Overheating on track only
 

So what I need is a reply from every owner who has tracked their CSL under what can be described as hot summer conditions.

The overheating I am asking about is the type that happens on a hot (23 degree plus) day, after the car is well warmed up and the engine bay is heat soaked. As you then give it 100% throttle (this hallens when circuits have soem straights) The car will then start to have rising oil temps say up to 2/3 and then the water temps follow up and above 3/4 and rise towards the red if you let it.

If you come off the throttle within 1-2 corners the water temps drop quickly.

The question is designed to see if 100 cell cats cold be responsible for this. Please don't answer if you don't have an first hand answer

I was at Circuit de Bretange last year temp around 28 degrees, and oil temp went to 125 but water no problem, does this help my oil temp when on track rises to 125 all tracks. :thumbs:

I'm afraid to reply but I'll do it anyway:hahaha:

I don't have the CSL long enough to comment but I had an e36 track car which was quite the weapon, and, it had similar symptoms to this.

The cure with these things is usually quite simple, just buy a new OEM cooler. They get so clogged up with gunk over time and get their cooling fins all bashed in from stones.

I looked in to modified 13 row coolers etc and in the end A new OEM cured it.

Temps never went above have way doing 20 laps+

You cant be talking to us scotts its never 23 up here :whistle:

Seen oil temp at 125 but water temp never gets hot thats after 30 or more laps
standard cats

Farenheit or Celsius ?

:hahaha::hahaha:

Have new cooler, new engine, new lots of stuff :beer:

But cheers for replying and keep it up boys.

Did you ask Gareth re the oil switch?

He said they all come on the new engine fitted. :smokin:

Have you fitted your pump/reg yet?

You got text BTW:thumbs:

Yep fitted and ready to try it:-D

As been said already, oil up to 125 but water temp rock solid in the middle.

That's on my old engine and the new one !:-D

With standard cats but SS middle and back.

As above for me Shim:

Oil temps rise on mine during high ambient temps (to approx 125) but I have yet to see my water temps rise...

SS headers/200 cell OEM cats/SS centre/SS back box

:smokin:

Have voted but to confirm in txt...no mods & no over heating. Water temp rock solid. Always make sure oil temp is around road temp returning to pits.

shimmy

My problem was faulty thermostat and fan coupling.

thank you please

If your water temps are rising, have you considered the bmw motorsport thermostat ? Will be fitting mine soon.

Alex, remind me when your overheating happened (did it meet the criteria I pointed out above)


Put in new stat then Motorsport stat. Does not make any difference to this as it is at hot conditions when any stat will be fully open

I guess next step is a race bonnet from Geoff Steele ;)

maybe but not to cure this, it is something much more fundamental than that

Sometimes when the internal coolant system reaches 7 or 8 years old there can be a thin layer of corrosion across the entire internal surface area. If the water temp reaches boiling point you can get "kettling" (small gas bubbles) forming on this line layer of corrosion. Obviously the air bubbles act as an insulator and the temp will increase if you don't drop the engine load.

I think there are some products you can run through the coolant system to remove the layer, and then refill using an additive which combats the kettling. I had a problem like this on a race car and I tried a product called water wetter - I wasn't convinced it would work, but I saw a drop in coolant temps afterwards, probably about 10 degrees.

I have spoken with some other csl owners who have experienced what you describe shimmy, particularly climbing the hill at the ring. We ruled out a failing viscous fan because of the sustained high speed would create plenty of air flow. The other possibilities were: radiator had lost it's heat capacity due to ageing, water pump lost efficiency or engine running lean (due to fuel supply not meeting demand at full throttle and high revs).

Only way to find out for sure is to rule them out one at a time.

great post, thanks

my oil and water coolant system is new as is engine. water rad i have not renewed yet but have cleaned and straightened fins.

water pump is new as is sensors and stats as well as wetter used.

def not fan as you say

my thoughts now are 100 cell cat affecting ecu at full throttle or fuel system running it just lean at full throttle

i have trief another fuel pump (no change) and now have just changed fuel regulator and filter. regulator does change fueling at full throttle so maybe that it, well soon see;)

Well.
Very hot day, tight track, most corners with 2nd gear, oil temp at about 120C and then water temp almost reached red (it touched red).
I backed off a lot and it cooled down.

As you saw in my post for the thermostat tests, it was obvious that my stat didn't open fully so the water flow was not maximum.
I am not running any cats, just a backbox.
Might be a strange fact, but I doubt the engine runs lean when the consumption on track is > 26lt / 100km.

Shimmy.
I have a question for you.
Are you using the original BMW coolant fluid and is it mixed with water or not ?

i have whatever bmw put in with. new engine, not sure what

Wasn't your car remapped some time ago? has the ecu been put back to oem/maybe try another ecu if your new parts don't solve the problem.

Or oil cooler and mishimoto rad.

Let's face it.... These csl's are just am expensive pike of junk really


Never had these problems with my blue oval running oodles of boost! :hahaha::hahaha:

They dont run long enough to have overheating problems :whistle:

The bottle says to mix it 1:1 with water.
It is better to have plain fluid though.

And 100% throttle is about 35bhp :thumbs:

Just lag out of the corners :whistle:

:whistle: :bigcry: it's the only reason I've gone rwd now...

Was that due to also drive shafts breaking on circuits :(

When the air temperature was vey high on track, the engine water temp was climbing to 3/4 , close to red.
Then I changed fan coupling on the main fan and motorsport thermostat and disabled this problem.

My cats are 200 cell SS (cod 787502)

The viscous fan shouldn't cool more than the air flowing through the rad.

But if the viscous is bolloxed it could in theory create drag on the water pump and add to the issue.

It's worth a pop I suppose.

Hey Up,

I have only had the oil go to 120 and the water slightly above half way at the Ring, only time it went higher was following a mate in his focus RS videoing him and I think he was punching a massive hole in the atmosphere and I couldn't get any cooling cuz of the barn in front of me! lol but as soon as we finished the lap and I pulled out in to the air flow the temp dropped to normal. I have oem headers, miltek 100 cells cats and oem back box. It has had a remap after running lean, as I believe they all do on standard maps, but that was only done this year.

Ando.

Ando

what does your last sentence mean?

Who mapped it?
Who told you they run lean standard?

lawsy you keep insisting the viscous fan is not a problem, but correct me here.
Do you have experience in countries with very high temperatures (i.e. Greece with 45+) ?
As I said in the other thread, the viscous fan is a problem in BMWs when the weathers is very hot and speed less than 60km/h (i.e. going uphill with second gear).
That's coming from 30+ years of experience in a country with very hot weather.

either way its got feck all to do with my question! (as its nothing to do with overheating on track at 100% throttle) :banghead:

Headgasket went last year, Mr Vanos did it, told me he's done loads of m3 and csl's, as they are lean at the top end of the rev range. so have had it re mapped, it was lean according to the guy that mapped it a local garage done it on a rolling road, took the limiter off to. I had it on track this year got a miss fire and Mr Vanos check it over as I thought ot could be headgasket again, it was coil packs. he asked if I'd had it mapped yet I said 'No' as the car has gone out to the ring this year I thought I'd have it done before it went. Was down on power and torque, feels nice now.

Hopefully will feel even better this weekend when I go out and the Shrick Cams and another remap have been done.

Cheers

Ando

Hi shimmy its will shanes mate if bmw have changed the motor you now have a new motorsport thermostat,new water pump,oil cooler and all water pipes etc have been changed or checked .The only other parts left in the cooling system would be radiator ,heater matrix heater control valve .Its very hard to check the radiator at the track due to all the plastic cowling so feeling for a cold spot or blockage reducing flow is imposible .As some body else has said reducing air flow to the rad by following a car closley made the temp go up to 3/4 if this is true a blockage in the radiator could possibly cause a similair rise under extreme conditions such as hot ambiant temps and 100% throttle .The csl runs a closed loop 02 sytem so it is monitoring exhaust gas temp and fuel mixture all the time even at full throttle constantly adjusting air fuel mixture not to mention the knock sensor that would pull timing and add fuel if things where going lean or hot i would be very supprized if a cat would cause this issue ,if it was the cat/exhaust temps the eml would be on as the temp sensor in the exhaust down pipe would pick it up.Just my opinion hope this helps to decide what part to change first :thumbs:GOOD LUCK