Does anybody know of any systems or fans that will fit in front of the radiator to cool the engine/superchargers?

 

Leave the aircon off.

 

and turn the heater full on!

 

Also, try short-shifting.

 

They 'claim' this stuff works to a certain extent, I have my doubts, but....

Purple Ice® - Radiator Coolant Additive | Royal Purple

 

Under what conditions does it overheat? The fan doesn't do much, if anything, once you're going more than 20-25mph.


Also, what do you mean by "overheat?" Does it boil over, or does the temperature gauge just move up from normal? Hotter than normal is not necessarily too hot.

 

Get rid of your front license plate, it's blocking air flow
More details about the actual overheating....is it happening on track or in the pit? Make sure you do a nice cool down lap. And when you get into the pit don't immediately turn off the car. You can also open the hood to help with heat soak. And of course don't engage your parking brakes. You might just be experiencing too much heat soak, hopefully those steps will help. Of course, you are also in Texas, so maybe the car is just overheating. But I haven't heard of the car overheating at the track yet. Frankly, I would think the brakes go beyond the car overheats, that's been my experience.

 

Likely airflow issue if there is a front license plate. The only time I ever got engine overheating warning was when I was stuck behind a slower car and wasn't getting a point by. This was at Sebring FL in the middle of June. As soon a field opened temps went to normal. Other than that I've ran car pretty hard on two FL tracks with no cooling issues.

Agree with above. Make sure you're doing cooling laps and hood up between sessions. Hot weather states aren't good for heavy supercharged cars.


MC

 

Most factory street cars are NOT equipped for sustained track duties during summer months, particularly supercharged models that generate more heat vs. normally aspirated ones. As it appears most manufacturers build cars for the 98% of drivers that do not track their cars. I was even forced to install aftermarket oil coolers on my two Lamborghinis because they overheated under sustained high RPM runs.

People planningt seriously track their cars should install additional cooling devices, particularly additional engine oil coolers. What I mean by "serious tracking" would be sustained running of the car near its redline rpms with full throttle applied between corners. Yes, short shifting will always help but, that is not the way to get the full performance out of the car.

If you read the Corvetter forums, they have tremendous issues with track overheating with the newest models. Even the normally aspirated Stingrays will overheat in a matter of 10-15 minutes under hard track driving conditions. The supercharged ZO6 is even worse in this respect.

 

Interesting about the Stingray. I knew all about the problems with the new Z06 as I was considering one. There was a new Z06 next to me at Sebring who didn't make it past is first session because his EPS overheated. Didn't know the NA Vettes were overheating as well.

MC

2015 Jaguar F-type R Coupe
1996 Acura NSX-T
1995 Mazda Miata #34

 

I agree that this is a bizarre development. Corvette has had years of success with their bone stock Corvettes being worked hard on lap after lap with no such issues.

I owned both a std. C6 as well as a C6 Z06, and went to a 4-day high performance driving school (Spring Mountain) where we did hundreds of high-speed laps in all Corvette models. This was in Pahrump, Nevada (100 miles west of Las Vegas) in the spring when the temps were in the 90s.

There were about 20 cars divided into 3 groups, and NOT ONCE over the 4 day period did a single car experience overheating of either engine or transmission.

 

NA Stingrays run engine oil temps of 300 F after 15 minutes of hard track time with ambient temps in the 80s or 90s. Transmission oils also seen to heat up to near 300 degrees. Coolant temps go as high as 260F before the car goes into limp mode.

On my '15 Stingray that I use for street driving only, the oil temps go to 290 in a matter of 10 minutes when I do a spirited, 2nd and 3rd gear canyon runs. I'm sure the temps would go even higher but, I back off at those points. At that point my coolant reports "only" about 230F and my transmission oil is "only" about 210F. It is the "sustained" running that will bring up both the coolant and the transmission temps.

While I test drove each versions of the F-type I do not remember what temperatures are being displayed. On my 5.0 SC XKR absolutely nothing, not even engine coolant temps. I use an OBDII device to see my coolant temps but, it still does not report engine oil, which, IMO, is at least as important as the coolant temps. It is the engine oil temps that tend to rise the fastest and to the highest levels when the engine is being pushed hard.

My XKR coolant temps rise alarmingly during the same canyon drives, making me back off when the temps show over 230F. Of course, no idea what the engine/transmission oil temps are at the same time. Guess, if you don't see it, you don't worry about it; must be Jaguar's philosophy with the XKR, at least :-).

With my Stingray the obvious solution is a high performance air-to-oil cooler installation. Just waiting for the aftermarket to produce one instead of trying to hack one on my own.

 

Interesting response/explanation from Corvette:
Tadge Juechter Responds to the C7 Corvette Z06's Overheating Issue - CorvetteForum

 

Good info...


Boggles my mind that a performance car does not have a way to check oil temps, coolant temps, and tire pressure in real time, but yet has a G-meter and lap timer.

MC

 

I agree, a couple of weeks ago, I purchased a $30K '15 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk V6, 4 x 4, with a 9-speed ZF transmission. The center cluster electronic display allows me to toggle between oil temp, coolant temp, transmission temp (actual temp readings), and tire pressures at all times, as well as having screens for a dozen or more other functions including the trip computer, mpg, nav directions, etc. The infotainment system (FCA's UConnect) user interface, and the amazing number of different functions put JLR to shame.

That boggled my mind in such a cheap vehicle.

 

Once you've got the electronics, a few sensors and some software extensions are all that's necessary to display those readings.


A lot of those things are already known by the ECU anyway.


Seriously, I've got a turbocharged car right now and there isn't a boost pressure gauge. Inconceivable!

 

I think the Tadge answers were accepted in good faith during the cold months of the year. Now that the temperatures are up, people are overheating left and right at ambient temperatures even below Tadge's specified design range.

Just a couple of days ago I ran my Singray hard for about 7-8 miles of winding roads at only 77 F, which is considered an unusually cool summer day in my area. Still, my oil temps touched the redline at 290 F, making me back off.

With more and more people experiencing these conditions, Tadge's statements are loosing credibility by the day. Essentially, GM built a fantastic sports car both in the NA or SC variants and decided to save no more than $100 in upgraded radiators and oil coolers that would have made it live up to its potentials. $100 savings in a car that sells for $55-110K??? How cheap can they be? I am certain that most buyers would even pay $500+ for "optional" heavy duty cooling from the factory.

I am sure that the aftermarket will come up with the solutions; right now one of the small specialty manufacturer is looking for a donor car to build just such system. Still, it is, once again, eggs in the face of GM for allowing the beancounters to sabotage a perfectly good Stingray project.

 

Yes, that is exactly why my mind is boggled that a $30K car would have them included, and a $100K car would not. I'd half-way understand, if they offered them as an option in some sort of "technology package," but they aren't even options.

 

The Corvette forums also mention that only lately has
a differential cooler been fitted to US market vehicles
whereas EU market vehicles have had them fitted for
some time.

Apparently, people running laps have been finding a
diff cooler to be a necessity because the diff lubricant
heats up tremendously under stress in only a few laps.

++

 

Exactly. I'm in complete agreement. There are apparently some things we're not meant to know.