Ian240ZT Posted June 4, 2007 Share Posted June 4, 2007 I just got home from college a couple weeks ago and I've been working on getting the turbo z up and running a lot lately and decided to replace the thermostat housing. I found out that the Pinks crew decided not to use a thermostat, I don't recall this being discussed (sorry if I'm wrong). I've read some on this but I've only found that the effect of this on overheating varies with different types of engines. Some people don't have a problem while some overheat. I'm wondering if the coolant was able to spend enough time in the radiator to cool down. I haven't found how this will affect the L28 specifically. Has anyone had any experience with this? Here is a picture of the bare thermostat housing compared to a stock 240Z housing. It's the long block that I won from the Pinks car. I'm trying to make sure that the car doesn't overheat on me once I get closer to finishing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
280zwitha383 Posted June 4, 2007 Share Posted June 4, 2007 I'm not really sure what you're asking but you need to get the engine up to operating temperature asap, hence a thermostat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlderThanMe Posted June 4, 2007 Share Posted June 4, 2007 No wonder it overheated on TV...lol Or someone was too cheap to go get a $3 thermostat... Look how much the thremostat housing is eroded. EEK!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thumper Posted June 4, 2007 Share Posted June 4, 2007 Yes you are correct without the thermostat water will flow too quickly through the radiator so it won't have time to cool off. It will be must noticeable at idle and low speeds. Then at high speeds the water will cool too much and the car will run too cold and you will not get optimal lubrication and combustion due to the efi compensating. If you are running an aftermarket efi then I would run a 160 - 170 thermostat. If you plan to run factory efi then I would run 170-180. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian240ZT Posted June 4, 2007 Author Share Posted June 4, 2007 Thanks, that's the answer to the question I was asking. I wanted to confirm that running without a thermostat would cause problems. I wasn't sure if it was something people did for performance reasons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
280zwitha383 Posted June 4, 2007 Share Posted June 4, 2007 Thumper, have you had personal experience with not using a thermostat and overheating at idle? I've run two different engines without thermostats for months each and didn't have any problems with overheating at idle like you say. There is a lot of controversy about the speed coolant goes through the radiator. I don't think you can logically say that it's passing through too fast. The radiator is still being heated by the coolant and cooled by air. Heat transfer is still taking place and you could just as well argue that since the coolant isn't spending as much time in the engine it isn't gathering as much heat. I am not saying that I am right, just making a point and sharing my experiences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
280zwitha383 Posted June 4, 2007 Share Posted June 4, 2007 Also, efi argument aside, you want to heat your engine up more than 160-170. It's more efficient and it also burns acid out of your cylinders which is caused from burning gas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecase70 Posted June 5, 2007 Share Posted June 5, 2007 a restrictor plate could be used in the thermistat locatoin it will slow down the flow of coolant conciderablu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katman Posted June 7, 2007 Share Posted June 7, 2007 We used to use a restrictor in our race motors before we decided that it was just plain stooooopid to not use a thermostat. You want the engine to heat up to optimal temp as fast as possible and maintain said temp. Thermostat, duh. We ran a 190 in the ITS motors. 160-170 too cold fer sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naviathan Posted June 7, 2007 Share Posted June 7, 2007 You definitely want to run a thermostat. It's there for several reasons, getting to temp and maintaining said temp. As for the Pinks Z over heating, I think there were more problems there that contributed to it then just a thermostat. The grounding MSD wires and just generally improperly tuned engine were more effective to that end than the thermostat. I don't know what the final consensus was, but I think they were boosting too much and weren't feeding enough fuel in the top end. I think a couple more runs and they would have blown the ring lands from pinging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
83 HKS L28ET Posted June 8, 2007 Share Posted June 8, 2007 pink z not having a thermo wasnt the problem... it was the previous owners of the pinks Z that were the problem... also.. i would have removed fan clutch an installed two slim fans the nt having thermo might have helped in the fact that it was running rich off the get go but ... by the 2nd an thiurd time it wasnt gonna last Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted June 8, 2007 Share Posted June 8, 2007 I've never seen a car run hot due to no thermostat. Seen several which would never heat up... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naviathan Posted June 8, 2007 Share Posted June 8, 2007 pink z not having a thermo wasnt the problem... it was the previous owners of the pinks Z that were the problem... also.. i would have removed fan clutch an installed two slim fans the nt having thermo might have helped in the fact that it was running rich off the get go but ... by the 2nd an thiurd time it wasnt gonna last Hmmmm, 2 posts, very recent join date and you know about the pinks z....Couldn't imagine you were one of our unfortunately banned members from that little fiasco?... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naviathan Posted June 8, 2007 Share Posted June 8, 2007 I've never seen a car run hot due to no thermostat. Seen several which would never heat up... Ditto...Never heat up and run rich due the warm up enrichment not shutting off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
83 HKS L28ET Posted June 8, 2007 Share Posted June 8, 2007 Hmmmm, 2 posts, very recent join date and you know about the pinks z....Couldn't imagine you were one of our unfortunately banned members from that little fiasco?... no i saw the show an thought it was pretty pathetic to give that car away.sad really. what were the banned people bitching about? that not having a thermo was good? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted June 8, 2007 Share Posted June 8, 2007 Let's not open that can of worms again. Suffice it to say it went badly after the show and several members got banned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
83 HKS L28ET Posted June 8, 2007 Share Posted June 8, 2007 understand fully we get that ♥♥♥♥ on sr20 forum alot . i just aquired a 83 280z turbo i dd a 93 se-r an i dont have anyhting to do with those Pinks guys... further more.. thermostat removal isnt something i would do on a car that might get to hot due to lead foot an the mentality that your engine is gonna last longer then competetors.... the flow of water circulating threw the motor will get too hot an if your lucky just a blown radiator hose might slow you down that day... but headtemp will be crazy not worth it... if you wanna run high boost an richen it up a bit getting another thermostat an drilling tiny holes in it it should richen up alil more without the overly immense heat goin threw the whole motor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimZ Posted June 9, 2007 Share Posted June 9, 2007 ... also.. i would have removed fan clutch an installed two slim fans I think you would have a very tough time outperforming the stock mechanical viscous clutch fan (in good condition, of course) with a pair of slim electric fans. I've tried several different combos of electric fans and even the CSR electric water pump, and haven't found anything that works better than the stock clutch fan with a shroud. Also, I'm using a 195 degF thermostat. I've never seen a car run hot due to no thermostat. Seen several which would never heat up... Me neither - I've never bought into the notion of water needing to flow slower to cool better. I think the main reason that restrictor plates work in some cases has more to do with increasing the backpressure in the system, which makes it harder for cavitation to occur. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thumper Posted June 9, 2007 Share Posted June 9, 2007 I've never seen a car run hot due to no thermostat. Seen several which would never heat up... I have had two cars that I ran with no thermostat once because I didn't know different and second because I had to drive the car to the parts store. As soon as I got the car moving the car would run to cold but once I sat at a redlight it would creep up. I was running 2 12" hayden fans on a stock radiator on my se-r. I think that if you were not running an aluminum radiator with some monster fans or if you never sat for a few minutes after the car was warmed up then any car without a thermostat will overheat. But it would still run too cold once you started to move. Also running at 160-170 degrees is too cold but I have found with a 160-170 thermostat I run 180 degrees what I think is perfect. But then again thats my preference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted June 9, 2007 Share Posted June 9, 2007 I think that if you were not running an aluminum radiator with some monster fans or if you never sat for a few minutes after the car was warmed up then any car without a thermostat will overheat. Again, not my experience. My Toyota truck had to be run without a thermostat when the thermostat failed (just for a day or two). It had an aluminum radiator and the needle would get maybe 1/8" off of full cold, max. One of my friends with a Z with a brass radiator thought her car made more power without a thermostat. I had to convince her otherwise after her driving for months like this. Her car also would barely register any temp at all. We both lived in LA, so there was plenty of traffic involved in both situations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.