My TSI and this HOT Arizona wheather... What to do?

[GSXR_Chris]

Maybe I shouldn't even be worried about this but I just moved to Arizona about 2 months ago and it's getting to be the Summer. I have never owned a car in such hot climates before (It gets up to 120 almost every day during the Summer) and I am a little concerned. The car doesn't over heat at all so far but just to be safe I would like to take some extra precautions... I have heard of some people removing there thermostats, I have heard of redline water weter and I have also heard of people installing switches to their high speed A/C fans so they are on all the time when it is hot out. Does anyone have any recommendations for something I can do to keep my temps from getting to hot or should I not even worry about it?

 

[L2RTSiAWD]

If you don't have an FMIC you should be fine. I wouldn't remove your thermostat. I have a small hole drilled in mine and I have both fans wired to turn on high when the radiator fan goes on and a switch to turn them both on constantly for the really hot days.

 

[GSXR_Chris]

Yeah I was thinking the switch idea for the fans would work well. So when I do get a FMIC which will be really soon here... Then what am I supposed to do about the really hot days?

 

[L2RTSiAWD]

Yeah I was thinking the switch idea for the fans would work well. So when I do get a FMIC which will be really soon here... Then what am I supposed to do about the really hot days?

I just flip the switch and have the fans run constantly, somedays I don't even need that. I use my logger to monitor the coolant temp and if I don't like what I'm seeing I switch the fans on.

 

[GSXR_Chris]

I bought my car used from some guy who didn't even know what the car was. It has a bunch of performance parts on it and I opened up the little center console thingy to find a laptop/PDA hook up. I am assuming this means the car has some sort of data logger. Is there any way to find out what exactly it has? I am assuming I have to get to the ECU to tell?

 

[L2RTSiAWD]

Ya you may need to get to the ECU, unless the person you bought it from can tell you what they had in it.

 

[GSXR_Chris]

Looks like I Will just be getting to the ECU. I know that this guy can't tell me anything about the car . Now what if it does have a data logger... I have no software for the data logger so does that leave me out of luck or can I order some software from the manufacturer?

 

[L2RTSiAWD]

Looks like I Will just be getting to the ECU. I know that this guy can't tell me anything about the car . Now what if it does have a data logger... I have no software for the data logger so does that leave me out of luck or can I order some software from the manufacturer?

It depends on what it is, some software is free and some is not, if you have an Eeprom ECU which I'm assuming you do, the eeprom chip may not be branded with any company logo and that may make it harder to determine.

 

[GSXR_Chris]

So let me get this straight since this is my first DSM (my last car was an Evo 8 and it was a little different). When you buy a data logger it comes with a new Eprom? If my ECU has no comapny logo or brand on it then is there anything I can do in that situation of trying to determine who makes it or am I pretty much screwed? Thanks for all your help by the way. I appreciate it!

 

[L2RTSiAWD]

Well some datalooging sw's for 1g's use an Eeprom chip and some don't. The only reason I think yours does is because of the extra data port in the car. If you were using a datalogger such as www.pocketlogger.com you would just plug the cable into the OBD-I port under the dash.

You may have to find someone local who has TMO(a 1g datalogger) and see if they can hook it up.

 

[GSXR_Chris]

Sounds like what I need to do... I am going to go tear out the ECU and see if I can find a company logo and just cross my fingers there is one!

 

[turbo2ltr]

It gets up to 120 almost every day during the Summer

Heh. Not quite. 110, maybe. Near 120 would be a newsworthy (i.e. rare) event.

I had a 90 GSX and never had a cooling problem here in PHX. The needle always sat just below center. I never run antifreeze. Run straight distilled water (DONT use tap water, the water here is very hard and will mess up your radiator). Run some water wetter if you want some extra corrosion protection.


Look at the pictures here
http://pocketlogger.com/instructions/install.html
See if there is a cable plugged into the port. If it's one of our cables, you would be entitled to download the software.


Regards,
Mike Montalvo
digital tuning, inc.
www.pocketlogger.com

 

[GSXR_Chris]

Thanks for the useful information man! You can run straight water!? Wouldn't that boil?

 

[ITSME4G63]

L2RTSiAWD - picts of this fan swithc hookup

 

[GSXR_Chris]

Well I checked out that link you gave me and checked out the fuse box/OBD port and sure enough it is a Pocket Logger system which is good news for me! Anyways now I just need to DL the software which I am assuming I can do at your site? Just our of curiousity does this Pocket Logger use an EProm chip or no?

 

[time4anotherdsm]

u could do some custom stuff like a little ram air thing unde3r the frontmount inorder to pass air tothe radiator. check out my pics

 

[Spoolin4Ever]

Well consider running a thicker oil: 20W50 or somethin. More frequent oil changes (heat is hard on oil.

And ditto for the tranny: use the thicker gear oil, like Redline MT90 or thicker (seems to me that synchromesh fluids would be too thin for this heat, if you use that make sure and change every couple or 3 months). Changing more frequently is better for the tranny.

I'm looking at it from the standpoint of the heat causing premature engine or tranny failure. What to do to make drivetrain components last longer. Not just avoiding overheating, that is fairly simple.

I would be trying to extend engine and tranny life.