mikecl713

i have oil temp gauge
and its way off because of incorrectly installed BUT
mine reads at around 125 and today was pretty hot.
the gauge read at a record hi at 150 and i have never seeni t that high before in my life. but after 5 mins of driving the oil temps go back to 130 with constant vtecing
and keep in mind the temps are off because the sensor is not completely submerged in oil. but u get the idea

Asura

I think all of our gauges will read differently. What we should observe is the delta across different situations. I don't think the numbers are accurate for true temperatures in all cases. I have never seen 4 bars on the cluster, but my gauges would tell you otherwise.

Gernby

When installing a thermostat on my '02, I didn't have to remove any splash guards. I also found that the perfect access to the thermostat housing was given by laying on my back with my head by the front driver side wheel, and my legs under the front passenger side wheel. This way I could use both hands on the thermostat housing at the same time. Total time to swap was ~20 minutes.

Another thing that helped me refill and heat cycle the system was a funnel that was just the right size to wedge into the radiator's fill hole. This allowed me to continuously top off the system as it "burped", and it prevented overflow when the coolant started to get really hot.

Something else that I didn't see in the procedure was to turn on the heater (full hot) with the fan on low while heat cycling. The heater core seems to be the most difficult thing to burp. It took more than 2 full cooling fan cycles for my heater to start blowing hot. However, that may have something to do with my Hondata IM gasket (blocked coolant bleeder).

Asura, if your coolant temps are that high (way higher than the intended OEM temp range), why go with the cooler units. A colder fan switch and thermostat would do nothing for temps that high.

Road Rage, did you add WW?

reds2

You don't need to remove the splash guards for the thermostat, but you do need to remove it for the thermoswitch (fan switch).

Gernby

Actually, that probably isn't necessary either if you have a CAI (or remove the OEM air box). I can access my fan switch from above.

Asura

[QUOTE]Originally posted by gernby
...
Asura, if your coolant temps are that high (way higher than the intended OEM temp range), why go with the cooler units.

Road Rage

I hope you are right in your thinking, because that was my thinking and reasons for my mods as well. I did add WW by the way, but not to the reservoir.

Asura

I also added WW at ~15K to the reservoir tank. I removed the sludge build up from the reservoir. Did you add a full bottle of WW?

Incidentally, I monitored coolant temps on the drive home today. 2 bars on the cluster is ~80 degrees. 3 bars is ~90 degrees. I usually wait for coolant to get to 190-200 as stated earlier. What is interesting is that the engine oil is only ~140 degrees when the 2-3 bar transition occurs. Basically those with only the cluster to rely on for temp. readings should wait ~5-7 minutes AFTER 3bars are reached before vtecing.

I plan on doing a flush, this weekend or the next, in preparation for Sears Point 4/11.

Gernby

It won't matter if you add the WW to the reservoir or not. It will eventually mix. Every heat cycle causes coolant to flow in and out of the reservoir.

The only cooling mods that can result in lower PEAK temps are the high pressure radiator cap, decreased antifreeze concentration, WW, and higher capacity radiator. On the track, it wouldn't matter which thermostat or fan switch you have, since the temps will be above the OEM heat range anyway.

Gernby

BTW, only use 8 oz. of WW in the S2000. The bottles I've seen are 12 oz.