Help me choose!!!
 

Ok, no one is responding to my other thread so I have to start another...

I need a new Radiator ASAP. I did a coolant re-route myself and I still overheat. Currently I have a 2" dual core Rad, and it doesnt cut it obviously because I am still overheating. So I need bigger and better things. I know about the Godspeed but I dont know its specs and I think its on back order for 5 weeks... I need it in 2 or 3 MAX.

So I need help. I heard Ron Davis makes custom Rads but I also heard he charges about $900 to do that. So anyone who has any info for me would be GREATLY APPR.

PS main use for car is on the Track. Three 20 min sessions with a 5 min break in between.

Ron Davis makes fantastic stuff. They are the best craftsman in the business.

Your radiator does not sound insufficient. Perhaps something else is amiss?

Corky,

Here is my list...

I have a 2" dual core rad (I think my rad may have even been designed by you)
Water cooled turbo
coolant re-route that goes cold side
180* high flow tstat


No leaks anywhere. Compression is perfect across the board. Running 50/50 distilled and Dexcool (waterwetter didnt work out well for me)
I am up for ANY suggestions

not to be off topic but your car is at 18psi and you are only getting 195 hp? im new to turbos and miatas but isn't that a little low? i mean doesn't the begi-s alone on a stock car make 140 hp at like 5 psi? do yu have a stock exhaust or something. enlighten me please.

Im at 195 whp @14psi. I am currently boosting at 18psi (havent been dynoed yet). I have a stock exhaust system, yes, but no CAT. Once I get rid of my overheating problems I am purchasing a 3" dp and a 3" straight pipe. I already installed my larger IC. this should put me @ around 260-275whp. Also when I had it dynoed, I was running on a bad clutch(assuming that it probably was slipping) so id say I was probably getting 210whp then

Why the hell are you using Dexcool?

Also, unless NH gets below zero often, you can safely go to a 60/40 mix, that'll help you a little bit.

Could we get back on topic?
I really need a new Radiator OR the fix to my cooling problems as soon as possible.


-Add- ducting through the rad has been done, and the rear of the hood has been lifted 1.5" to promote under hood dynamics and flow.

What do you propose I use instead?

Wont be in NH during the winter, only for race season. Car is stored in a heated garage at 72* year round

Stank... How do your nordlock washers work? I just put them on mine last week I had to order them specially because they were for 10mm bolts. do they keep the turbo from loosening and falling off? I havent had any expierence with them at the track yet.

Yeah, you should try a higher % of water in the mix...also, there are some nice aluminum radiators on ebay for pretty reasonable prices (not as good as the Godspeed deal), but not bad.

like....? The Koyo 54mm is only like an 1/8 larger then mine. Im not spending that much for an 1/8 in... Any other recomendations? I was looking at a JVTR triple core Rad and the Springfield Dyno Spec rad... And M2 was telling me about stock car Rads (sounds like a project worth taking on). But mainly Im looking to increase the capacity of the cooling system and increase the time that the coolant spends in the rad to decrease temperatures.

Just want to throw this out there, when was your water pump replaced?

hasnt been car only has 56k miles on it

PS what do you guys think of this....
http://forum.specmiata.com/cgi-bin/u...pic/31/97.html

don't...;)

revert to the stock hood design (which creates positive pressure under the hood, which is probably the cause of this problem in the first place)

you need to either put the undertray back on, or extend it and put a lip on the bottom
you need to seal off the mouth of the car, so air is forced through the radiator (smooth shaping makes air go over the rad more evenly)
run 100% water with some of that "gunk" water pump lube (its a track car, be a man)

oh, and I would buy bell's scooper before I bought a $700 radiator...which is dumb.

this is somewhat embarrasing.....I think some of tyour heating issues could be directly related to your exhaust of choice....you are wasting a hell of a lot of energy trying to push the exhaust out, not push the pistons down.


the only thing this promotes is a cooler engine bay, air will be more likely to flow back into the crack than to extractor from. Effectively, this will increase the pressure behind the radiator. And we all know that high pressure travels to low pressure....so if you equalize the pressure on both sides of the radiator, guess where isn't going to flow through. You need to shroud your radiator. Make it impossible for any airflow entering the mouth to flow around your IC and rad. Seal the top area around the hood latch. Use good fans. Use a almost pure water mixture.

I'm making one now...can you elaborate?
I'm going to extend towards the rear of the car a bit,
but what do u mean by lip on the bottom?
Pic would be great too!



BTW 195whp @ 14psi?? +1 on exhaust prob being a big contributor to the heat problems... I had stock exhaust on for a couple short drives (LOW boost) and it was a killer, heat and perf wise

Why anyone would track a turbo miata without an oilcooler amazes me.

see above

see what? that you still want a bigger radiator as a band-aid solution?

http://i32.tinypic.com/2urxtec.jpg
http://i25.tinypic.com/2mpebyf.jpg
http://i31.tinypic.com/8wiafb.jpg
http://i31.tinypic.com/73gtg6.jpg
http://i30.tinypic.com/1z58dvr.jpg

I find it really hard to believe that all these spec miata people need radiators. They really need ducting. I've done track days at 103* in my 1.6 with an "automatic" radiator, driving just as hard as any spec miata driver, in a congo line of sti's and zees, and the needle never budged.

Most new spec miata guys buy the koyos for the bling factor.

They throw a bunch of money at the car building it not knowing weither or not the car actually needs the part.




Seriously man, throw on the biggest oil cooler you can fit and you won't have over heating problems anymore. Alot cheaper too.

Hustler thanks man great pics...
Now gotta see how I can make somethign similiar...
Great shot of ducting too


So, anyone think this might be a combination of tuning (ie timing), and the exhaust restriction??? I'd vote for clearing that up, THEN seeing how she acts...

A buddy of mine did this on his TT. It was overheating like made with a little 8-row, so he got a 36 row and in winning at the game of life now.

I bought a 24-row and got jic fittings from JD's industrial rubber supply in OKC for size 10 awesomeness, for like $40.

Your radiator is not the problem, a dual core is pretty damn good.
Lower the hood, that is where some of your problems are coming from.
Make sure you do have a sealed mouth.
Run 100% distilled water as mentioned before.
Save your money, you don't need a bigger radiator, you need to bring up your efficiency.
Turn boost back down to 14psi until you sort your heating problems, it is just not worth it.
Post pics of your coolant re-route, there may be something wrong with it.

I'd like to see video of people actually pouring distilled water into a car.


...or post a link to that episode of seinfeld where Kramer pours his blood in the car.

waaaaaaait a sec... i'm running like 70distilled/30coolant
I thought this was a GOOD thing...am I missing something?
Mind you I'm in Miami, so no danger of freezing in the winter....

unless its going to freeze outside, I wouldn't run any "anti-freeze." I would only add something to lube the water pump, but that's not really required either. If its a track car, over 80* outside, and you still have anti-freeze in your car, I'd like to sell you some ocean front property previously owned by George Straight.

ooooo, ok...ur comment worried me bout wanting to see a video of someone pouring distilled water in..

distilled water is the best option because it has no mineral content...however I've never seen or heard of anyone actually doing it. I might do it to my new motor since I luvs it.

ah ok, I'd think in TX you'd be all over it...
Here I find it easily at the local grocery store..

oh, I will be doing it with my new motor. and add coolant in winter and then fluch it in the spring.

somehow what i just said reminded me of beerfest, strange!!!

At what "winter temps" do you need to add coolant??
In other words, here we dont see anything under 40's, and thats pretty rare...

So what mix you guys think would be safe??
It's not a track car, its a daily, mess around, maybe some times at the track car...

100% distilled water. Coolant is wrong, the correct term is anti-freeze, the water is the coolant.

gotcha, i might try this with something to keep the WP healty, once the godspeed gets here

A small amount of antifreeze or watter wetter or dishwasher detergent helps break the surface tension. Which does help cooling. Antifreeze and watter wetter also as mentioned above keep the system lubricated and conditioned.

you need anti-freeze at 32* and below. If freezing temps were not an issue in my location, I would never have anti-freeze in my car. Just 1-bottle of water wetter

I actually have a couple gallons of distilled water, and a bottle of water wetter in my garage waiting for the new rad. I was considering adding a little anti-f just to help the mix some...

But I think I'll try the 100% distilled, and Water wetter and see how it goes...dumb question but any advantage to throwing in 2bottles of water wetter? The WW bottle says 1 bottle for entire system, so i wasnt gonna, but thought i'd throw it out there

No need, save it for your flush when it's time.

gotcha, figured

Yes, always, always use distilled water. One of the biggest reasons people ended up with dexcool sludge (which was a big factor in the lawsuit) was because they used tap water instead of distilled water. Regular coolant doesn't sludge as bad as dexcool but tap water still contributes a LOT to to sludge in any cooling system. When I flush a system I actually take out the thermostat and hook a shop vac up to the lower radiator hose to suck all the tap water and crap out of the block before I add coolant.

And for the guy who says coolant is water... You're wrong. The water is the cooling agent. The proper term for a mix of water and antifreeze (or water wetter, dish soap, eggs, blood, beer, whatever) is coolant.

161 whp at a measly 7psi here. i agree with brain.....you've got other issues that need to be cleared up before throwing more cooling parts at it.

So OP u gonna try to address the exhaust issue, and whatever else is contributing to the heating issue?? Or still gonna plan on trying the diff rad first?
Seems like u could try everything suggested for less than the cost of the new rad.? Not to mention from what it sounds like your rad is already a larger/more efficient rad VS oem...
If I already had my GS (or any other larger than oem) rad in the car and was still overheating, I'd personally leave diff/better/bigger radiator as the very last thign I'd try...if at all...
If ur not considering the other things mentioned by these guys, can I ask why? Just curious

I have an oil cooler on order. Im dropping the hood tomorrow, and I will turn down the boost. BUT I dont think its the boost because when I run it on the highway at 6500 rpm with no accelleration it overheats. So to me that has nothing to do with the boost...? Need a new DP and exhaust anyways so that will be on order soon. If I go to work on the car tomor then I will snap some shots

Quote:
Originally Posted by Braineack
this is somewhat embarrasing.....I think some of tyour heating issues could be directly related to your exhaust of choice....you are wasting a hell of a lot of energy trying to push the exhaust out, not push the pistons down.

I am looking for a new exhaust system currently. I am looking at the Begi divorced downpipe but I dont want a 2.5" I want a 3" and im not looking to spend $400 on an exhaust if the car wont cool down.


the only thing this promotes is a cooler engine bay, air will be more likely to flow back into the crack than to extractor from. Effectively, this will increase the pressure behind the radiator. And we all know that high pressure travels to low pressure....so if you equalize the pressure on both sides of the radiator, guess where isn't going to flow through. You need to shroud your radiator. Make it impossible for any airflow entering the mouth to flow around your IC and rad. Seal the top area around the hood latch. Use good fans. Use a almost pure water mixture.

I have run tests and having the hood lifted in the rear has increased the time it takes to overheat. Radiator has cheap DIY shrouding with stock fans. The mouth of the car is completely air tight right through the rad. On the pure water mix... Doesnt coolant increase the BP of water?

see above
__________________

The Bold was my remarks on the "see above". Brain, I am looking for a solution to my heating problems. I dont want to spend a fortune, I have a 2" rad that is dual core. all ducting is done through the front, I am going to try lowering the hood and see if that makes a difference. But the main point that I am looking for is the Solution to my overheating problems. As I said, Oil cooler is on the way, Coolant re-route is finished, 50/50 mixture of DISTILLED (yes I decided to use it this time instead of tap water) water and Dexcool, I used antifreeze because it also increases the Boiling Point of the water.

I would LOVE more suggestions and as I showed above. I AM listening to Everyones advice! And I thank all of you for it!

If a huge radiator will keep me from overheating then I am all for it, but really I just want to be able to enjoy my car at the track and not have to worry about looking at the temp gauge to see if I have started to overheat.

The only thing I can tell u is that I dont see anyway ur gonna find an exhaust+dp for $400, nevermind less...

You were ready to drop $600 on a rad, cough up a lil extra and you'll open up alot of power and prob eliminate a great deal of your overheating...

*CORRECTION*
Rad has a core size of 1.75" and my exhaust and DP are 2.25" OD

Begi divorced is $389 and I dont have a problem buying some 3" pipe and running it back (straight pipe).