Engine Operating too cool, 7A Turbo with 71 degree thermostat

[Oly AE86]

Hey,

Car model: AE86 ADM

Engine type: 20V 7AGE Turbo

Problem: New aluminum radiator installed, 71 degree thermostat.

Air temperature @ 0540 this morning was 7 degrees,

ECU Engine temp at the sensor on rear water outlet was 54 - 57 degrees driving @ 100/110 on the motorway, the faster I went, the cooler it got (air speed + pump flow)

Water temp @ top hose was 70 or so degrees

I changed from an 82 degree thermostat because it was running 95+, now I am thinking it might have just been sticking and not opening efficiently.

Q - Is operating engine at this temperature harmful?

What would be a minimum temperature at the rear housing for safe/efficient operation?.

I know the ECU still operates under cold start enrichment until 60 degrees!

Oly

[macca1590]

i would also like to know if running to cold will hurt the engine, i have removed my sticky thermostat from my rt142 and just cut the spring and valve out and put it back in so there is some restriction to hopefully fill all cooling jackets for the mean time while i wait for the new one in the post(im out in the sticks), and driving on the highway it only ever gets just of the cold on the gauge on the dash and like 50 degrees in the top radiator hose

[Oly AE86]

Update - Driving home @ 1430hrs Air temp was 25 degrees and the engine temp still only 58 degrees :-O

Eventually made it to 68 while sitting in traffic

[johl]

quick fix could be to block off alot of your radiator from airflow

[e7+20v=:)]

mine did this so just ran tape over part of the rad and oil cooler during winter.. bingo good temps just keep a eye on the temp while sitting in heavy traffic

[lolwat]

i would prefer my engine at 95 degree's (stable) so will sit at 95ish all day everyday, but 58, is pretty low, i dont runa thermastat in my ke (bp) as i dont have the remote housing and its, shit my thermo has never cut in (switch is set for 90 degree's) engine is never hot/good temp, to trash at

[Dish]

Isn't the general temperature about 82 Deg Celsius?, My new 4a I guess has a 71 degree thermostat in it as it runs fairly cold most of the time around 60-65 deg Celsius.

And my oil running through my oil cooler even with a thermostat runs at about the same. I'm pondering blocking off some flow in winter just as a fail safe for not running too cold.

But 95 degrees all day everyday is a little too high. We don't live in Japan, we're in Australia, hence the reason for having lower temp thermostats where it doesn't get as cold.

[lolwat]

but if he is set up to cool that engine sitting at 95(like you trash it stays at 95, you drive normal 90) id prefer tht then always cold

[macca1590]

will running to cool actually harm the engine? i can understand fuel consumption and emissions being worse but unless its to cold for the oil to be at right viscosity or something silly like that it wouldn't relay worry it would it?

[Skylar]

Yeah, it's the oil viscosity + components are designed to work at a specific temperature. I dunno if it makes *that* much difference but I've heard of built motors with ring gaps on the tighter side of specs or probably even less that have lost compression after they over heated. Theory was that the rings butted together and pushed into the bore hugely accelerating wear and killing them in a few km's.

So what I mean to say is, if the opposite is true, the ring gaps would be larger at a lower temperature and the engine would make less power. The only real way to tell is dyno the car at like 65 deg and then again at 85-90 to see if there's any difference. Not that a few hp is going to make a huge difference to whether you beat that VE SS you run at the lights every morning.