I've been very busy building up my car for AutoX competition lately and have finally made my way through a long list of engine, suspension, interior and brake mods. The car is an EVO IX GT, meaning that it has the RS 5 speed gearbox and came with Lancer seats but included other goodies such as the Brembos and Enkeis. ACD but no AYC as well

Anyhow, I'm very confident in my car's setup and will be jumping right into AutoX competition with it, fine tuning the suspension settings as I go along. However I would like to use the car for trackdays as well so I'm wondering if people might be able to contribute some ideas as to how I could/should go about cooling the engine.

Currently, if I drive the car very hard, the oil temp goes up to about 110 and stays there, with water going up to about 90 and staying there too *but* I haven't pushed the car hard on the track yet which, as most trackday junkies would know, is a whole other level of heat and general pain for the engine given the longer durations of stress, load, heat, pressure, etc.

If it helps, the engine mods include HKS 272 cams, cam gears and retainers, ported and polished head, stock turbo (15.5G), stock DV and fueling system except for a Walbro 255 fuel pump, Blitz drop in panel filter in the stock airbox, 3 inch downpipe and exhaust with the stock O2 housing and a mildly aggressive tune that runs the engine purposely richer at higher rpms (6+). I run a maximum of 1.8 bar of boost on the high setting and 1.4 on low. Car has been datalogged by the tuner and I during hard driving conditions (engine temp steady at 110 degrees) and no knocks. Guessing 350-360whp from this setup.

Would prefer quick and dirty ideas on how to cool the engine on track, preferrably budget-conscious ones however I'm open to hearing any reasonable suggestions that would be effective based on others' experiences at the track.

Oh, and a pic of the car - just because I'm proud of it and because I think it's quite purty too

Thanks.

 

Try running alot less coolant and use stright distilled with a bootle of redline wetter.

 

Less coolant? Please elaborate

Distilled makes sense...not sure about the water wetter; though it was an anti-corrosion additive?

 

WW also helps eliminate hot spots within the radiator

 

RalliArt thermostat. Straight distilled water and a bottle of MoCool from Motul. Upgrade the oil cooler or get the Tomei oil cooler thermostat eliminator.

 

if you dont wanna use any water wetters, you can go for example 80% distilled water and 20% radiator fluid for corrosion inhibitor. that will cut ur temps guaranteed.

 

changing coolant mixtures and adding additives will help keep temps down, but if you are having an issue with oil getting too hot, you can upgrade to a larger or an extra oil cooler. I'm not too familiar with the model EVO you have, but I'm assuming you have the factory oil cooler still in place.

Jerry

 

Yep, still have the factory oil cooler in there. If I go ahead and upgrade the oil cooler, what would be a good OEM+ option?

Will try to get my hands on some water wetter but might be difficult here in Dubai - if no joy on that I'll try mixing water and radiator fluid as mifesto has suggested.

Heard about the Ralliart oil thermostat, interested in it but I understand that it doesn't affect peak temps, only how quickly the temps drop off (it supposedly kicks the fans in sooner/at lower tems that stock right?)

 

dei stuff is also quite good
ww is made to use with water and it with no coolant

 

Thermostat isn't going to help you. Temps will stay above the open point. Best bet is 80% water 20% coolant. Works like a champ for me.

If you aren't competatively racing meaning you are doing lapping days and stuff, you should back out of it for a lap or two and let your car cool off some. My oil temps climb as well. I can hammer for about 25 minutes before I need to take a cool down lap. Then I can go at it again.

 

PWR makes a larger than stock radiator that comes in at 57MM.

a higher pressure radiator cap will help to keep the water from boiling as it contacts the liners/coolant passages by raising the boiling point. bubbles on the liners decrease heat transfer (think of the bottom of a pan just before water reaches a boil, there are small bubbles forming on the surface of the pan)

a radiator panel will direct more air through the radiator


using a under panel helps to create a negative pressure zone behind the radiator, assisting airflow through the radiator

 

Good feedback all, thanks.

Before I spend big bucks on an oil cooler upgrade, trying the distilled water and coolant method combined with a high pressure cap and cooling plate seems a good way to start.

I can pick up the radiator cap and shroud from the local ralliart dealer, wondering what type/brand of coolant to mx in? Recommendations?

 

man you are in dubai so its gonna be HOT anyway its not from the poor car

but a koyo will help and some fan,bigger FMIC,piping all around,oil cooler
and tarmstat from this guy in alsharjah remind me with his name?? the DR??

 

"RA Thermostat won't help" is the single most incorrect thing I've heard on this forum ever.

My $75 RA thermostat was one of the best bang for the buck mods I ever bought, just behind my flash. Oil and water temps stay lower, less knock, more power.

 

Had the car out for a few trackday sessions...so far, so good - ambient temperatures around 30 degrees celsius, and the oil temp never cracked 125, water never cracked 100 and I did get the thermostat but haven't had it installed yet!

Will be doing more tracking next week, and will be interesting to see what happens when the weather gets hotter. Will keep this thread updated if I find out anything interesting at future track days and after the thermostat's in.

Thanks for the tips, everyone.