I just wish that the cooler placement was somewhere useful. And IMO an oil cooler kit that comes with pre-made lines should have crimped hose ends, if only for the more professional feel.

 

Any placement is going to work well for some, not so well for others depending on their specific bodywork, splitter, etc.
This location lends itself nicely to a NACA duct in the splitter, as I recently advised someone who has this kit to do.

-Ryan

 

But that naca duct is going to increase pressure in the engine bay...

 

Nice kit. Same type of Setrab we use. -8?
Our testing indicated a pressure drop between -10 and -8 so we run -10 in every car.

 

Most oil cooler kits do.
I wasn't saying it's ideal, just that you can work with it. Mine has it's own separate ducting path in and out of the bodywork.

-Ryan

 

Have you guy's seen any sort of corrosion (ie: Coolant turning brown) when running a mix of distilled water + water wetter + small amount of coolant?

Rust colored coolant in my RE&RE of my cylinder head indicated to me that my mix of coolant to water was too little and causing the block to corrode.

What ratio do you use?

 

what is the water temperature delta across the radiator typically (say when driving 70 mph) on a stock car? If it is relatively low, would the oil "warmer" work as a cooler if the coolant was re-routed to it from rad exit?

 

How much did you flush the system? When I put in the new motor I also put in all new coolant lines and a new radiator and flushed the heater core for like 20 minutes with the hose and after a few months I still had brown coolant, but a couple drains of the system later and I think I've finally got it all clean. Getting all the brown potty water out is quite a struggle, and you can get that brown **** even with 50/50 mix.

 

If the water went from the radiator to the oil "warmer" and then to the mixing manifold, you wouldn't get much flow because there would be little or no pressure differential in the coolant path. It would be better to use it as it is for warm up for a street car and use an external oil cooler with a thermostat (like the RX7 unit) to cool it when it needs cooling. On a race car I expect you would leave it off entirely as mentioned previously.

 

If you want some interesting temperature data across the radiator, here are some numbers for you.

Flyin' Miata : Cooling tech

As for our oil cooler, the lines we use have crimped ends on them for the full professional feel. That must be an out-of-date picture, I'll get around to updating it at some point. We use -8 lines in that kit, but if there's demand we could quite likely do a run of -10.

 

Oh man, please make these. I was just about to cut mine out! Any kind of ETA?

 

Another data point to add to the mix. We did a track day yesterday at Buttonwillow on the new track surface. The temps yesterday were absolutely insane peaking some where around 107 degrees. It was an exercise in monitoring temps for just about everyone out there.

I easily found the limit of the stock cooling system in my car. I had to balance hot laps and monitor the longacre coolant temp gauge I put in like a hawk. I ended up just admitting defeat and short shifting at 6200rpm all day and balance 1-2 hot laps with 1-2 cooldown laps.

Time to put a re-route in and re-evaluate the radiator ducting. Currently I was running with a 100% stock cooling system, oe rad, no ducting, no re-route, oem rad cap. This will be changing immediately.

 

Re-route is a MUST.

Since you're normally aspirated, I suspect that + plus making sure your OEM air guide + undertray are in excellent shape is all you'll need.

 

Was out there with Erik (EErock) and many others at Buttonwillow yesterday. Solid heat testing day, well over 100* (and track surface was 145*). Many cars doing the classic fast lap/cool down lap cycle. Previously, I've had to do just that in summer temps of 90*+.
This was the first shakedown of the new v-mount/7-mount/whatever setup, and at 200whp in 105* heat I spent every minute of every session going for it, with peak temps never above 195* water / 235* oil. I even went out in the last bonus session just because I finally could and the car wasn't calling it quits on me. Felt good. My heat exchanger config isn't as conventional as most, but it still definitely makes the case for good ducting and thinking through your inlets and outlets for them, whatever the config may be.


Trying not to side-track this thread, there's a separate thread for the development of these now. I am picking up some test pieces this week..

Linkage
https://www.miataturbo.net/general-m...nterest-80032/

 

Thermostat
The OEM Miata ECU begins to reduce ignition advance and add fuel when the coolant rises past 200-210° depending on the year. Both of these correction table adjustments reduce power. Best power and fuel economy with the stock ECU comes when the coolant temps are kept around 200°. The OEM 195° thermostat is a good place to start with a stock ECU. With an aftermarket ECU or reflashed OEM ECU (Spec Miata), a 180° or even 170° thermostat can unlock a few more hp. We like the Stant “SuperStat” line of thermostats provide the highest peak flow and temp reduction. The 45868 180° SuperStat fits all years 89-05 and is what we use in our coolant reroute.

Emilio can you clarify the above statement? Are you saying a Stant Superstat should not be used with a stock ECU? I have a Rotrex and a piggyback. I have installed the Stant SS 180 T-stat, with hopes of a little temp reduction...is this an issue with the stock ECU?

 

You have it backwards. Lower temp is better. Don't over think it.

"With an aftermarket ECU or reflashed OEM ECU (Spec Miata), a 180° or even 170° thermostat can unlock a few more hp."

 

This is what is confusing me. You stated:

"The OEM 195° thermostat is a good place to start with a stock ECU. With an aftermarket ECU or reflashed OEM ECU (Spec Miata), a 180° or even 170° thermostat can unlock a few more hp."

Not sure what I have backwards. I know I want temperature lower than my current 210* plus on track

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I was always told that the thermostat manages the minimum temperature in the system. Maximum is determined by how much heat is developed by the powerplant and the cooling systems ability to shed that heat.

You could put a 150° thermostat in the engine and it'll still run 210°+ if the cooling system can't keep up with the heat you are generating.

 

That's how it works afaik.

Emilio, I want to add a water pressure warning light. Could you comment what a good threshold for minimum water pressure would be to set off a warning, shut it down light? Most of the warning lights i see are set @ 3 psi... however you can get some that are .5-24psi adjustable. Just wondering what the low threshold danger zone is.

 

Doesn't work that way. If you put it after the reroute somewhere on the rad or top hose, you'll see 10-23psi give or take. We put our sensor on the reroute adapter at the back of the head so we can see signs of head gasket failure as well. Located there, we see 10-34psi.

On cool down lap, the system will draw overflow coolant in from the reservoir and read low pressure. I am accustomed to seeing the C/P light flickering on by around T3 on a cool down lap. So we set our warning trigger below 20psi and above 35psi.