alloy radiator and now my coolant temps don't want to go above 75 C.

i've been reading up about replacing the clutch fan with electric but i'm happy with the clutch fan for simplicity (street driven car)

bearing in mind its winter here in NZ, should i just not worry about this and suck up the slight increase in petrol consumption or are there any alternatives?

i was thinking perhaps an R34 thermostat instead of the r33 thermostat?

i'm not opposed to electric fans either.

cheers

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Just try a new R33 thermostat first. Many years ago I did on my RB20 exactly what you just did. Only replaced the rad because the end tank cracked - not because (I thought) I had inadequate cooling. The result was that the coolant ran cold and I used a heap of fuel. Put a new thermostat in and the problem went away.

What was actually happening is that the old thermostat was actually no good - stuck open, and the radiator was also not real good. Must have been part blocked or something. It wasn't doing enough cooling and the two of them together were actually keeping my coolant temperature in about the right range. Replaced the rad and threw that precarious balance out!

  • Like 1

I bought a new 82c thermostat and it's clearly 65ish in the real world. I wouldn't be surprised if the Nismo thermostat is actually the 'new' standard thermostat that gets sold.

At least that's whats happened to me... from buying new thermostats trying to get one that's better/higher/more suitable? than the 65c one that seems to always end up in my car.

.. different radiators, too.

What's the idea of a lower temp thermostat? It doesn't increase cooling capacity at all and at best would buy you an extra lap maybe 2 if you're having heat problems

For the nismo whores.

Sort the real issue out, don't band aid it.

Nismo thermostat runs a higher temp but your right, a normal thermo should still operate properly.

why would it run a higher temp? lol

R34 thermostat opens at 82 degrees so your water temp will be close to 90

R33 thermostat opens at 77 degrees so your water temp will be close to 85 or so

I prefer to run a lower temp one simply because when you're on the track there's a greater range before water boils. I'm using a 62.5 thermostat lol... but that's no ideal for a street car because your oil temp is too low (even if you have an oil thermostat as the oil temp is relative to the water temp due to the heat exchanger).

Also R32/33/34 thermostats are the same size... I made the mistake of fitting a R34 GT-t thermostat in my R33 and kept on scratching my head on why the water was always close to 90 degrees.

  • Like 2

what water temp are you trusting here?

stock sensor and gauge?

In my case, stock sensor and gauge, aftermarket sensor and gauge, and the ECU temp sensor and gauge (via the ECU program)

I got an oil temp sensor and gauge specifically to see what my oil temp was, because I was certain it either wasn't 65C, or if it wasn't... to find out what it was.

I put a Nismo Thermostat in my R33, it now sits bang on 68 degrees no matter what, until I start putting my boot in. Then the koyorad keeps it below 95c even after 4+ hot laps on the track...

Only issue is it is TOO cold... my tuner had to adjust the powerfc water temp adjustment data, because he was needing to spend time on the dyno trying to warm it up so it would be running in the correct parts of the maps for power.

i've replaced the thermostat with some success, the temp now comes up past 75 and makes it to 78 but stays at 78, this is good i guess, its winter and pretty cold here at the moment so i won't worry about the enrichment, haven't given it a death thrash yet....lost a bit of skin on my knuckles changing it....

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