high water temps at track (limp mode)
 

Hi - ran the car at thunderhill this weekend and water temps went to 260-280 after about 3 laps. Weather was about 100*. Car ended up in limp mode for a bit. Oil temps stayed steady at 220 despite water temps going way high

The car is supercharged with the A2A conversion. I'm trying to figure out how to get the water temperatures under control

Cooling system is:

* 2x setrab oil coolers - a 34 row stacked behind intercooler plus a 25 row in front of passenger front wheel, which sits behind 2 air ducts

* CSF triple pass radiator

* Trackspec hood vents (two side ones but not the big center one)

* Front grill has been opened up for additional airflow (trimmed all the way to edges, its got a big mouth now)

Front fenders are louvered and the wheel wells are trimmed to allow air in the front wheel wells to escape but not sure if that really counts as a cooling mod

I thought it might have been an air bubble so i tried burping the radiator by idling it with the cap off and it didn't make a difference. Also the temps weren't erratic like you might see with a bubble

My thought is to

1) add the large center trackspec hood vent to evacuate more air

2) convert to from coolant mix to DI water + water wetter for the additional cooling capacity (plus i'm not supposed to be running coolant at the track anyway)

3) Add some air guides to behind the front grill to keep airflow directed into the cooling stack

Not sure if this will be sufficient though. Plus i'm wondering if the intercooler is blocking off too much airflow to the rad, in which case I don't really have a fix for that, unless I draw air from under the front splitter and direct it upwards into the face of the rad. Or maybe adding more ducting to the front end and piping it to where its needed?

I've also researched a fan upgrade and aftermarket thermostats but I'm sketched out by what I'm reading so far

any suggestions guys?

The only things I can think of is the center hood vent and making some air guides in front of the intercooler. You could be bleeding air around it. I would make them to fit the intercooler and to the bumper. The more air you can force through the better.

Thinking now. You have a 3 row radiator, 34 row oil cooler, and a intercooler all stacked inline. Moving the 34 row oil cooler to the other side in front of the tire could help.

Maybe the thermostat is going out. Might be a 'stat test procedure in the FSM.

I would suspect a possible faulty thermostat and I would completely flush your cooling system and replace your thermostat I would try this first. Redline Water Wetter will help slightly at the track but running more water works better. Running water can cause corrosion/rust over time in your cooling system though. If you can create more air flow it will help out tremendously even if that means installing different vented aftermarket fenders and a larger in the front fascia area aftermarket front bumper cover. Also you could install intake ducts in your front bumper cover I have the EVO R Carbon Fiber intake ducts in my front bumper cover and they helped slightly.

Killer thanks guys - will try all these suggestions out and report back

I don't see high water temps in my setup hardly ever anymore. I have the full set of Trackspec hood vents and opened up my front bumper. I have fender vents and will be installing them so adding additional airflow. I did not add a triple bypass radiator as my mechanic/tuner strongly recommended against it. He said adding a thicker radiator requires more air to cool it and having it behind the FMIC would cause more issues than it would resolve. Water wetter does help as well.