[Slurpee]

I did some searching on the forum, and it seems like most people hit about 275-280 on track. I hit 293 at Road America this past weekend and it wasn’t terribly warm. I think highest temperature Saturday was something like 83. Concerned about the July event if it’s super warm.
I’ve realized that going 100% over 20-30 minute sessions is not the best from a longevity perspective, so I’m intending on backing off on laps where I run into traffic to give things a chance to cool down. But curious if others see high temperatures. I figured with how high speed the track is, wouldn’t be a problem. But I guess that also means I’m WOT most of the time.

[Christian1LE]

I've been keeping track of mine using my data, and it seems to peak at 260 in cold temperatures(50's) and 273 in warmer temperatures(80s). I'm in a 1LE though, not the ZLE.

[Slurpee]

Originally Posted by Christian1LE

I've been keeping track of mine using my data, and it seems to peak at 260 in cold temperatures(50's) and 273 in warmer temperatures(80s). I'm in a 1LE though, not the ZLE.

I peaked at 275ish on Sunday, high was 53. For what it’s worth, I have a non 1LE ZL1, but have added the aero. Otherwise I believe the ZL1 and ZLE share the same coolers.

[N Camarolina]

My numbers for my SS 1LE are the same as Christian's. I'm not sure what "normal" is for the ZL1 (supercharger).

I assume you have removed the rain catch tray under the heat extractor (I think the track guide says for ZL1s this is mandatory when doing track events). So besides laying back a bit from time to time like you plan, the other thing you could also consider is to short shift a bit (say around 6K rpm), particularly on the long uphill sections where the car can spend longer amounts of time at high rpm. If you've ever looked at oil temp trends during a session (I have a PDR so easy to check after the fact), you'll see that the it behaves like a "heat soak" event: Slow to rise to peak temp, and slow to decrease significantly unless you are doing a cool down 1/2 lap (high gear, low RPM) like under the checker at the end of a session.

My guess is unless you literally do a very slow cool down lap during the session (most likely unsafe given the other drivers), you'll be hard pressed to keep the temps down. If your aim is to protect the engine, then that might be served by the short shifting like I suggested.

[wakespeak]

What oil are you using? What was your water temp? The oil cooler is oil to water. Your ratio of antifreeze might need to be tested. More water in the ratio the better the heat exchange.

Not sure if your aero in the front could be disrupting airflow into the radiator. Is it the stock ZL1 1LE splitter and louvers?

The hood extractor comment above is important. Removing it allows for the air to be pulled through the radiator more efficiently. With the auto trans even more important. Auto trans is probably plumbed to the radiator for cooling as well.

[Slurpee]

15w50. I will need to check the PDR, but my water temp never moves from 200 on the dash. I was actually low on coolant before this event (surge tank, not upper tank) and added dexcool 50/50. I will need to keep an eye on it, but it almost appears I’m burning coolant. There are no leaks when the car is sitting and no one has mentioned me dropping fluids. I have never found coolant under the car either. Edit: want to preface this by saying I get my oil tested at blackstone. 0.0% water and antifreeze in the oil.
The front aero is OEM ZLE
The hood extractor is always removed before the start of the first session, so not that.

[olblue75]

So not sure if the 6th Gen is like the 5th where the ecm does a weighted average to the gauge or not. But I would get a true temp gauge run a few track days an see what it does from there and if it still seems high I would find the biggest cooler you can mount up front and then scale back 1 to 2 sizes an go from there.

[wakespeak]

Originally Posted by Slurpee

15w50. I will need to check the PDR, but my water temp never moves from 200 on the dash. I was actually low on coolant before this event (surge tank, not upper tank) and added dexcool 50/50. I will need to keep an eye on it, but it almost appears I’m burning coolant. There are no leaks when the car is sitting and no one has mentioned me dropping fluids. I have never found coolant under the car either. Edit: want to preface this by saying I get my oil tested at blackstone. 0.0% water and antifreeze in the oil.
The front aero is OEM ZLE
The hood extractor is always removed before the start of the first session, so not that.

All good. It took a while for me to get the anti freeze levels up as I recall. I had to add a lot (it seemed) to the lower part of the overflow. You might add just distilled water. I am running running a little less (like 55% water) ratio at the moment. I see max of 280F oil temp on an 85F day but I looked at some older files and 275F on a 100F+ day (July) when I ran with higher water ratio (around 65-70% water). I am also running Mobil1 15w-50.

Mobil1 15w-50 should be fine well over 300F though Blackstone's analysis should be helpful. I haven't done one in a while but the results were good for me as well.

Your best comp is another A10. Manuals likely have less heat load.

In terms of the stats, assuming you are using the Cosworth Toolbox under "Vehicle Health".

[Slurpee]

Originally Posted by wakespeak

All good. It took a while for me to get the anti freeze levels up as I recall. I had to add a lot (it seemed) to the lower part of the overflow. You might add just distilled water. I am running running a little less (like 55% water) ratio at the moment. I see max of 280F oil temp on an 85F day but I looked at some older files and 275F on a 100F+ day (July) when I ran with higher water ratio (around 65-70% water). I am also running Mobil1 15w-50.

Mobil1 15w-50 should be fine well over 300F though Blackstone's analysis should be helpful. I haven't done one in a while but the results were good for me as well.

Your best comp is another A10. Manuals likely have less heat load.

In terms of the stats, assuming you are using the Cosworth Toolbox under "Vehicle Health".

My 0w40 came back with good results before I added the ZLE aero.
Yeah I got to 293 and it was less than 83F out. 15W50 is always fresh oil for every weekend event. I’ll have to drain some coolant and add distilled water to top it off. I’m coming up on 3 years so I need a flush anyways.
Road America is definitely a hot track. I don’t think I’m ever under 5k RPM.

[Slurpee]

Got around to checking my PDR and for the session my oil reached 293, max water temp reaches 230 by mid session and stays there for the rest of the session.

[wakespeak]

Originally Posted by Slurpee

Got around to checking my PDR and for the session my oil reached 293, max water temp reaches 230 by mid session and stays there for the rest of the session.

My max water temp is 223F, even at the July events. I will check my anti freeze concentration when I get time to find the gadget.

Interesting read: https://vpracingfuels.com/tech-talk-...ngine-coolant/. "Water transfers about 2x more heat than glycol." They also have some options for 70/30 pre mix for freeze protection down to 0F.

[Slurpee]

Originally Posted by wakespeak

My max water temp is 223F, even at the July events. I will check my anti freeze concentration when I get time to find the gadget.

Interesting read: https://vpracingfuels.com/tech-talk-...ngine-coolant/. "Water transfers about 2x more heat than glycol." They also have some options for 70/30 pre mix for freeze protection down to 0F.

I did some more readings on the forums and I will remove some coolant with a turkey baster and add distilled water with some water wetter for my July event to see if temps come down. If that doesn’t help I will look into the 174 T stat. I will need to drain or flush my coolant before winter because definitely need 50/50 mix once it’s in winter storage for -35F protection. 60/40 isn’t adequate at -10.

[dsm_mikey]

I wonder if the Automatic Transmission is affecting your temps...does the automatic trans cooler cause any issues in these cars?

I will be heading out to Road America over the 4day (June 29-July 2) Northwoods Shelby Club event, so hopefully I will have some feedback for you on oil temps. I do have a manual ZLE for reference. It will be the first time I will be tracking this car as I'm still breaking it in.

I believe you're the guy (Matt) that was pitted next to us while we were testing our Green 350Z Champ Car. If so, hoping you are signed up for this event as well!

Originally Posted by Slurpee

I did some searching on the forum, and it seems like most people hit about 275-280 on track. I hit 293 at Road America this past weekend and it wasn’t terribly warm. I think highest temperature Saturday was something like 83. Concerned about the July event if it’s super warm.
I’ve realized that going 100% over 20-30 minute sessions is not the best from a longevity perspective, so I’m intending on backing off on laps where I run into traffic to give things a chance to cool down. But curious if others see high temperatures. I figured with how high speed the track is, wouldn’t be a problem. But I guess that also means I’m WOT most of the time.

[Badmojo]

Originally Posted by Slurpee

I did some more readings on the forums and I will remove some coolant with a turkey baster and add distilled water with some water wetter for my July event to see if temps come down. If that doesn’t help I will look into the 174 T stat. I will need to drain or flush my coolant before winter because definitely need 50/50 mix once it’s in winter storage for -35F protection. 60/40 isn’t adequate at -10.

I run a lower concentration of dexcool and add Redline Water Wetter to both the radiator and intercooler circuits.

Both of my cars the ZL1 A10 and ZL1 1LE A10 hit oil temps 290 - 297 F on hot days and long sessions. Oil sampling has not identified any degradation with 700 - 1000-mile change intervals (3-5 track days with some street driving). I run Mobil 1 15W-50.

For the radiator a 40% mixture of Dexcool has a 260 F boil over point and a -12 F freezing point. That is 2.25 gallons of 50/50 Dexcool and .5 gallons of water, plus one bottle of Redline Water Wetter.

For the intercooler, you don't need boil over protection, so a 33% mixture provides enough freeze protection for North Carolina. That is .75 gallons of 50/50 Dexcool and .375 gallons of water, plus 1/4 bottle of Redline Water Wetter.

I like Redline, because it's red and won't change the color of the Dexcool, plus I have used it for 20+ years with good results.

https://www.redlineoil.com/waterwetter


*EDIT: Add the Water Wetter first. It is more important that a few more ounces of water.