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BEC low water temps
bassett - 19/6/10 at 12:47 PM

Hi, i was talking to the owner of a rolling road today and he was asking what temp our car runs at and commented that its too low. Our normal driving temps are 72-78 deg going to 100ish in traffic as indicated on the R1 clocks, is this too low on an R1 02-03 FI model with polo rad? if it is what are the implications and should i raise the temp by resticting rad airflow?
Thanks
Adam

[Edited on 19/6/10 by bassett]

spdpug98 - 19/6/10 at 01:37 PM

Hi Adam

My temps are even lower than that, during mild mornings i'm lucky if it will go into the 50's never mind 60's. (I do have the race 4 core rad)

I have taken to taping up the gaps on my nose with tape, if the temps start getting too high I remove one strip. Even in this weather I have to have at least 2/3 bits of tape on the nose

britishtrident - 19/6/10 at 02:30 PM

Depends where you are measuring the temperature.

daviep - 19/6/10 at 03:27 PM

Do you have a thermostat in the system?

ReMan - 19/6/10 at 03:56 PM

Mine runs cool according to the bike clocks gauge, but I'd rather it that way and I can't see why it should be a problem on carbs, maybe if there's some EFI magic going on?

bassett - 19/6/10 at 04:06 PM

Yes thermostat is still fitted and the sensor im unsure where but its the original that feeds to ecu/clocks. Chap at the RR said if its not running regular temp, he thought 90 deg c then it wont run 100% effecient etc. Any truth in this or should i leave as is?

afj - 19/6/10 at 06:10 PM

72-78 is what mine runs at,
when the engines in the bike they run at around the same so its fine imho

[Edited on 19/6/10 by afj]

bassett - 20/6/10 at 09:14 AM

Great thanks guys il run it as is and make sure ive got a fan on it to keep it at this temp for the RR

Strontium Dog - 20/6/10 at 11:49 AM

quote:
Originally posted by ReMan
Mine runs cool according to the bike clocks gauge, but I'd rather it that way and I can't see why it should be a problem on carbs, maybe if there's some EFI magic going on?


It's more to do with your oil being at it's optimum working temp.

GeorgeM - 21/6/10 at 11:00 AM

quote:
Originally posted by bassett
Great thanks guys il run it as is and make sure ive got a fan on it to keep it at this temp for the RR


RR should have a mahoosive fan in front of your car keeping it cool. If not I wouldn't let them near mine. Your rad fan will not simulate air speed.

GeorgeM

Frosty - 21/6/10 at 02:45 PM

For what they cost (a few quid), it might be worth replacing your thermostat. If the thermostat is stuck open a bit, it could well be overcooling the engine.

If other R1 engines indicate higher temps then this is where I would look first. The radiator barely comes into play until the thermostat opens, so I doubt the radiator is over-cooling, or the thermostat would close again.

It could also be worth checking the actual temperature with a IR gun so ensure the sensor is not playing up.

JoaoCaldeira - 24/6/10 at 10:46 AM

I also have that range of temps just before the original thermostat housing - 2003 R1.

Joao

bassett - 24/6/10 at 09:19 PM

Cheers for the confirmation Joao, time to see what bhp shes putting out and then see if a little bit extra can be squeezed out

adithorp - 28/6/10 at 04:08 PM

5VY 'stat opens at 85' and closes at 72'. If the rad' is big enough and the air flow good enough, it should hold between those figures. Mine did even in the south of France last week. It did creep up doing the passes at full chat though.

adrian