Hot laps at Silverstone

[Air Support]

Or rather not......

Just got back from a track evening at Silverstone but no idea what sort of lap times I managed due to having my eyes glued on the temperature gauge because of overheating. Much reduced power as a result.

So ... . now v. fed up as this is the second time I've had this on a track day. No issues in normal driving conditions though.

So does anyone have any ideas whether this is a design issue which needs a mod or do I have a problem with my car and if so any idea what?

For info its a 3R with the tunnel cooling mod and the overheating did improve a little with the heater on full blast and windows open.

Over to the Nobility.....

[Adrian W]

if the water is getting hot I would say you had a problem, do you know the oil temp, if you put your hand on top of the engine how hot was it, hot, very hot or ouch?

[Air Support]

Yes water was getting to the point of boiling over, fan going continuously and the needle not dropping back below 90 when stationary

Don't know the oil temp as no gauge and engine bay was probably at the point of v. hot, not ouch

[Adrian W]

how many laps was it taking to get it that hot? it was a very warm day

[Air Support]

Too few laps unfortunately

I'd done two familiarisation laps followed by no more than 3 fast laps to be met by loss of power and the temp gauge going to 120 - which as I understand it is the ECU's way of letting you know things are too hot!.

After a cool down I went out again and low and behold 3 laps later - too hot.

The rest of the two hours was constant breaks followed by lapping in too high a gear to keep the revs down, easing off and with the heater on full blast! That just about kept things under control.

Got to be some sort of cooling issue, but what?
No easy way to replicate it on the road of course either!

[Adrian W]

Not right then, check the obvious for leaks, if nothing then head gasket, see if you can find someone to pressurise the system.

[Air Support]

Adrian

Not what I wanted to hear, but thanks anyway.

[GTO400]

Assuming this only happens when on track combined with a hot day sounds as per normal due to standard intercooler and oil cooler. At Silverstone you are on full power alot so i'm not surprised if your car is original,
suggest you get an oil temp gauge fitted and consider upgrading your oil cooler and intercooler.
Kevin

[Air Support]

GTO400 said:

Assuming this only happens when on track combined with a hot day sounds as per normal due to standard intercooler and oil cooler. At Silverstone you are on full power alot so i'm not surprised if your car is original,
suggest you get an oil temp gauge fitted and consider upgrading your oil cooler and intercooler.
Kevin

Kevin

I know it was a hot day, but surely I should get more than 3 fast laps?

Andrew

[paulcundy]

GTO400 said:

Assuming this only happens when on track combined with a hot day sounds as per normal due to standard intercooler and oil cooler. At Silverstone you are on full power alot so i'm not surprised if your car is original,
suggest you get an oil temp gauge fitted and consider upgrading your oil cooler and intercooler.
Kevin

Its not the intercooler, its the water cooling system. Check your radiator? Thermostat? 120 is too hot and the car is capable of being kept cool when racing at Silverstone on hot sunny days so a track day should not result in that sort of temp.
Sorry
Regards
Paul C

[GTO400]

Paul, my point is that if the air inlet is too hot and the oil is getting too hot then the engine will overheat, this use to happen regularly with mine until l upgraded the oil cooler!

[sean_goodman]

how is the coolant level?
does it lose coolant?

[Air Support]

Coolant level was good on the day but the car has had some small loss of coolant between services - we're talking about the difference between the max and min levels in the coolant reservoir here over about 1 year.

[alex s]

Have you checked the simple things, like checking the thermostat opens, it could just be stuck closed?

[peterguk M500]

alex s said:

Have you checked the simple things, like checking the thermostat opens, it could just be stuck closed?

Would most likely overheat violently once warmed up if that were the case.

[Bittercars]

I had a similar problem on a track day last year. The gauge went up to 120, and it was a cold wet day.

The next day, I heard a faint hiss from one of the hoses from the header tank and I found that the clip was slightly loose. I tightened it up and the problem hasn't reoccured.
I wasn't losing water but perhaps the system wasn't getting fully up to pressure, so the boiling point of the water would be lower, so casuing overheating.

I have done a few track days since ( including the South Circuit at Silverstone last Friday ) and the gauge never goes above 90.

I've also heard that if the intercooler gets to hot, the ECU cuts the revs to 4000.

[alex s]

Bittercars said:

I've also heard that if the intercooler gets to hot, the ECU cuts the revs to 4000.

If the intercooler gets too hot ( therefore the intake temp) the ecu dosent cut the revs, it knocks back the timing,to stop any chance of det. The downside of this is a reduction in power.

[LOONER]

I've had the same problem - deosn't ever do it on the road even sitting in traffic for periods of time only on the track I have replaced the thermostat and flushed the coolant system to make sure that there were no air locks. I still haven't got to the bottom of the problem.

[Air Support]

I did find out that due to a dodgy connection one of the rad fans wasn't working. A quick fix has improved things a bit. I can still replicate the problem by driving at high revs in 4th for about 12 miles, which under the current weather conditions causes the car to overheat. Looks like I'll be trying the oil cooler route as a long term fix.