Slow to warm up

[mark-tda4s]

I decided to take the Chim to work this morning and although its 18 miles away mainly on the motorway at 60-70 mph, the temperature only got to 70 degrees and took 8 miles to get above 50. The air temperature was only about 4 degrees.
I am a little concerned the ECU will be making the engine run rich. Question is, do you think the thermostat is stuck slightly open or is this a common problem with Chimeras in the winter months?
On my journey home this evening the temperature was a little quicker coming up but never got above 70 degrees. I bought the car last October and remember the engine temperature getting near 90 degrees quite fast but then laid the car up for winter soon after so should I change the thermostat or wait to see if it changes when the weather warms up?

[TVR Beaver]

sounds like a 74 deg stat to me... better for summer, but on the cold motorway, will run at 70 or so... if you want it to get warmer sooner in the cool weather, try a bit of card in front of 1/2 the rad

[QBee]

They all do that sir.

Wear your thermals on cold mornings.
My car doesn't even make 70 on a cool morning.

[Sardonicus]

Just stating the obvious it's more likely the gauge under reading than the stat the temp sender is stuck out in the air stream so gets air cooled too

[TV8]

if you are running the original ecu, connect it up with a rover gauge and see what the main engine sensor reads, you can drive the car with it running on a laptop and set it to log the data. That sensor is the one that controls the fueling

[Sardonicus]

TV8 said:

if you are running the original ecu, connect it up with a rover gauge and see what the main engine sensor reads, you can drive the car with it running on a laptop and set it to log the data. That sensor is the one that controls the fueling

And sits in the coolant like intended and is far more accurate/consistent

[davep]

TV8 said:

... That sensor is the one that controls the fueling

Together with the fuel map, road speed, RPM, time, fuel temperature, Lambda probes, throttle, long term trim, a boost or reduce factor and, finally, the value of Main Voltage.

[WOO5IE]

The temperature reading on the gauge is not the engine temp.The sender sits in a place that cold air will show a low reading.
As stated by others this time of year the gauge reads less than 70. I have a 74 degree stat and it never runs rich. I have this lower stat to keep the temp at the lower end of normal running temperature . Suggested by some to prevent liner slippage.

Been in for a number of years with no problems. I don't change it for winter/summer seasons

[bobfather]

The position and method of fitting of the TVR temperature gauge sender causes it to respond slowly and often read low. Do a PH search for "Rover temperature gauge mod". The Rover sender is positioned very near the ECU sender and can be used instead of thd poorly located TVR sender. Many owners have done this mod and found it a vast improvement, I have done the mod on a Griff and my Chim

[mark-tda4s]

OK, I started the car up this morning and i felt the bottom hose going to the radiator and after about 2 or 3 minutes the hose was really hot so I guess the thermostat is stuck open? I went for a 6 mile run and it only got to 75 degrees then when left ticking over in the garage for 5 mins the fans kicked in at about 92 degrees.
I plan to change the thermostat so my question is, how big a job is it and what temp stat do you recommend I order? TKS

[QBee]

That's exactly correct, so no need to change anything IMHO

[bobfather]

It sounds like you are believing the dash gauge is accurate, I'd suggest you either do the Rover sender mod or get a Rovergauge connected. These engines warm up really quickly but the ineffective TVR temperature sender is slow to catch up due to the dead space that the sender probe sits in. You won't be over fueling because the ECU uses a different and better positioned sender that respond quickly and accurately to the real temperature rise

[TV8]

mark-tda4s said:

OK, I started the car up this morning and i felt the bottom hose going to the radiator and after about 2 or 3 minutes the hose was really hot so I guess the thermostat is stuck open? I went for a 6 mile run and it only got to 75 degrees then when left ticking over in the garage for 5 mins the fans kicked in at about 92 degrees.
I plan to change the thermostat so my question is, how big a job is it and what temp stat do you recommend I order? TKS

Not that difficult. A bit fiddly and you may need to take the disti cap off to make access easier. The important thing is to get a TVR specific one. They have a bit more flow. Not sure why but it is in the bible and most of the usual places sell them. Remember to get a gasket when you buy the stat as well.

[TV8]

davep said:

TV8 said:

... That sensor is the one that controls the fueling

Together with the fuel map, road speed, RPM, time, fuel temperature, Lambda probes, throttle, long term trim, a boost or reduce factor and, finally, the value of Main Voltage.

Are you the new blitz?