Mack, WOW....thank you for referring me to xviper's thread. He's on the trail of this problem the right way.

I've got the OBDII tool and I'll do some measurements with that.

 

Keep in mind that we can be 99% certain that our stock temp gauge is *not* linear. This isn't the same as a few mm on an analog gauge. How can I know that? Because I run 3 bars driving normally when it's 50*, and 3 bars when it's 100+ at the track and I've been over 6000rpms for 20minutes. That is obviously not a linear gauge. We need to find out what the bars indicate for certain, but I'm 99% certain it's a big jump from 3 to 4. Probably 3 comes on at 190* and 4 comes on at 240*, is my guess.

This is a common practice of Japanese makers, I assume because they don't want people worrying about their cars. But then *bam*, with almost no warning from the temp gauge, you've overheated. Personally, I really wish it was a digital temp readout...

 

Our of curiousity I decided to pull out the old owners manual (you know, when all else fails read the instructions) and see what it had to say about the temp gauge.

This is a direct quote from page 47.

"....During "normal" operation, the reading should be in the middle of the gauge. In "severe" driving conditions, such as very hot weather or a long period of uphill driving, the reading may reach near the red mark. If it reaches the redmark, pull safely to the side of the road."

There it is straight from the horses mouth. Looks like we need to raise the bar a bit....no pun intended....anyone seen 5 bars yet. Do I hear a 6.

I think this backs up my assertion that it ain't no big deal.

I rest my case!

 

I don't think any of us are freaking that we might hit 4 bars. My concern is that the layout is something like this:

1bar 0 - 160 f
2bar 161 - 190 f
3bar 191 - 240 f
4bar 240 - 245 f
5bar 246 - 250 f

So that you could be in 3 bars forever, and once you hit 4, you could shoot up the scale really fast. I've had other cars behave this way. My 7 will be in the middle of the h2o gauge, and you may not notice it creep past the 1/2 mark. Once it does, though, it can shoot up to overheating in just a couple more minutes of hard driving. It's not a linear gauge, so all I'm saying is if you hit 4, pay close attention to it.

 

G-S2K ...Glenn...
have same thing happened last weekend..
he has same thing just like what you have ...
a front licence plate on the grill..!!
well, the suggestion is.... put the front licence plate somewhere else or back to where the licence plate supposed to be... I know it is not gonna look as good as it was !! but... that is the only way to do it...right??

 

Just an update:

I took the grill cover off and did 3 days on the track in temperatures ranging from 80's to upper 90's, at 5700ft. elevation. This was full bore, continuous VTEC for 20 minutes straight. I never got 4 bars.

Want more evidence? While sitting on grid, I was dying from the heat, so I ran my AC, but forgot to turn it off before going out onto the track. I ran for 15 minutes with AC, at high revs, at over 96 degrees, at 5700ft altitude, and never saw 4 bars.

My advice to AZ and TX folks is to ditch the grill cover.

 

While on the track, removing the grill and keeping the car at 3 bars did you notice a differance in track times? Three Bars, Four Bars. When someone reaches 5 bars then they might begin to damage the engine, however I have yet to hear from anyone who has consistantly stayed at 4 bars, it rapidly drops back to three bars. In our tests we blocked off the entire grill opening with a front cover and never reached 5 bars, even after driving 25 miles in 90+ degree temps. Just how much performance differance does this make.
On another point I have spoken to people that the grill has stopped Birds, large bugs, and a man ordered one after a raccoon got caught in his condenser. Does it actually affect your track times or does the thought of 4 bars just scare you?

Axcilla

 

FYI, car shows 3 bars when coolant temp is above 160*F. Also, I've had the grill on for a while now, and even in 90*F here in houston, it's never been above 3 bars... AND the coolant temp has never gone above 200*F.

-Shing

 

David,

I have been having trouble with the engine running hot, so I removed the grill before I went to the track. I do not have times with the grill installed.

Four bars bothers me because it is so rare for this car to get that hot. Can you find a report of 4 bars that didn't involve the grill, AC, and high ambient temperatures? There aren't any, which tells me that 4 bars means a significant temperature difference. Since I removed the grill, I have also stopped having hesitation/near stalling in stop and go traffic at high ambient temperatures.

I am not questioning the value and usefulness of your product; it is very good looking and seems to work well at protecting the radiator. At the same time, it obviously removes some of the margin of safety for engines in hot climates. If I was in Minnesota, NY, even Oklahoma, I wouldn't think twice about using it. I am in AZ, however, and that makes a big difference.

If a raccoon ever decides to dive into my radiator, I will have my insurance company replace it. That actually happened to me with my last car, by the way...it took out the radiator, oil cooler, part of the front air dam, and part of the plastic bumper.

Again, just to be clear, I like the grill and would recommend it to almost anyone. AZ and TX are special cases, where I would not recommend your product.


[QUOTE]Originally posted by axcilla
[B]While on the track, removing the grill and keeping the car at 3 bars did you notice a differance in track times?

 

I think Mack has made an excellent point about the meaning of 4 bars. I absolutely agree that we want our cars to run cool, especially when ambient temperatures are high, but what exactly does 4 bars mean? Shingles posted that 3 bars show when the coolant temperatureis at least 160* and as high as 200* F. Does anyone know how high coolant temperature has to be to reach 4 bars ... and dare I ask, 5 bars?