Quote:
Originally Posted by DocDirk
Dropped my cobra off for chassis dyno tuning this week and was chatting with the owner about the cooling system. He's built many high performance street and race cars and told me that if carbureted, this engine needs to have a 160 Tstat and the fan trigger sensor set at 160 also, and run at 160 in cool weather, 185-190 in blazing hot weather (which we get a LOT of during the summer around central California). He says at 200+ engine temps the runners get hot enough to affect the atomization quality of the air/fuel mixture and make the car run poorly, that higher temp running works best for EFI engines.
Then again I've read posts here that say cool running hurts an engine, AND I'm wondering if having the fan work ALL the time is really any help, especially when on the road at speed. Right now I'm planning a 195 fan trigger though a 180 is available for that, and I have a 180 Tstat in place.
Man...if I ever graduate from the school of cobra/auto engineering I think I'll have a minor in confusion!  
Regards!
Dirk |
he's scaring me....the t-stat temp rating is when it opens not how hot the engine will run. yes an EFI car will like the higher temp but yours has a carburetor. and you are correct the fan will make the engine run too cool at highway speeds, mine did, it would drop to 140 on the highway.
personally i think the t-stat you should start with, being i know some details about your car, is the 160 deg. however you may want to go to the 180, but i would wait to see. your climate is generally hotter than mine here, some nights its cool here and the higher rated t-stat is a better balance for me.
ignition timing and the quality of the fuel will also affect engine temp, so there will be more learning curve ahead on what your motor likes. if the 180 is in there now leave it in, isn't the fan sensor adjustable?