hi all
in need of a little help regarding the water temp.the engine is a 1600cc x flow to wich i have had rebored and fitted +90 pistons and it runs bike carbs. the problem i am having is the water temp overheat warning light i am not sure as to what temp it should be set at i have a koso digi dash fitted in the car and is working fine but i dont know as to what to set the overheat warning light to come on at. can anybody help pls
regards ian

Well, I have a similar engine with bike carbs and typical temps are 85C when on the move, rising to 100C when stuck in traffic in warm weather. I have a thermostatic switch for 90C or 95C (can't remember which) that turns on an electric rad fan. I would think that 110C would be a good value for an over-temp warning light.

Not a direct answer to your question, but it might be useful info!

[Edited on 21/11/17 by David Jenkins]

hi david
thanks for your reply will set to that and see what happens at least it give me a starting point .i know the fan kicks in a little to soon (electric fan) same as you just had no idea what temp overheat was for the engine as i don't have a manual to look into. thanks regards ian

Apart from the obvious options of bigger rad / fan, perhaps one answer could be waterless coolant-this seems ideal for older juiced up engines

quote:

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Originally posted by phil m
Apart from the obvious options of bigger rad / fan, perhaps one answer could be waterless coolant-this seems ideal for older juiced up engines

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Certainly do

Much will depend on the radiator/expansion tank cap as this will affect the coolant boiling point.
Antifreeze percentage also has an effect. 33% may add 4 deg to the boiling point depending on antifreeze type.


Actual boiling temp is a grey area as at a few degrees below small bubbles start to form and in an engine this leads to air locks.


To recap; I run 11 psi (tested with a gauge) and 25% a/f so expect bubbles to form at 112c and boil at 115c.

I would want a warning light to operate before this, maybe 108c.

No such luxury in the Suttol as I have a Smiths gauge with L---Norm---H.
Just over the Norm seems fine, and H does a wet fart from the overflow pipe when I stop.

Paul G

typical running temp will be around 85 degrees....in summer a bit more ~90...in winter a bit less 75-80...

as the engine is all casted steal...even overheating sessions will not kill the engine...nor it will suffer from headgasket failurie caused by that.

when the cooling system has been properly setup / layout, the car even in a hot summer in a traffic jam, should not go higher than 95....so if you set the warnign light around 100 you should be ok. as the cooling system is always under pressure (even with the lowest radiator cap) the boiling point of water will be always higher than 100degrees.