water temp problems

hi,

i raced my nsx this weekend and i was having water temp problems all the day.
it was a hot day, but the nsx only last one full lap with water temperature ok, after one lap, i need to do another lap to cool the water temp.

anyone have water temp problems at the track?

depends..in general no,but we need specifics of your car,,year/any mods?,what track ect...

NSX's handle tracking very well with no issues. If you are having overheating problems something is wrong, air in the system or a bad thermostat. Replace the stat and bleed the system and if you are still having issues it likely you have a head gasket issue.

Actually, overheating on the track (above 90+ ambient temps) is not uncommon here in the Southwest. It was probably the predominant problem at the last Dali event in May and it wasn't even that hot. It depends how close to redline you are and how long you spend at those rpms. You will also find it's not so much your coolant but also your oil temp. I'm upgrading my radiator and adding an oil cooler myself.

Like these guys state... check the usual suspects in your cooling system first. :smile:

More info on car setup, track temp, track, location, etc...

Did the needle go to 3/4 to hot or in the red?

Did you recently change out the water pump or anything to the cooling system?


I've tracked my car pretty heavily in over 100*F weather without any issues. The NSX shouldn't really have issues to that degree unless something is wrong.

Then again our cars are old and the radiator fins could be all smashed in and thus don't work.

Having similar issues.

Had a track day last weekend and was getting a little warm, about 1 tick past the middle line on the stock temp gauge. Ambient temps were high 70's low 80's.

I've got all the front NSX-R aero stuff (front/mid undertray, underhood duct, hood) as well as a Koyo radiator.

All I could think of is that there might be a bubble in the line, but no air came out of the bleeders when I opened them.

e.pie said:

Having similar issues.

Had a track day last weekend and was getting a little warm, about 1 tick past the middle line on the stock temp gauge. Ambient temps were high 70's low 80's.

I've got all the front NSX-R aero stuff (front/mid undertray, underhood duct, hood) as well as a Koyo radiator.

All I could think of is that there might be a bubble in the line, but no air came out of the bleeders when I opened them.

Click to expand...

It won't necessarily and they are a PITA to bleed.

My experience, drove the NSX to Willow from O.C. and everything was fine. Running on the Big Track and it was okay until the car was pushed just did a couple of hard laps and the car would start get warm. So, brought the car into the pits to cool down...next time out...same thing happened. Drove home very conservatively without any problems.

Checked the thermostat, it was fine. Bled the cooling system, nothing.

Turns out I had to change the head gasket.

FelonyRuckus said:

My experience, drove the NSX to Willow from O.C. and everything was fine. Running on the Big Track and it was okay until the car was pushed just did a couple of hard laps and the car would start get warm. So, brought the car into the pits to cool down...next time out...same thing happened. Drove home very conservatively without any problems.

Checked the thermostat, it was fine. Bled the cooling system, nothing.

Turns out I had to change the head gasket.

Click to expand...

thanks for that data point,as I like to say most of us don't have temp issues on track,those that do more than likely have a problem...except Hrant..he just follows too close to people and never cleans his radiator:tongue:

Aside from the professional techs on here, I probably have the most experience trying to trouble-shoot cooling problems within the past ~12 months :redface:

For reference, mine was scenario 2, and was a head gasket problem. Painfully documented in this thread:
http://nsxprime.com/forum/showthread.php?t=141467

Scenario 1: Temperature slowly creeps up over a few laps, and then slowly (quite a few seconds) cools back down if you go up a gear and cruise (at low RPM for a long straight for example). The key here is the slow/steady/predictable change.

Probable causes:

-Blocked / clogged radiator
-bad thermostat
-obstruction somewhere else in the system due to scaling or debris
-missing radiator shroud
-something else about your aero mods is reducing radiator efficiency

Scenario 2: Temperature suddenly spikes (just a short few seconds from normal to red-zone), lifting off, putting the clutch in, etc. may or may not cause an immediate (again, just a couple of seconds) return of the guage to the normal range.

Probably causes:

-Air in the system
-Bad gauge/sender

Air in the system causes the behavior, but it's not the problem itself, but usually a symptom of another problem.

-If you're lucky, it just needs to be bled. You've replaced a hose, or something that has introduced a bubble, you just need to get it out. Follow the book or borrow a venturi bleeder.

Other problems can include (in order of easiest to hardest to fix):

-Bad pressure cap
(replace the cap with one from a parts store, repeat test)
-Cracked coolant tank
(inspect tank, you'll see residue, or you'll see coolant under the middle of the car just in front of the rear wheels)
-Heater Core failure
(You'll smell coolant in the car, the inside of the windshield will be hazy almost all of the time, and in bad cases the passenger floor mat may be damp)
-Head Gasket
(The car may or may not white smoke out the tailpipe. It may also push coolant out the overflow tube if it combustion gas is getting into the coolant system...check the coolant level or install a catch bottle to confirm)

One of my friends had the same water temperature problem with his NSX.
I'm reporting for him due to the language barrier..
His NSX has the infamous HP performance turbo kit that was dynoed at close to 500 hp.
The problems started when one of the water hoses broke and since then despite very meticulous system bleeding the car would boil as soon as any power was needed!
He finally took the car to an official Honda dealer that diagnozed a faulty head gasket.
A few thousand of Euros later he recovered his car with new cometic gaskets installed and special ARP studs after having the heads tested for any potential cracks.
Guess what ? The problem reappeared and the CO2 diagnosis at the coolant tank says : blown gasket!!!
How can this be?
I read elsewhere that the ARP studs are not up to their task of holding the heads in place?
Is this confirmed?
Who pays the next bill?

ARP are some of the stronger hardware one can use. It could be due to improper re-assembly. The ARP studs may require a different torque spec than stock, for instance.

Also, I have read that cometic gaskets need a much smoother mating surface than the stock graphite gaskets, so if they aren't surfaced properly, it may be a problem.

The reason I questionned the ARP studs comes from Coz's thread "FXMD build" after his engine was blown up.From what I'm hearing today from other sources that have called me this morning regarding this, this whole situation couldn't have been avoided by anyone. I'm being told that the ARP Head studs that were used in the building of the motor, unknown at the time of the building, were over rated for their holding ability by ARP, were stretching and were causing several other motors to allow the heads to lift under boost. This has been verified by the builder of the motor as well...Not their fault either since they trusted ARP to give the right specs on the studs when in fact they were over rated.
He seems to indicate that it's a general trend???
Who can confirm this information?

ARP is some of the best hardware out there. Im skeptical about the bolts stretching with just 500hp. There are people who make that on a stock motor.

Actually Billy when I had the problem I was at 617 rwhp.
Now I'm back to using OEM head bolts, at 550 rwhp, torq to 70 ft pnds (per Fes) and not having any issues at all.

stuntman said:

ARP is some of the best hardware out there. Im skeptical about the bolts stretching with just 500hp. There are people who make that on a stock motor.

Click to expand...