Help diagnosing high water temps at track - Resolved? (not really!)

[Tonggi]

Having toured Mishimoto's facility, I'm not at all surprised that it isn't

so upgrade to mishimoto when the time is right, got it! My OE rad is working wonderfully.

[bigjae46]

Deleted AC
Deleted heater core, aux pump
Blocked off water pump and water pipe outlets to aux pump (JB welded freeze plugs)
No fans
CSF Radiator
Canton 2Q expansion tank
32psi coolant cap
OE t-stat
OE water pump
OE pulleys
OE shrouds in the front
100% distilled water with water wetter - because running coolant on track is generally frowned upon.

I run 275 NT01s, I consider myself an advanced driver. Water temps never get over 190 degrees even in 90+ degree weather with 60% humidity. I still can run into oil temp issues if I really abuse the car.

I trailer my car to the track. If you want the car to reliably run cool in any condition...you pretty much have to trailer it. Or at least trailer it when its hot. or cool enough where you need heat.

I've had the popular straight blade SPAL fan and also the highest output fan that SPAL makes. Both did an excellent job of cooling at low speeds. It would drop temps in the paddock by 20 degrees very quickly.

I welded some bungs in the thermostat housing for some temp senders - one in the feed to the radiator and return. The biggest cooling gain I had was removing the fan. About 15 degrees at speed. The drawback is it won't be able to withstand stop and go traffic AND MUST be mindful to cool the car down.

[BigRussia]

Hey all,

Sorry for not updating in awhile, but yes the cooling issue was resolved! It was the damn CSF radiator!

After installing a brand new genuine OE BMW radiator the cooling issue was resolved. Already done two whole track days since the job and water temps stay under control and under 200F, with the needle pinged dead center. Only one time did I get it to move up slightly during November, around 210F when I was absolutely dogging the car 10/10ths on back to back laps trying to chase down faster cars. Once backing off it came right back down to center under 200F. Our Novembers are not actually cool here so was a normal nice warm day.

This past weekend did the 2nd full track day, 4 x 30 minute long sessions and car stayed well under 200F the entire sunny day, even with setting a new PB that was 1.5 seconds quicker than my previous. Granted it was one of our coldest days of the year and I had the heater on, but yup overall very pleased the issue has been resolved!

[jet_dogg]

Or you could have simply used an oe rad for less and is not made in china.

I also quite enjoy when people use the term defective when describing their experience with csf radiators. Seems they are all defective in that case.

CSF strikes again haha. I wonder when people are going to learn.

I can't help but chuckle when people spend more money than oe on parts that are actual junk which is not often but often the case with radiators and csf.

Glad you got this resolved BR.

[cobra]

Original equipment parts are required to have so much testing done. Even though they may be built in a way that looks "boring" due to cost saving measures, they are surely vetted more than most aftermarket parts to meet internal and BMW durability and performance standards. CSF has to do nothing but make it look nice.

That said, I don't agree with the excessive use of plastic on OE parts but it is what it is. Replace every 100k miles.

[Fresh1179]

I can't help but chuckle when people spend more money than oe on parts that are actual junk which is not often but often the case with radiators and csf.

Moderator please label this post as NSFW and and with an appropriate trigger label. 😁


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[jet_dogg]

Moderator please label this post as NSFW and and with an appropriate trigger label. 😁


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Should just make my first post in this thread a sticky 😎

[bigjae46]

CSF strikes again haha. I wonder when people are going to learn.

I can't help but chuckle when people spend more money than oe on parts that are actual junk which is not often but often the case with radiators and csf.

Glad you got this resolved BR.

This is one issue that was documented on M3Forum. Some people have an issue with the CSF radiators and other don’t.

I have a CSF and it has been fine. If I had to do it again, I’d go with OE. Really no point on the M3. For a non-M, makes sense since the whole cooking system is like a ticking time bomb.

When it comes time for a radiator, I will go back to OE.


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[mrgizmo04]

Since we are on the topic of radiators and cooling...remember to keep those cooling fins clean by blowing them out once in a while from inside the engine bay outward. For efficient cooling and heat exchange, air needs to move through the fins. Especially the oil cooler, which sits low and exposed, while radiator gets some protection behind the ac condenser.

My issue with csf rad in old forum was just getting the thing to fit, the welds were so poor that they did not fit properly into plastic framing to secure the radiator to the chassis.

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[jet_dogg]

Since we are on the topic of radiators and cooling...remember to keep those cooling fins clean by blowing them out once in a while from inside the engine bay outward. For efficient cooling and heat exchange, air needs to move through the fins. Especially the oil cooler, which sits low and exposed, while radiator gets some protection behind the ac condenser.

My issue with csf rad in old forum was just getting the thing to fit, the welds were so poor that they did not fit properly into plastic framing to secure the radiator to the chassis.

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If I was a diy'er I'd definitely have air in the garage along with an air comb for this exact purpose.

[Obioban]

I can’t imagine going through life as not a DIYer. Every time I pay people to do things, I am incredibly dissatisfied with how well it’s done.

[bigjae46]

I can’t imagine going through life as not a DIYer. Every time I pay people to do things, I am incredibly dissatisfied with how well it’s done.

Just went through this with a body shop. Now I’m seriously considering learning how to do body work.


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[jet_dogg]

I'd probably be a diy'er if I lived in a random state.

Luckily I'm friends with guys who have been working on m cars for almost two decades so I leave it to the professionals.

[Obioban]

I'd probably be a diy'er if I lived in a random state.

Luckily I'm friends with guys who have been working on m cars for almost two decades so I leave it to the professionals.

I meant in all things— not just cars.

[mrgizmo04]

If I was a diy'er I'd definitely have air in the garage along with an air comb for this exact purpose.

I'd consider myself a pretty hardcore diy-er (cars, house, etc) but I don't have air. Garden hose works just fine for this purpose too. Oil cooler - I started leveraging fcp, just too much track fun and offs with that thing sitting in clear line of fire, that blasting it out and cleaning at some point stops working well, given the small surface area.

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