HOT engine bay temp Options

[match220]

engine basics
gen3 3sgte swap, stock injectors and turbo, FMIC and took out one cooling fan (I rigged the other one to stay on all the time now).

first long drive gauge readings
I drove my car around today to give it a good running test on the newly built engine with the aftermarket ecu after driving a bunch of short test drives over the last couple weeks. I drove 30 minutes at night at 60 mph then got back home. While driving, the intake air temp was around 50C (122F), engine running temp was between 90C (194F) and 92C(197F), average a/f ratio was 13.5 under load and 14.5 not under load at cruising speed (still haven't refined my tune but this is close enough for a test drive). Daytime running temp was around 94C/95C.

My temperatures weren't too excessive, the running temp was a little hotter than I would expect, but it's not too hot to be unsafe. Then again I've heard the 3sgte's run hot anyway. BUT my header panel on the passenger side was barely too hot to touch when I got home, driver side was still cool. The passenger side is the side without the cooling fan (again the driver side of the radiator has the rad fan that i have always on). Would running without the rad fan make the passenger side of the header panel that hot even though the driver side has a fan? That is the only thing I can determine will make it that hot. Also I need to get rid of this 95 stock celica bumper and get something that flows outside air better and find a thin fan or something.

On the bright side though..the custom enclosure that I made for my air filter (that sits where my battery used to) stayed incredibly cool! Even when I opened my hood I could feel a difference of about 20 degrees between the engine bay and the air filter enclosure.

I'm flushing my radiator tomorrow since I put it on the car when I bought it 8 years ago, it needs a good flush. I'm also looking into maybe a c-one bumper and an oil cooling kit. I don't want the gt-four hood because of the huge vent in the top since I don't have a top mount i/c, but I may consider it.

My questions are...
Have you guys had a hot header panel before? Headlight plastics were cool, not hot. Header panel was the only thing and was just barely too hot to touch, not crazy hot though.
What are your average running temperatures on the 3sgte? I know it's known to run hot, but I've never heard anyone mention temps.
Have you noticed a drop in engine temperate when running a different bumper/hood that allows more flow?

This post has been edited by match220: Apr 2, 2013 - 6:04 AM

[bsamps4]

Mine runs between 185 and 195ish

This post has been edited by bsamps4: Apr 2, 2013 - 9:52 AM

[Smaay]

thats a little warm, but my V6 swap while cruising on the highway is a constant 185F

[lagos]

I don't want the gt-four hood because of the huge vent in the top since I don't have a top mount i/c,

The vent in the gt4 hood has nothing to do with the intercooler. It's there to vent out the hot air that comes from the turbo and exhaust manifold, not to cool the factory intercooler.

Why are you only using one fan? I have a thicker mishimoto radiator and I can still fit two factory fans in there, after I grinded down one of the supports a little. With a factory radiator, you should be able to fit it right in.

You can also try topping off your coolant, and make sure you bleed all the bubbles out of it. I've seen higher coolant temps with a few swaps, and most of the time it was because the coolant was not as topped off as the owner thought it was due to air in the system.

[match220]

I don't want the gt-four hood because of the huge vent in the top since I don't have a top mount i/c,

The vent in the gt4 hood has nothing to do with the intercooler. It's there to vent out the hot air that comes from the turbo and exhaust manifold, not to cool the factory intercooler.

Why are you only using one fan? I have a thicker mishimoto radiator and I can still fit two factory fans in there, after I grinded down one of the supports a little. With a factory radiator, you should be able to fit it right in.

You can also try topping off your coolant, and make sure you bleed all the bubbles out of it. I've seen higher coolant temps with a few swaps, and most of the time it was because the coolant was not as topped off as the owner thought it was due to air in the system.

The fan on the passenger side got in the way of my intercooler piping so I took it out. My coolant is topped off, I'm used to getting air out of a system as I have worked on a lot of cars, I will check it though just to be safe.

[delusionz]

this is what i normally see on my gauge

but on full boost acceleration it drops below 180, and sometimes if the car has run hard and then i stop soon after the temp needle has gone to the 195 mark, or maybe slightly past




im wondering if this heat soak has to do with the extra water in my system (twin core alloy radiator, 3L header tank)

have 2 slim 12" fans



my air intake temps vary from 35C to 55C depending on the weather

[delusionz]

Why are you only using one fan? I have a thicker mishimoto radiator and I can still fit two factory fans in there, after I grinded down one of the supports a little. With a factory radiator, you should be able to fit it right in.

tubular manifolds use more space than stock logs. space is a tradeoff with spoolup.

[delusionz]

what does header panel mean? you mean an air diversion plate? if so that is very close to the top of the rad, should expect that to get hot

[match220]

what does header panel mean? you mean an air diversion plate? if so that is very close to the top of the rad, should expect that to get hot

Header panel is the front bar that goes across the top of the headlights and the hood release bolts into it. At least that's what I've always heard it called. That is what was hot..passenger side above the headlights

[delusionz]

so in other words the hotest part of your engine bay? the side of the radiator that has no fan and is right next to your turbo/downpipe ?

[match220]

have 2 slim 12" fans

where can I buy two slim fans that fit the celica radiator? just regular 12" fans? They mount up fine or do I have to make something?

my air intake temps vary from 35C to 55C depending on the weather

Where is your intake temp sensor mounted? Factory location was in the airbox? I put mine in the air intake tubing away from the engine (away from heat soaking areas) but still close to the manifold inlet for accurate heat temps.

so in other words the hotest part of your engine bay? the side of the radiator that has no fan and is right next to your turbo/downpipe ?

I heat wrapped my downpipe very well. It's not the downpipe(but that may be part of it). While I was flushing my radiator today with the hood open, I noticed the passenger side of the header panel was getting hot while the driver side was still cool. So that side of the radiator that has no fan is heating up the header panel. I didn't know if the engine bay just wasn't well ventilated and it was heating up away from where air is being sucked in by the air filter, or if heat was bleeding over from the radiator. Now I know.

[match220]

Why are you only using one fan? I have a thicker mishimoto radiator and I can still fit two factory fans in there, after I grinded down one of the supports a little. With a factory radiator, you should be able to fit it right in.

sorry I skipped answering this one
I tried to route my fmic piping as far as I could away from the downpipe but I couldn't get it as far away as I wanted without taking out a cooling fan. So I removed one and rigged the other to stay on always. Car doesn't run excessively hot, just hotter than I like. Compared to what temps the other guys are saying, it seems to only be about 5 degrees hotter. I had to grind down a fan support like you did because it bumped the turbo. I just measured and I believe I can fit a 10 inch fan in the gap, it doesn't have to be a slim one, but I"ll probably by a slim one anyway.

[delusionz]

the slim fans come with mounting kits which is basically like straight through cable ties, they poke through the holes in the radiator. 12" slim fans arent nearly as good as the factory units, but its better than nothing, what can you do???

35-55C is what i'm getting at the intake manifold factory temp sensor ( the real temp sensor that fuelling and ignition use to vary)

the temps at my airbox sensor (open warm pod filter now) are generally about 5-15C degrees lower than the manifold temps, ie my intercooler is still very efficient at 18psi



Remember I'm running stock wiring, stock sensors, Power FC plugin ecu, Tubular manifold, garrett turbo, twin core alloy rad, 3L header tank, and an estimated 320-330HP at engine (270 at 4 wheels, which is more heat and stress than FWD)

This post has been edited by delusionz: Apr 3, 2013 - 12:12 AM