What is the max the water temp should be?

[jscott]

Long story shortened version... according to my Haltech when I had a blown aftermarket fan relay boiloverpoint where my overflow was boiling over between 228-235?! This was back with stock radiator and 2 spal fans using both .9bar and 1.1bar cap and 170* tstat. This would only happen after a good 25psi+ romping then sitting at a light in traffic on a hotass tx afternoon. After replacing the relay I never exceed 220 after countless datalogs...

I would certainly say that you have an issue if your reaching those temps!? Stuck/bad tstat

what type of replacement stat would you recommend?? haven't had the car but a year so i'm still learning about it....what works best with light mods IE FMIC, SSAFC, INTAKE MANI, BOV, A/C delete, PS delete, i'm only running 5ish psi to keep this engine together till I build a forged

 

[jdwk]

A lower tstat doesn't really make any difference once the car is warmed up. The only actual benefit I can see is for drag racing since you can let the car cool down below the stock t-stat temp between runs.
Other than that, it will just make the car take longer to get to operating temp. Most stock t-stats are in the 175-180 range and that is fine.

 

[jscott]

A lower tstat doesn't really make any difference once the car is warmed up. The only actual benefit I can see is for drag racing since you can let the car cool down below the stock t-stat temp between runs.
Other than that, it will just make the car take longer to get to operating temp. Most stock t-stats are in the 175-180 range and that is fine.

appreciate it....

 

[Installshield 2]

I'd say something is up, too.

I messed around with a built NA FS engine with nearly 13:1 compression, could spin it to just under 8000 rpm...and tuned with a borrowed motec...I never got around to finishing this, so i didn't spend a whole lot of time with that engine in the car...but i was using a 'real' water temp sensor with that computer...but completely stock P5 manual radiator (i've hard that is a little smaller than auto's, not sure though), TS, and water pump with a mix of 60/40 water/coolant...I never went over 210 degrees, even when parked...idling for 25 minutes with throttle blips trying to setup some partial settings...I set my fan with the computer to come on at 205, and it would stall the temp rise at roughly 210 before it came back down and the fan kicked off for another few minutes.

So i know this isn't much to go off of for a stock MSP...but that does seem high...MSP's run very lean through closed loop, then pig rich after 4500 rpm WOT...so, in a way, partial to heavy throttle under 4500rpm will actually run the engine hotter than higher rpm...that could be the difference, but i'd suspect something is up with the cooling system somewhere...

oh and fyi...the factory temp guage is just a low resolution dummy with seemingly 3 or 4 readings it will adjust to (cold, normal, overheating, overheated completely)...It won't budge until its too late...by the time it starts rising past that just under half mark, its not going to stop until hits the H...and by then the engine has been overheated significantly...completely worthless imo, but a ton of cars do this...and i never understood why...I don't have the exact specs for an MSP...but i have an old Probe manual (some of those used the FS engine) that lists 'normal' operating temps from 190 to 220 degrees hot side, fan comes on at idle to low speed at 205...same as ours...so anything in that range will most likely keep the factory gauge locked in the middle...but you're tipping the high end regularly it seems...could be a simple as a coolant flush or bleed...

 

[CHIQLES]

my fans run as you say turn on at 204 never goes above 210. I would agree the car guage is" no bueno" i got to 256 when the guage finally hit hot and i popped the radiator hose.

 

[chomper149]

so at what temp do you consider it overheated?
also i know for rx7s the gauge doesnt work until it literally is too late, and the damage has already been done

 

[Installshield 2]

so at what temp do you consider it overheated?
also i know for rx7s the gauge doesnt work until it literally is too late, and the damage has already been done

I would say 230 is the end of the threshold...so if you're ever at or rising past 230 with any form of 'normal' driving...shut it down...These cars have a reputation for eating head gaskets, but its more that in stock form you have no way of knowing your in the process of overheating...and as mentioned, its simply too late by the time the stock gauge even warns you. Iron and Aluminum are very different metals, the head swells differently than the block...and when things get too hot, its almost inevitable that the gasket between them will lose its seal in some area...

if you under no circumstances let the water temp rise much past 230...you'll never have a HG problem...it'll hold up into the 260 range, but only one time...

 

[chomper149]

so how likely is it that your headgasket is dying if your protege gauge has shown it started to heat?
And anyone know number values for the gauge? like what the hottest is and yada

 

[tweety2300]

Mine has over heated twice both times the temp gauge pegged hot, I guess I'm lucky

 

[jdwk]

If the head gasket goes, typical symptoms are smoke upon startup. And foaming oil from coolant in the oil. If you have no symptoms, it is probably fine. My temp spiked once when my original radiator leaked on me slowly enough for me not to notice. That was about three years ago, and the car is still as strong (or as weak) as ever.

 

[SCMP3]

Just for the record, I was running a p5 radiator and Fmic, my car never hit that high would never get above 206 Under sprinted driving

 

[tweety2300]

Smoke on startup would be valve seals

Head gasket will cause

Milky ness to oil
Dis coloration of coolant ( brownish swirls)
White smoke from exhaust at all times
Coolant having a smell of exhaust fumes
Lack of power
Over heating
Low compression on cylinders
And coolant system not holding pressure

 

[J_Naoto]

my coolant temp goes up to 235-240 idling in traffic in the summer, but stays at 190 while cruising. i've been meaning to wire up my a/c fan to come on with the main rad fan since it only seems to turn on when the temp reaches 230+. i have a mishimoto radiator + their shroud and fans.

 

[jscott]

update* I had a small leak on the back side of the engine where the coolant goes into the block, right there at the banjo fitting, I got two new washers and no more leaks and no more hot issue's....thanks for all the input

 

[chomper149]

my coolant temp goes up to 235-240 idling in traffic in the summer, but stays at 190 while cruising. i've been meaning to wire up my a/c fan to come on with the main rad fan since it only seems to turn on when the temp reaches 230+. i have a mishimoto radiator + their shroud and fans.

what does 235/240 show up like on the stock gauge?

 

[J_Naoto]

what does 235/240 show up like on the stock gauge?

about one line under half. i honestly don't notice a difference between 190 and 240 on the stock gauge.

 

[Installshield 2]

about one line under half. i honestly don't notice a difference between 190 and 240 on the stock gauge.

and thats the problem...i don't know off hand what it takes to finally get the gauge to move...but any engineer or even mechanic would take 240 degrees in a non-racing sense as trouble...most decent aftermarket gauges will have 230+ in some form of red zone...with a warning light (although on many you can change when the warning light clicks on for specific purposes)...

The government claims 202-208 is the sweet spot for water temp in a gasoline engine...which is why most obd-II cars will have fans that click on at that temp, and attempt to keep the system in that range...between different 4 cylinder engines, you're talking about 5 to 10 degrees total...you rarely see a street engine that is 'supposed' to run at something like 240...yet through our factory gauge you'd never know if that was happening...pretty stupid imo...

 

[CHIQLES]

when i over heated 259 is the limit that was recorded on my torque thats maxing out the car sensor.

 

[CHIQLES]

cant wait till tax time new radiator time. Im looking at a 26x16 low profile radiator by northern