Swapping 2018 GT Thermostat

[Chris Barnes]

pretty sure the A10 PP1 cars have a dedicated trans cooler

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[Nuked]

pretty sure the A10 PP1 cars have a dedicated trans cooler

Does it route through both? For example my Silverado runs through both the radiator and trans cooler in line.

 

[Chris Barnes]

It's a dedicated heat exchanger. Only the oil cooler relies on the radiator.

 

[Nuked]

It's a dedicated heat exchanger. Only the oil cooler relies on the radiator.

Got ya. Only other thing I could think of is if the intercooler is blocking too much of the radiator for airflow? I haven't seen behind the bumper of a gen 3 yet, so forgive me if what I say already exists... You can try to make "ducting" to direct air to the radiator from the grill openings. You can google search some examples, but the idea is to direct the air through the grill so that it only passes through the radiator and doesn't "escape" through other areas in the void between the bumper and core support.

 

[Chris Barnes]

For sure that works. I just haven't gotten that crazy yet. I'm going to pull the fan assembly and install some foam to seal up the gaps around the entire perimeter where it meets the radiator. That has worked pretty well on past projects and is relatively simple and cheap. There's 1/8" to 3/16" gap around the entire perimeter which is a bunch of air not being sucked through the radiator. The intercooler is absolutely in the way of the cooling stack which i'm sure complicated everything.

 

[Nuked]

For sure that works. I just haven't gotten that crazy yet. I'm going to pull the fan assembly and install some foam to seal up the gaps around the entire perimeter where it meets the radiator. That has worked pretty well on past projects and is relatively simple and cheap. There's 1/8" to 3/16" gap around the entire perimeter which is a bunch of air not being sucked through the radiator. The intercooler is absolutely in the way of the cooling stack which i'm sure complicated everything.

Yeah I would definitely try some of the little things as you mentioned. Cheap and you seem to not be afraid to get your hands dirty, so be a solid first step and hopefully get you where you wanna be at temp wise. I can't really give any example for comparison, but yesterday it was 95-97 ambient and my CHT was running 195-200 just normal driving with some stop and go traffic. If I got onto it like up a hill where it was under a good load it would get up to 204-205 but dropped back down quickly. That's a gen 2 PP with 170 thermostat and running E85 (although I am skeptical at how much that changes CHT).

One last thing, although you probably know this, you can go to a lower Anti-freeze to water ratio assuming it doesn't get too cold in the winter there. Something like 70% water to AF be a good number.

 

[Idaho2018GTPremium]

Yeah I would definitely try some of the little things as you mentioned. Cheap and you seem to not be afraid to get your hands dirty, so be a solid first step and hopefully get you where you wanna be at temp wise. I can't really give any example for comparison, but yesterday it was 95-97 ambient and my CHT was running 195-200 just normal driving with some stop and go traffic. If I got onto it like up a hill where it was under a good load it would get up to 204-205 but dropped back down quickly. That's a gen 2 PP with 170 thermostat and running E85 (although I am skeptical at how much that changes CHT).

One last thing, although you probably know this, you can go to a lower Anti-freeze to water ratio assuming it doesn't get too cold in the winter there. Something like 70% water to AF be a good number.

That's a good point about the antifreeze (glycol). Water transfers heat much better than glycol, so going to a higher water to glycol mixture will improve heat transfer from the engine to the coolant. See the engineering toolbox website link below for information on mixture freezing temperatures:
https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/ethylene-glycol-d_146.html

A 30% mixture by volume (30% glycol/70% water) freezes at 7.3 degrees F. Good for most parts of the country.

 

[Chris Barnes]

Quick update: I replaced my Reiche 170 stat with the OEM stat. I drilled two 3/16 holes in the plunger and the car now runs a solid 20 degrees cooler than with the Reische 170. On Saturday on the freeway in 114 deg heat my CHT's were 226 at 80 mph which lead me to believe the stat wasn't opening all the way. Yesterday in 113 deg heat with the OEM stat I saw a max of 203 CHT at 80 mph. I honestly feel stupid for fighting these temp issues for so long without swapping the stat. I've never read anywhere on this forum that the Reiche stats have issues, but according to Lund it's common. I guess every part out there has a certain percentage of failure.
Now on to the fans. I don't believe my fans are coming up to full speed. The car will eventually start to creep up idling in high ambient temps and I saw 217 CHT yesterday letting it idle for 15 minutes. 217 is nothing crazy compared to what I was experiencing before, but I want to make sure I don't have a fan issue. Good news is after it hit 217, a quick drive around the block and CHT was back at 204 so it's progress!

 

[Aaron1085]

Incredible amount of information here and I’m glad it was revived. I am new to the Mustang / S550 world having just picked up a 2018 GT PP1, 6spd, Whipple 3.0 and a twin plate clutch (misc other mods). 639rwhp.
I’m learning more about this car everyday and live here in New Hampshire. I do notice after driving (spirited driving) that Whipple feels hot AF!

I see Head Temps between 204-220 today (65 degrees outside and clear) and axle temps around 130 I believe. I let Trump’s were lower due to the nice Fall weather.

I leave the hood open when I get home to park it and let the engine cool. I also removed the ‘OEM rain guards’ in the stock hood which I dont think really did much ... But where am I at? I don’t know much about temps, Thermostats, etc.

1: Where should this thing be running Head Temps and Axle temps with the listed supporting forced induction mods?
2: Is there an oil temp reading aside from (Low, Normal, High)? And where should that be at.

My goal is long term reliability and FUN with this beast. Should I just leave everything alone?

 

[Chris Barnes]

I wouldn't be too concerned about those temps. Enjoy the car!

 

[Flyhalf]

Sharing my front 2018.
For the guy installing mishi...put it in the lower grille
Trans cooler is top grille behind the AC.
I also created a water spray system for the cooler and rad.

Ps. The big black cooler is for the trans

 

[Aaron1085]

I wouldn't be too concerned about those temps. Enjoy the car!

Right on. As far as I can tell, fans and radiator all look stock as well as stock air box and filter.
These ranges seem fine and if they creep, where is a ‘yellow zone’ that I should start considering cooling her down please? (Again, learning this very daily and being in NH; it isn’t year round 100+ temps)

 

[Aaron1085]

Sharing my front 2018.
For the guy installing mishi...put it in the lower grille
Trans cooler is top grille behind the AC.
I also created a water spray system for the cooler and rad.

Ps. The big black cooler is for the trans

Judging by the picture and those slicks, I’m assuming you are far more track dedicated than I.

 

[Flyhalf]

Judging by the picture and those slicks, I’m assuming you are far more track dedicated than I.

The passion ...It grows...fast lol.
That was my first time with hoosier.
I usually run 3R.
But one thing for sure. The faster you go the more temps issues you will have.

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