Temperature issues...

[jaykaybi]

Erm....

1 month into ownership, no serious problems so far with my fairly standard s1...

I'm probably beng naieve and displaying my inexperience, but can anyone suggest why it might be that usually I'm running along fairly comfortably {ordinary, relaxed road driving) at about 82 degrees on the stack, but for the last few days WHICH HAVE BEEN A BIT WARMER I'm only seeing 78-79 degrees?

I imagine it's nowt serious, but all the same, am I running below temp and doing any damage?

[StuartB]

Do not worry about it - if it were a "pointy needle display" you wouldn't even notice it.

Always worth checking that the coolant is still the right colour and there is no mayo in it, but nothing to loose sleep about

[Sublime]

I find my S1 runs hotter when the weather is cold or raining because the thermostat that is used to control the water through the radiator is located on the return on an unmodified Elise with a K-series engine. Not a problem if the distance from the radiator to the engine block was short but since in an Elise you've got to travel the whole distance of the car the water has the chance to cool down before being measured. Therefore the engine will run warmer on colder days if the car is moving because it doesn't pass the temperature threshold for the valve to open. Mine usually runs between 83 - 85 in the summer and 85 - 87 in the winter, as long as I'm not sat in traffic

[jaykaybi]

much obliged!

[S Works]

If it's constant it might just be a knackered temp sender. Only a few quid to sort out of so. Have a search in the SELOC archives for full info if you think it's dropped more than normal.