racerx260 Posted July 11, 2005 Share Posted July 11, 2005 I Have A 83 Turbo Motor And Comp. In An 74 260.running Good But After Climbing Long Upgrades[lots Of Those In N.c. Mountains]my Temp Will Climb To ~210-220;its Guess Work W/ Stock Guages.i Have New Water Pump , Good 3 Core Radiator, 50/50 Antifreeze. It Doesn;t Overheat But Sure Is Stressfull To Look At. I Also Have A Electric Fan Set At 185 .it Stays At 185 When Driving Nice And May Climb Up To 195 -200 When On Boost Alot.has Anyone Tried That Waterweter Or Any Other Antifreeze Additives To Improve Cooling?also Open To Other Ideas.wow Me With Your Wisdom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supra510 Posted July 11, 2005 Share Posted July 11, 2005 If you are on boost alot, especially goint up long grades your temps are bound to go up because you are putting alot of heat into the system. My car cruises at about 180, but temps climb when I go up mountain passes to around 200 or so and most of that is low boost or no boost. On the way back down temps drop almost instantly. Things you could do 1) Water Wetter and use more water than coolant. Water is a better cooling medium than coolant, just boils sooner, freezes earlier, and no corrosion protection. Watter Wetter has an additive that prevents corrosion. 2)Either install a hood vent (if you don't have one) and/or raise the rear of your hood to let hot air out. 3) Get a better radiator. You can get aluminum radiators at Summit for under 200 that will work fine. 4) Oil cooler wouldn't hurt if you don't have one, but I would concentrate on the cooling system first. 210-220 isn't that big a deal, though I agree it's a little stressful to look at. At track days where ambient temps are 105+ I am able to keep coolant temps under 215 with my set up and that's with full boost many times over a 20 minute period. I did about everything I could to keep things cool in my car. You can check out the link. Anthony http://www.cardomain.com/ride/674663 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bastaad525 Posted July 11, 2005 Share Posted July 11, 2005 I've had the same problem since doing the turbo swap. First thing you really want to do is get yourself a good thermometer (I got a meat thermometre from Vons) and check the accuracy of your stock temp gauge. I found that mine was reading about 15 degrees high... that right there gave me some peace of mind I'm running the stock turbo ZX radiator, and have a new water pump and thermostat. I have used a product very much like the Water Wetter, Neo brand Keep Cool. I found it didn't really make much of a difference, though I've heard/read that using it will allow you to greatly increase the water to coolant ratio w/o risk of increased corrosion, so that alone SHOULD help keep things cooler. I have a '77 vented 280z hood... doesn't seem to help much, and when it starts running hotter I pop the hood which doesn't seem to help either. Agreed I would LOVE to get one of those aluminum radiators but the cost also an oil cooler... After much stressing and asking around on these boards about it I was pretty much assured that 200-ish isn't that bad. I thought it was getting up to 220's but as I said, I found when I checked the stock temp gauge vs. the meat thermometer, it was always about 15* high. But yeah on hot days climbing a hill the gauge gets up to like 3/4 of the way to the redline, kinda distressing but it's been that way for a long time and I've yet to encounter any problems from it. So you most likely have nothing to worry about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted July 11, 2005 Share Posted July 11, 2005 I wonder where Bastaad heard about that meat thermometer trick? LOL I second his advice, verify ANY temperature reading before jumping out to buy stuff to "fix" a problem that may not exist! On earlier cars, espeially, the temp gauges tend to read high... Water temperature is really irrelevant---it's oil temperature that is critical! 180 is the minimum oil temperature you should have, and 215-220 is usually optimal. Oil temperature is normally 30 degrees higher than water temperature, so you can do the math and see if you aren't running synthetic that coking or a water cooled center secetion may be a good idea for longevity of the turbo at least, and will help with the elevated temperatures... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slownrusty Posted July 11, 2005 Share Posted July 11, 2005 I have used Redline WaterWetter and I would definately say it makes a huge difference probably by around 10-15F, I run it straight with water but be prepared to flush it once Winter rolls into town. The aluminum rad is the way to go! Yasin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racerx260 Posted July 11, 2005 Author Share Posted July 11, 2005 Thanks For The Info Guys!i'll Try And Verify My Guage,and Go With Some Water Wetter And An Increase In The Water Ratio.next Save Up For An Upgrade On The Radiator.i'll Switch To Moble One Oil Soon. I'm Currently Running 20w50 Pensoil With Some Sea Foam To Clean Things Up Some In This Motor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2126 Posted July 11, 2005 Share Posted July 11, 2005 Just some food for thought! Older engines will form a very thin layer of corrosion (visually not to apparent, except for the rust color) on the coolant passages. This thin corrosion layer does not look like anything that needs attention, but it does act as an insulation barrier and reduces the heat transfer from engine to coolant fluid. A good coolant system flush is always a good idea to remove this thin layer of corrosion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datsunan Posted July 12, 2005 Share Posted July 12, 2005 Just wanted to say I have the motorsport alum rad and it is great, if you want to spend the money. My temp is rock solid, never gets out of range or even close. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bastaad525 Posted July 12, 2005 Share Posted July 12, 2005 if you run the water wetter with straight water yeah absolutely you'll see a noticeable difference in temps running cooler, and the water wetter should prevent corrosion. I've been thinking of doing this myself... as far as I can tell there's no real reason not to, like cost or anything, since the water wetter isn't expensive and you only have to use a little of it every few months (like 1/4 of the bottle). Since I live in SoCal there's no worry about winter cold freezing anything Anyone else run just straight water with water wetter? No problems with corrosion or anything?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racerx260 Posted July 19, 2005 Author Share Posted July 19, 2005 I Put The Redline Water Weter In And It Made An Improvement. It Hold S The Temp At 180 Like A Rock In Normal Driving And Climbs To 200 Instead Of 220 On Long Upgrades And Extended Runs On Full Boost.this Will Have To Do For Now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted July 19, 2005 Share Posted July 19, 2005 Yep! My experience with Water Wetter is similar to above. I noticed a 15 degree drop in temperatures under extreme conditions. What the biggest difference was "pukeover"... What I had when I took my 260 cross country was a littly bit of "pukeover" every time I shut the car off after a long highway run. In 6,000 miles I used baout half a gallon of 50/50 radiator mix to top the radiator from this little "puking"... On my next cross-country trip, I used waterwetter, and since it was 18K miles more or less, I provisioned 2 gallons of backup fluid to put in the "support trailer"... Well, having absolutely NO pukeover really impressed me. With the Water Wetter in the radiator coolant, I had NO puking after shutdown. Matter of fact, I did not hear the normal "plunking" noise from steam bubbles forming in the head after a long highway run and a shutdown. That amazed me, and SOLD me on the Water Wetter! When I rearended that truck in Houston, my fan went into the radiator, and it sat there idling for about 5 minutes before the thing started puking coolant from boil over! Amazing, simply amazing. Since that experience, I am wholeheartedly recomending that Water Wetter be sued in all the early cars. If for nothing else, the guys who are not running a catch can will simply not have to add fluid between oil changes---if at all! That is worth the price of admission alone! LOL Oh, and the numbers you are seeing are pretty good. Especially for a turbo and a three-row. Mine has a four core radiator, and 160 thermostat, and unless I actually run the car I will not get above 160 degrees. And under boost I might see 190 to 200 on the CHT sensor, which I find reads about 10 degrees higher than the same sensor in the thermostat housing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bastaad525 Posted July 19, 2005 Share Posted July 19, 2005 yeah I don't run an overflow bottle and I haven't had to add coolant/water in what seems like forever... at LEAST 6 months since I've added any to it. It's always about 1" away from the top. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Here comes trouble Posted July 19, 2005 Share Posted July 19, 2005 Those two black plastic 280 Z functionig louver panels on 280 Z' hood's were to cool the motors. Vent that 240 hood to let out air if not already done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Afshin Posted July 19, 2005 Share Posted July 19, 2005 I run about 20% quality antifreeze (e.g., toyota) with redline waterwetter and distilled water (to avoid build up of mineral deposits in the cooling system, which decreases thermal conductivity/heat loss). I feel that with this combination I get both good anticorrosive and cooling properties in my coolant. Another potentially important thing that is too often missed is to use an actual Nissan thermostat. The reason I say that is that MOST of the aftermarket thermostats have a smaller opening for the coolant path, and hence flow LESS coolant. IMO the Nissan or equivalent thermostat is a must (there might be a aftermarket one that has the same diameter opening, I have not seen one, regardless the nissan one is cheap). The difference in diameter in often quite striking!! Also, what size fan are you running? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
proxlamus© Posted July 19, 2005 Share Posted July 19, 2005 i am running about 190-200 degree with a flushed system under boost.. and with a Ford Taurus electric fan at it's high speed setting... it occasionally shoots up to 215 degrees in traffic in 100 degree days at 6,000 feet up high.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Posted July 19, 2005 Share Posted July 19, 2005 I have a recored, high density fin, ZXT rad, 16" Flex-a-lite Syclone 2500CFM fan, and an RX-7 oil cooler. My coolant temps have never gone above 185 degs even when hot lapping in 90 deg weather. I'll bet the RX-7 oil cooler helps this a lot. I highly recommend them. They're huge, but they have a built in thermostat so they don't over-cool the oil. I got my used for $100CDN. Sorry, but I don't know the year. I'm putting an oil temp gauge in this weekend to see what oil temp I am running at. Nigel '73 240ZT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racerx260 Posted July 19, 2005 Author Share Posted July 19, 2005 Nigel Let Us Know What Your Oil Temp Runs At After You Install The Guage.i've Been In A N/a Stroker With Mobil One Oil On Lapping Day In Atlanta At The Speedway Reading 325; Thats Hot!! He Had High End After Market Guages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Posted July 20, 2005 Share Posted July 20, 2005 He Had High End After Market Guages. Hmmm... well, I've got a used VDO oil temp gauge from a VW that a friend gave me for free. Will that still count? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racerx260 Posted July 21, 2005 Author Share Posted July 21, 2005 Didn't Intend To Offend. I Just Ment I Thought That It Was Reasonably Accurate.i Left The Sending Unit On My 83 Turbo Motor When I Put It In But Do Not Have A Guage Yet And Was Curious About How Hot It Got When Driving Hard In The Summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Posted July 21, 2005 Share Posted July 21, 2005 Didn't Intend To Offend. I Just Ment I Thought That It Was Reasonably Accurate.i Left The Sending Unit On My 83 Turbo Motor When I Put It In But Do Not Have A Guage Yet And Was Curious About How Hot It Got When Driving Hard In The Summer. No, no offence taken at all! I was just kidding around. Hence the little smiley face at the end. Please don't take offence at this question, but what's up with the first letter of every word being capitalized? I've never seen anybody type like that before... just curious. Nigel '73 240ZT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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