When drifting cars, ive heard of a few people running no thermostat.. why is this ? does it actualy do the car any favours other than make it take 10x as long to warm up?
Some engines are ok with out one, others arnt. I never ran a stat in my SR, purley to keep the water flowing full chat with no restriction. (stat is the bigest restriction in any cooling system even when fully open) In the likes of JZ engines, a stat is needed as its a multi purpous stat and closes off major water ways when open and closed. (bypass valve) In my JZ iv drilled a few holes to aid flow, or there are a few other things you can do to not run a stat on a JZ. In drifting typicly you dont have alot of air flow throgh the rad, so passing lots of water throgh it at a medioker temp is better than flowing hotter water throgh it slower.
The thermostat does restrict water flow even when open. Without a stat you can get more water throuth the rad quickly. Probably a good thing with air flow issue.
Is your car a trailer queen? If not; 100% keep it in there!! Engine will run too cold on normal driving...
I had a primera with an sr in it, bought it one summer with a fooked stat (allways open) was ok during the summer, but as soon as it got colder I had to drive around with no heaters on to get it up to temp. Was a rite pain in the arse.
you can get a nismo themostat as they open at a lower temp but the main reason for getting one is that it flows alot more than a standard themostat. Down side is that it costs about £50 ish, maybe there is another brand thats the same but doesnt say nismo on it to save a few quid.
Mallory was getting my SR hot even with the big ally rad. Took the thermostat out and now it's fine. It's one of those things you should do once you have a need for it. As Polo said above and I tell drivers at every briefing, your engine is working a lot harder relative to the airflow than it was ever intended to. (Depending on your driving!)
Water pump doesn't work without thermostat to pressurise the system, you get hit spots and it doesn't flow into the head correctly, without a thermostat I measured almost 3psi, with a thermostat nearly 15psi pressure. You should never remove a thermostat it will say it's cold but thats because you've lost direction flow around the engine. Regardless of if you've done it and got away with it blah, if your reading this, don't do it, sort your cooling system out...
My sender for the temp gauge is in the top hose. It was creeping towards 110 indicated. At Mallory, it usually stays at just under 100. That's when I took the thermostat out. The stock temp gauge doesn't move from halfway. I run it on 50/50 red antifreeze and water. I'm on just under 400 horse with a 2871r. Using the viscous fan on a big ally rad with a good cowling. What do you do to cool those big power SRs then?
What oil cooler are you running, bearing inmind an S14 engine has water to oil cooler as standard Who mapped the car ?? Is the rad a cheap ebay special or a proper Koyo N-flow ?
Mapped by Greg, rad is in between Koyo and ebay, made in this country. Can't remember make but easy to find out. No oil cooler. Guessing that's next?
Yes, oil cooler will be mostly your problem, what the oil can't loose the water takes up.. water being a thinner viscosity will collect heat at a quicker rate then oil. Get a nice big oil cooler and i bet your temps will drop, I bet your oil smells a little burnt when you swap it out, unless your using really good stuff that is
I always search ebay for a cheap truck oil cooler normally like trust type ones which have great flow and great cooling, just tig a few dash fittings on and you've got gangster cooler (cheap) Make sure to buy a thermostatic plate from Driftworks
cheers guys!! im putting a 1jz engine in at the moment and didnt know whether to add a thermostat to my list!! ok i can see the reason people believe its better as water can flow through dead fast, but i also see the point that with no pressure the circulation wont flow round leaving areas getting hotter that they should. But will get a thermostat then Jay