Guest tejas74260 Posted June 5, 2004 Share Posted June 5, 2004 i was telling one of my neighbors about my buildup plan for my 260z, and when i told him about the advantages of the f54 block being stronger because of the siamesed cylinder bores, he said that cooling would be a big issue. what i thought is that surely an aluminum radiator upgrade, electric fans, and possibly an electric water pump would solve that problem wouldnt it? i live in texas so it does tend to get rather toasty in the summer, so any of you guys from texas have any advice? thanks. Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bastaad525 Posted June 6, 2004 Share Posted June 6, 2004 Considering how many people run stock turbo blocks (the siamesed F54) with high levels of boost (lots of heat), often times running the stock Z or ZX radiator and stock belt driven fan with no problems... I'd think that block in an N/A 260 would be fine. I've heard that rumor a lot about the cooling 'problems' of the F54 but have yet to run into anyone that's actually had those problems themselves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nismo280zEd Posted June 7, 2004 Share Posted June 7, 2004 i run a f54 block and yes it does tend to heat up, i have an aluminium ron davis radiator dull cooling fans (highest output i coudl find) I run a japanese racing came and triple webers as well and mild port polishing on the N47 head. on the highway no prob, but street driving if you push it i'll warm up on ya, i'm gonna try and find an electric water pump next I think that might fix the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Looking for apt in Alb Ny Posted June 8, 2004 Share Posted June 8, 2004 get one of these tempguns.com lol seriously help to see where you are heating up Juan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bastaad525 Posted June 8, 2004 Share Posted June 8, 2004 i run a f54 block and yes it does tend to heat up, i have an aluminium ron davis radiator dull cooling fans (highest output i coudl find) I run a japanese racing came and triple webers as well and mild port polishing on the N47 head. on the highway no prob, but street driving if you push it i'll warm up on ya, i'm gonna try and find an electric water pump next I think that might fix the problem. how warm is "warm up on ya"? I just find it odd that an N/A motor is having problems with that block when even the turbo motors (much more heat being generated) seem to do okay with them with stock cooling components. I was also running an F54 block with flat top pistons, an N42 head (10.3:1 compression), cam, SU carbs, headers, etc. and used to drive that motor like a NUT, with only the stock water pump, fan and radiator, and NEVER had problems with cooling on that setup. Even during our VERY hot summer last year (in SoCal, temps were 100+ degrees for several day stretches). Sure you'll see the temp jump 10-20 degrees when you get on it but I'd think that's normal? Oddly enough, my turbo motor does run a TAD warm (190ish) but ONLY during high speed (80mph +) freeway cruising. I think this has more to do with the air flow around the radiator than anything to do with the F54 block. I think, in the end, unless you're going for some really high HP numbers, it shouldn't really matter which block you go with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nismo280zEd Posted June 10, 2004 Share Posted June 10, 2004 I guess that is a fair enough question to ask. By warm up... i mean you have your tempurature gauge... F is in the middle going down the highway with a 160' degree thermostat to keep it a lil cooler (when tested acutally fully open at 170 the needle on the gauge is just barely before the F just drivn' around town in the 40-45mph range it's on the F now when i start to run it... say going down the high way at 90.. no problem then coming to a stop in a traffic jam withing 15 min it'll sneek past the F with both my cooling fans on and will peak about 3/4 between the F and the red mark on the temp gauge. which is usually when i flip the heater on inside the car and sweat my nutz off, but hey it keeps my car cool. That is what i mean by "warm up" And yes this is only a problem in the summer months here in Houston Texas where the road temp is probably close to 130 in the summer maybe hotter. I know they did a test on the news... the inside of the car only took 15 min to heat up to 140 F in sun. -Ed I should note.. i do not think the problem is the block either, but the fact that the pump does not displace enough water sitting idle or atleast that is my theory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted June 11, 2004 Share Posted June 11, 2004 Coolant temperature shouldn't be a problem and oil temperature is never an issue on street cars. The F54 block does have a temperature "problem" when it comes to the cylinder bores. Because of the siamesed cylinders, as the block heats up the bores go ever so slightly out of round. Its not a big deal and only affects ring seal. It can be mostly eliminated during the boring and honing process if the block is heated to operating temperature as metal is cut. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted June 12, 2004 Share Posted June 12, 2004 agreed. Hot borning and honing is the way to go for an absolutely round bore and ultimate ring seal. The heating should not be a problem in a street car. The cooling system is misunderstood by many people, and the part that usually get overlooked is the installation of a proper bypass line. once that hotspot forms, it gets damn hard to get it back down to temperature as steam pockets make wonderful insulation. Lots of times the problem isn't in the cooling water flow, but the pressure the pump is operating at within the block. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeJTR Posted June 14, 2004 Share Posted June 14, 2004 JTR has recently developed an alumimum radiator kit for the 1970-1978 Z cars with the 6-cylinder engines. The aluminum radiator kit uses the same radiator for cooling V8 engines. Check out the following link: http://www.jagsthatrun.com/Pages/Parts_DATZ_Radiator_Kit.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Hubbo Posted June 14, 2004 Share Posted June 14, 2004 Something that I've noticed on some modded Zeds and other modded cars is that people install HUGE intercoolers that seem to cover the whole front of the radiator. I haven't had much experience with turbo systems, but won't the engine get a little hot? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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