Was Original Cooling System Adequate For Summer in Desert?

[BillCA63R1]

Before I do any MORE work on engine cooling for my R1, was the original design able to properly cool the engine when air temperatures are in the 105 degree range?

At low speeds the water temperature is 225+, but no actual boil over. If the factory system never could handle Southern California desert weather , then I suppose I will need to modify the cooling with items such as electric fans, etc.

Thank you all in advance,

Bill

Palm Springs

[Gunslinger]

That's always been a real touchy subject with Avantis. You'll find some that have no problem with the heat and some that overheat quickly...it seems to be a car by car thing. The cooling system itself it designed to take the heat, but in practice it often doesn't seem up to the job. Add fifty years of wear, scale buildup in the block and radiator and problems can easily occur. If the engine is out of tune, that can add to the problem.

When my car had a new crate engine installed, and the radiator flushed and pressure tested to withstand 30 psi, it still would run hot. Adding a Saturn air deflector helped at speed but obviously not at idle. Adding an electric fan took care of it altogether...no problems at all now.

[PackardV8]

FWIW, with today's synthetic oils, 225 degree coolant temp is no problem. The electric cooling fan of Gen 5 Corvettes didn't even come on until 230 degrees. As long as there is no boil-over and loss of coolant, don't worry about it.

And yes, some could handle it with no problem. I drove an Avanti out of SoCal up the grade the length of I-5 in mid-summer with zero overheating problems.

The worst problems will be found with automatic in stop-and-go traffic, where converter stall is throwing a lot of heat into the coolant. I always kick into neutral if stopped.

jack vines

Edited August 11, 2013 by PackardV8