TixonPB

I've been trying to search and can't find something exactly along the lines of what I'm seeing.

I have a turbo AP1 using AEM series2. I'm in the middle of a trip, and have noticed that Occasionally I am getting into the 4th temp bar on my factory dash. This was on the highway cruising at 70 in ~95F ambient temp. No A/C on (deleted) and I kinda was nervous, because stock I have never seen the 4th temp. Does anyone know what the AEM series2 chart is for the factory gauge? I can't open it up in AEMTuner thank to my tuner password protecting the file. No knowledge of him changing the temp chart from whatever the AEM software had from the beginning. I really need to invest in an actual water temp gauge. Basically I am just trying to figure out if I'm at a safe temp or If I should be pulling over every time it gets into the 4th bar.

Mishimoto xline rad
mishimoto slim fan

Already double checked my bleed and couldn't get any more air out so I don't think it's a case of a bad bleed. I had seen this running around in heavy traffic before, but bumped the heater on and it immediately dropped, but no luck with that this time. Any ideas?

Habitforming

why not drive with a laptop hooked up so you can see what the AEM says the temp is? I don't have a locked tune so I'm not certain, but surely you can still look at data & log, right?

riceball777

i also have the aem series 2 and i also have the aem serial gauge and i always leave the gauge on water temp. The 4th bar on an ap1 comes on at 220 degrees. The problem is the radiator is not getting enough airflow. Also the slim fans are very week and don't pull enough air. most slim fans flow as much or less air than stock fans Spal high performance or extreme performance fans will lower the water temp by a very large amount when your cruising on the freeway. Always try to avoid running a low/slim profile fan if you can.

my thermostat opens at 160 degrees. My fans com on at 194 and turn off at 188. When i had the crappy mishimoto fans and shroud every time during a hot day and only on the freeway the temps would slowly rise to 220+. As soon as i got 2 spal extreme performance fans the temps never go above 194.

You want to avoid the mishimoto slim fans as well as the span low profile and medium profile fans. They dont flow for shit. Spal high performance and extreme performance fans are the ones to get.

TixonPB

Great information! As soon as I get to where i'm going I will look into buying better fans. I guess my biggest question is I am in the process of changing duty stations, and still have two more 5-6 hour driving days. At what point am I risking damage temp wise?

TixonPB

I can't. With the tune locked, it asks for a password as soon as you try to connect to the EMS. If gives the option to enter the password, or delete the tune file. You cannot datalog using AEMTuner or watch any of the info without having the password unfortunately.

Habitforming

that, I'd find a new tuner.

TixonPB

I'm getting it tuned by a different tuner once I get to Washington for sure. I even asked for him to unlock it so I could log, and he wouldn't.

KaNgArOo

V-mount ftw! The faster I go the cooler it gets. But driving slow still cools it down fast too. The only time my water temps get above 180* F is when im sitting still.

Chuck S

Is there a known correlation between the bars on the Honda gauge and temperature? I consider 3-4 bars to be normal operating temp.

180°F is "cold." But not by much. Modern gasoline engines work most efficiently around 195°F to 200°F. Get below that range and more fuel needs to be used. Cold engines waste fuel.

There have been thermostats on gasoline engines for (probably) 100 years to keep them at an efficient operating temperature.

Modern cooling systems will keep engine coolant pretty stable. I don't have S2000 data but plotted my Ford Expedition towing a camper trailer thru the Pennsylvania mountains a couple of years ago and the graph was basically a straight line just below 200°F. Cylinder head temps vary but coolant temperature stays very constant with a good system.

-- Chuck