FMIC to the max

[Longbow77]

Well, managed to max out my FMIC today on the autobahn. Temp was 28 degrees, so quite warm and I had been cruising at around 220kph for a while before going WOT for a few mins whilst playing with an exec audi. Glanced down and noticed the temp gauge was sat at about 2/3 as oppose to the normal 1/2 position. I've never seen it move above 1/2 before so assumed something was wrong and backed off. Fortunately the temp came back down pretty quickly and everything was normal. Stopped for fuel and checked the engine bay, but was all ok so carried on and managed to replicate it a bit later on. I got home and let the car cool down and all seems fine. So, I am guessing that the FMIC isn't allowing enough air though the rad to remove enough of the heat from the engine during prolonged WOT. I did a quick google and saw that this is a fairly common problem with FMICs. So options seem to be 1) Alloy rad 2) Vented bonnet. Can anyone confirm if the rad in the VR4 is common to the EVO 5/6/7 or is it bespoke?

[Ryan]

I think that Bradc experienced a similar problem with his car on track days. He has a thicker radiator and also modified his front bumper by ensuring that air could only flow through his fmic / radiator.

Not sure if any of his garage pics will show you what I mean?

[swinks]

Don't think you problem is related to FMIC. I got mine uprated for 3 yrs now. Each year going to Poland in August when weather was 30C and above, played a lot on autobahns in Germany and never water temp needle went above 1/2 scale.
IMHO it's down to radiator itself related problem, i.e radiator cap, airlock, little tiny leak, or worst scenario - headgasket failure.

[Wodjno]

Heat transfer from the Auto oil cooler to the water in the radiator !

[thfelipeth]

unrelated question... has anyone here recorded their legnums at the autobahn?? this maybe is a childish dream. but i've always wanted to go there and drive my leggie.. any links or related posts? and i would agree with it been the radiator rather than your intercooler having anything to do with the heat issues.. intercooler does help. but at full throttle the main issue would be the water tempeture creeping up on you.

[Fully]

I thought that would pretty normal to see the temp rise a little higher at WOT on a hot day while crusing at 220kmph, then to move back down.

Just seems the cooling is not that efficient at WOT for long periods.

Just about any Radiator will work, if its an auto you might want to get a oil cooler. This could also have an effect on the cooling/efficiency of the radiator.

[Longbow77]

I've had a closer look today and realised that not only does the FMIC sit in front of the rad - so does the aircon rad!! No wonder there isn't enough air getting there with two other bits of metal in the way! Oh, and also the front turbo sits just behind the rad fans too - so not ideal. The rad looks easy to replace (i.e. no need to remove bumper) so I think I'll get an alloy one as a first step and I'm sure a vented bonnet would really help pull air out from behind the rad / engine bay.


Driving the autobahns is really quite amazing. On Friday I went to Dusseldorf and yesterday Hannover - both around 150km away and in both cases I was driving for a little over an hour, including stops for fuel. There are always faster cars wanting to get by and most drivers know to clear the fast lane. Quite a few times now though the big Audi/BMW/Mercs don't like moving over for an old Mitsubishi estate. Worst was an Aston Martin which plain refused to pull over whilst cruising at around 230kph in the outside lane. Fastest I've been so far is 247kph and I only had maybe 200 rpm left until the redline so I think 250kph is a fair VMax to quote. The big BUT, and it is a big one, is the the fuel gauge litterally plummets at those speeds. Yesterday I went through a full tank just coming back from Hannover!! At 80p per litre though, it's worth it though (just). I'll be coming back to the UK in Dec so might as well enjoy it while I can. All in all, the Leggy has been the best car I've ever owned for all round ability. For 2k what other car can do everything??? Oh, and it has been 100% reliable so far (touch wood). Incredible car.

[elnevio]

To be honest, the amount of air that is going through the engine bay at that speed would mean that all the rads in the way of each other has little bearing. The air in the bay is probably being replaced in the order of 50 times a minute! :o

As already alluded to by others, I would be looking at the efficiency of the cooling system. What coolant is in there at present?


Oh, and is yours a manual?

[thfelipeth]

mean! that sounds awesome man! i looked up on youtube if i could find something.. but no luck. any way of you recording any trips?? cheers

[Longbow77]

Yes, is a manual. I was thinking about filming it... watch this space!

[bradc]

At those sort of rpm's there could be cavitation in the pump or something similar. Could you try driving at the same rpm's in 4th for a similar period of time and see what happens?

[Oblivion]

If you're driving regularly at those speeds an oil cooler would definitely be worth looking into. I have both an alloy radiator and vented bonnet and still easily get the engine temps higher than I would like at track days so I'm putting off going again until I have an oil cooler.
I would also think that by the time the engine temp needle is pointing high its already way too hot.

[bradc]

What temp is your oil and water getting up to?

[Oblivion]

Well when the water gets to 100deg and the oil over 130, I resort to cruising around the track waiting for it to cool down. Its quite depressing letting all the other (slower) cars pass you :P

[Nick Mann]

The rad looks easy to replace (i.e. no need to remove bumper) so I think I'll get an alloy one as a first step and I'm sure a vented bonnet would really help pull air out from behind the rad / engine bay.

I fitted an ebay aluminium rad last year. I'd suggest you don't bother. It is a PITA to make it fit and my temp gauge rises faster on track than it did with an undersized stock radiator. (There are 2 core thicknesses for 8g Galant/Legnums, from memory 19mm and 27mm. I fitted the thinner one a few years back and had no issues except rising temp after 10 mins on track.)

[Longbow77]

I fitted an ebay aluminium rad last year. I'd suggest you don't bother. It is a PITA to make it fit and my temp gauge rises faster on track than it did with an undersized stock radiator. (There are 2 core thicknesses for 8g Galant/Legnums, from memory 19mm and 27mm. I fitted the thinner one a few years back and had no issues except rising temp after 10 mins on track.)

Were you running a vented bonnet when you experienced the temp rise on track? It seems that it is quite common to overload the standard cooling system after a period of prolonged WOT, probably not helped by most running higher than stock boost. Best just to keep an eye on the temps and ease off when it start to rise.