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best thermoswitch for a K...


robmar

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ok I realise there are a whole variety of thermoswitches designed to come on and off at various temperatures, and as I will be taking the head off I will have the opportunity to replace my standard one that I think is a bit dodgy...but what is the ideal for a K, I believe the standard is on at 92 off again at 87...

 

my setup is mildly ported DVA 1600SS on plenum/mems, with an 82 degree stat, and a override switch already operational...

 

car is used mainly for hillclimbs/sprints the odd trackday and the odd mile on the road...so the most time sitting in traffic is usually just waiting to blast up a hill...

 

my assumption (based on nothing really) is that it would preferrable to have the coolant at a more constant temperature and everything that I can do to aid in that would be a good idea, so based on the fact that my stat is rated at 82 degree, should I look to have the fan come off again at a lower temp say 88 come on and 83 come off.. rather than the standard 92 and 87....

 

Rob *smile*

 

 

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my assumption (based on nothing really)

 

There is no point in running the fan with the thermostat anything other than open. The lower you try to get temperatures with the fan, the more you will run up against the hard limits imposed by the radiator area, flow rate and ambient temperature. i.e. lower temperatures are not achievable. A stat opens over a temperature range and exhibits its own hysteresis characteristics. An 82 degree stat is not fully open until... 90-ish. On your gauge you can measure this by a simple experiment. From cold, start the engine and log the temperature at regular intervals. You will see a characteristic point at which the temperature climb slows. This is the opening of the thermostat. The rate of increase in temperature remains slow until the thermostat runs out of ability to control the temperature by being fully open. Such a plot will give you correct information of how the gauge and thermostat opening are related.

 

The temperatures that cause issues in an engine are those related to heat soak from high operating duty cycles. Whatever you cool the bulk temperature of the coolant to at idle (minimal heat rejection by the engine) is dwarfed by the temperatures of the working surfaces when the engine is working hard. I'd not get overly concerned about this. If you can get the radiator fan to cycle in and out of operation with a sensible duty cycle I'd consider that good enough. If you're really concerned you still have your override switch.

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