How hot does your SOS aftercooler get?
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From: Sunny south Manchester
How hot does your SOS aftercooler get?
As per the title really,
This is my first summer since going F/I and we are experiencing a bit of a heat wave in the UK at the moment which is a rarity with outside air temperature sitting around 28/29C. I did a 2 hour run in the S yesterday keeping a constant speed of around 75 mph and when I got home I checked all was okay due to not doing this kind of distance in this kind of heat since going F/I and noticed that my aftercooler was warm, not hot (you could easily keep your hand on it) and wondered is this normal?
I have checked the colant level within the aftercooler itself and it was every so slightly down - hardly anything, maybe 100ml so I topped it back up.
Apologies if this is a dumb question but is it normal for the aftercooler to be warm in general and especially when the outside air temp is higher than normal?
Thanks
Martin
This is my first summer since going F/I and we are experiencing a bit of a heat wave in the UK at the moment which is a rarity with outside air temperature sitting around 28/29C. I did a 2 hour run in the S yesterday keeping a constant speed of around 75 mph and when I got home I checked all was okay due to not doing this kind of distance in this kind of heat since going F/I and noticed that my aftercooler was warm, not hot (you could easily keep your hand on it) and wondered is this normal?
I have checked the colant level within the aftercooler itself and it was every so slightly down - hardly anything, maybe 100ml so I topped it back up.
Apologies if this is a dumb question but is it normal for the aftercooler to be warm in general and especially when the outside air temp is higher than normal?
Thanks
Martin
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Its funny that a heat wave in the UK is when it hits 85F outside, lol.
Do you still have the standard small heat exchanger? Regardless, the aftercooler system can only do so much when its hot outside. You won't get 60F water temps when its 85F outside. I would say this is normal. As long as you can hear the pump running and feel/hear water running through the system then the system is working as it should.
Do you still have the standard small heat exchanger? Regardless, the aftercooler system can only do so much when its hot outside. You won't get 60F water temps when its 85F outside. I would say this is normal. As long as you can hear the pump running and feel/hear water running through the system then the system is working as it should.
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From: Sunny south Manchester
Yeah 85F is around what it was yesterday - that's hot for the UK 
I have the upgraded heat exchanger & yes I can hear the pump & feel/hear the water so I knew before starting this thread that it wasn't any kind of malfunction as such it was more a case of is this normal & given that you guys across the pond always have better weather than us - who better to ask
I have the upgraded heat exchanger & yes I can hear the pump & feel/hear the water so I knew before starting this thread that it wasn't any kind of malfunction as such it was more a case of is this normal & given that you guys across the pond always have better weather than us - who better to ask
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If you can hold your hand on the aftercooler without burning your hand in high temps in your area, you are doing great. There has been many occasion where I have experienced it too hot to touch for more then a second. Anything under 135F is typical for a normal size heat exchanger and probably 120F for a racing size.
By the way, you don’t want to top off the Aftercooler reservoir as you need some room for the fluid to expand when it gets hot. I typically run mine about 1.5" from the top. However mine is Comptech and a different shape then SOS so use your own discretion.
By the way, you don’t want to top off the Aftercooler reservoir as you need some room for the fluid to expand when it gets hot. I typically run mine about 1.5" from the top. However mine is Comptech and a different shape then SOS so use your own discretion.
Thread Starter
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Joined: Jul 2007
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From: Sunny south Manchester
If you can hold your hand on the aftercooler without burning your hand in high temps in your area, you are doing great. There has been many occasion where I have experienced it too hot to touch for more then a second. Anything under 135F is typical for a normal size heat exchanger and probably 120F for a racing size.
By the way, you don’t want to top off the Aftercooler reservoir as you need some room for the fluid to expand when it gets hot. I typically run mine about 1.5" from the top. However mine is Comptech and a different shape then SOS so use your own discretion.
By the way, you don’t want to top off the Aftercooler reservoir as you need some room for the fluid to expand when it gets hot. I typically run mine about 1.5" from the top. However mine is Comptech and a different shape then SOS so use your own discretion.
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