ECT increase after FMIC

[superskaterxes]

so i recently added a custom FMIC and i have noticed that when driving around town, my ECT's are noticeably higher. i know they should go up a little after adding an FMIC because your blocking airflow to the radiator but im seeing like 214+ in a little bit of traffic. i never saw above 195 EVER before i added the FMIC. highway cruising is the normal 187 but as soon as i get off it sky rockets to 212+. im getting worried about my head warping and other damage from running ECT's like this. also isent it true timing starts to get pulled at like 220? what can i do to resolve this? it seems i would need to buy a shit ton of WW or purpleice in order to really see a change. any other suggestions? as u can see below my IC is a decent distance from my radiator so i dunno how it blocks so much flow. im also at 20k miles so is it time for a coolant flush?

[Sacrilicious]

you ran under 195 in traffic before? daaang...i remembered being over 200 whenever i slowed down even with my stock TMIC...=/

[dcs191919]

Man I wouldnt worry about it. 215-220 isnt going to hurt your motor. Sure you are going to heat soak sitting in traffic not moving. I think you would have to get much higher to warp your head. Probably around 250-260. I was driving my dads c6 vette the other day and the temps on it are pretty high as well. 210-220 while sitting in traffic. 190 while moving.. In the summer it can get even hotter

[superskaterxes]

o btw, wtf is up with this temp gauge? it sits dead center at 165 and at 214, what gives?

[Sacrilicious]

i think it's got a REALLY big range for what's considered "operational time". this makes sense, since the engines usually needs to get really freakin hot for actually damage to happen.

[LBV]

Funny how you never hear of stuff like this from others ...

May have to change your thermostat so it opens sooner and allows coolant to the rad up front.

[superskaterxes]

anyway to control the fans manually? or get them to turn on sooner?

[mdogg]

Originally Posted by LBV Funny how you never hear of stuff like this from others ... May have to change your thermostat so it opens sooner and allows coolant to the rad up front.

Nothing is wrong, it's just that the FMIC is now blocking airflow to the radiator. That combined with the fact that the FMIC will heatsoak to some degree without air moving through the fins makes it easy to see how this happens. I'd be willing to bet that this happens for everyone with a FMIC. The "issue" is that nobody has posted this, but it's the same story for all of us in the same boat.

Originally Posted by superskaterxes anyway to control the fans manually? or get them to turn on sooner?

working on it

[Crossbow]

Replacing your thermostat is a trick that only delays how long it takes the vehicle to heat up. It's still going to heat up. It's an old racer trick primarily designed for short runs (like drag strip stuff). It doesn't increase your cooling system effectiveness. It can actually cause some issues long term!

The cheapest way to increase your cooling capacity is...

1) Change your water coolant mix. (Only do this if out of the snow belt). Standard mix is 50/50. Moving to a 60/40 or 70/30 mix (water/coolant), will aid in cooling. You'll want to pick up some sort of water wetter solution (or equivilant) and also plan on changing your coolant much sooner then normal, as the 50/50 mix is not only for anti freeze, but to maintain the water. Merely adding water wetter to your car has almost no effect, because water wetter is designed for a primarily water based coolant (like 90/10 or 100%) and is ineffective on 50/50 mixes. (You basically half any gain it would have given you off the bat).

2) Ducting, ducting, ducting. There is a lot of air bypassing the radiator. Got an FMIC? Get rid of the ducting on the upper cowl of the hood, and close or redirect air going through that hole back down through the radiator. Make use of the air going through your car, ducting is one of the lost track secrets that everyone on forums seems to ignore. It's cheap, and incredibly effective.

3) Keep the Ac on, and shut it off when accelerating. Ac on means the radiator fans cycle constantly. If you have your ECT being watched on a dashawk, watch the effect when you hit the AC on. Drops way down.


Moderate

1) Purchase a fan controller, or some device to enable your fans to engage at a preset temperature (other then 212F)


Expensive.

1) Replace your radiator with a triple plate aluminum core model. (Mazdamotorsport might have one available). You're looking at 600+ bucks + install, + new coolant mix. You'll also need to make sure it fits with your FMIC!

2) Look into better or more effective radiator fans.

3) Choose an intercooler sized for your application. It looks damn cool to have a big ass intercooler in the front of your car, but it's not always the best solution. Bigger intercoolers block more of the radiator, and don't necessarily allow for lower charge temps, or higher horsepower ceilings. It makes no sense to have a 500 hp intercooler, when your hp target is 350. Intercooler selection is EXTREMELY important.

I'm hoping one of these days to get enough money to test all the intercoolers independently, as each company is testing using "their" methods, and there is no uniform/regulated tests being done, to provide results that can be compared directly.

4) Move further north.

4)

[Lymerock]

Originally Posted by superskaterxes o btw, wtf is up with this temp gauge? it sits dead center at 165 and at 214, what gives?

tis why a water gauge is a necessary addition

by running the heat on high, you can drop the coolant temp by a good 10-15 degrees almost instantly
when i have the heat off and am fully warmed up, my coolant temp is 193 as taken right after it passes through the oil filter housing, the temp taken from stock sensor is taken after the radiator im gonna guess because its normally 10 or so degrees off my gauge reading.