Cooling mods for the average Joe

[naafl5]

What cooling modifications, if any, do others recommend that would prevent heat soak and prolong the life of parts?

I'm that guy who has a tune and a downpipe (on the way) to wake the car up conservatively.
I want the car to last and perform well on spirited drives on a hot summer day.

The only things I can think of are :

• Upgraded intercooler.
  • I understand that a larger intercooler (like the PRL) technically introduces turbo-lag, but has anyone felt these effects in reality?
• Upgraded radiator.

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[ABPDE5]

The benefit of most aftermarket intercoolers appears to be situational at best, as most lower IATs but increase coolant / oil temps due to blocking flow to the radiator.

I'd look at the WOT Performance cooling plate first, as it will increase the effective efficiency of your existing intercooler and radiator at minimal cost and is easy to install (https://www.civicxi.com/forum/threads/wot-performance-hpt-cooling-plate.56969/).

I think my next step would be a radiator, followed by an oil cooling solution. I wouldn't bother with an intercooler unless you can find a high-flow tube/fin one for a reasonable price (they tend to be very expensive). While the bar / plate intercoolers (like PRL, etc.) show improvements in IAT in back-to-back comparisons, this is prior to heat soak. Their design will limit their ability to shed heat once they are saturated (in addition to reducing radiator efficiency).

 

[MERAKIAUTOWORKS]

PRL intercooler and turbo inlet. I've seen the temps change in the R Log.

The HVI intake helped too.

-Josh

 

[menikmati]

Hot take: Stock car cooling is fine for average use. Unless your spirited drives are approaching temperatures seen from prolonged hard driving at the track, then you're driving way too hard on the street.

 

[Gabe]

Hot take: Stock car cooling is fine for average use. Unless your spirited drives are approaching temperatures seen from prolonged hard driving at the track, then you're driving way too hard on the street.

I agree, unless you have track days in mind, you should be just fine with the OEM cooling. That being said nobody's mentioned Oil Coolers! Definitely a good addition (at least it is if you do the occasional track day in the desert)

 

[cryptolime]

The benefit of most aftermarket intercoolers appears to be situational at best, as most lower IATs but increase coolant / oil temps due to blocking flow to the radiator.

I'd look at the WOT Performance cooling plate first, as it will increase the effective efficiency of your existing intercooler and radiator at minimal cost and is easy to install (https://www.civicxi.com/forum/threads/wot-performance-hpt-cooling-plate.56969/).

I think my next step would be a radiator, followed by an oil cooling solution. I wouldn't bother with an intercooler unless you can find a high-flow tube/fin one for a reasonable price (they tend to be very expensive). While the bar / plate intercoolers (like PRL, etc.) show improvements in IAT in back-to-back comparisons, this is prior to heat soak. Their design will limit their ability to shed heat once they are saturated (in addition to reducing radiator efficiency).

i love that cooling plate. hope they make one for the Si too, in the future.

 

[Tougefl5]

What cooling modifications, if any, do others recommend that would prevent heat soak and prolong the life of parts?

I'm that guy who has a tune and a downpipe (on the way) to wake the car up conservatively.
I want the car to last and perform well on spirited drives on a hot summer day.

The only things I can think of are :

• Upgraded intercooler.
  • I understand that a larger intercooler (like the PRL) technically introduces turbo-lag, but has anyone felt these effects in reality?
• Upgraded radiator.

Over 400hp still oem cooling. About as spirited as one can get on the streets. Weather hasn't been above 70.
When I was just hondata base tune in August last year. Took a touge road trip starting in New Hampshire and ended up at tail of the dragon. Cooling hasn't been any issues yet.

 

[Rhorn]

Nothing. Don't go down the rabbit hole of chasing problems that dont exist. Unless you experience overheating then its not a problem for you.

Honestly if you are overwhelming the OEM cooling on the street with your modifications then something is wrong with your car

 

[siwelnosaj]

i love that cooling plate. hope they make one for the Si too, in the future.

My cooling plate will work on the si as well. All 11th gen Civics can use the FL5 cooling plate. I'll message you

 

[siwelnosaj]

The benefit of most aftermarket intercoolers appears to be situational at best, as most lower IATs but increase coolant / oil temps due to blocking flow to the radiator.

I'd look at the WOT Performance cooling plate first, as it will increase the effective efficiency of your existing intercooler and radiator at minimal cost and is easy to install (https://www.civicxi.com/forum/threads/wot-performance-hpt-cooling-plate.56969/).

I think my next step would be a radiator, followed by an oil cooling solution. I wouldn't bother with an intercooler unless you can find a high-flow tube/fin one for a reasonable price (they tend to be very expensive). While the bar / plate intercoolers (like PRL, etc.) show improvements in IAT in back-to-back comparisons, this is prior to heat soak. Their design will limit their ability to shed heat once they are saturated (in addition to reducing radiator efficiency).

I have a badass radiator in the works along with what I think will be the best performing oil cooler solution as well. I'm hopeful to have them ready within a month or 2.

 

[blueroadster]

Another viewpoint to consider the stock FL5 being stuck in a traffic jam on a 100+ degree sunny day with even higher temps pelting off of the asphalt. Everything gets heat soaked fast with the lack of airflow and in my experience last Summer, the cooling system was struggling.

I ended up opening all of the windows and put the climate system on full heat blowing out of the air vents to help shed heat. Not an enjoyable experience. I don't recall at what coolant temp the stock fan switches to high and did not have the Hondata FlashPro at the time to adjust the fan speed settings. Even if the fan was adjusted, there would still need to be adequate venting in the hood and/or undertray for the heat to escape.

In the above situation, the WOT Performance cooling plate design provides additional venting from the engine compartment when the radiator fan kicks on. A T&F intercooler would also help. If heat dissipation is still an issue in that particular situation, then I think it would be time to look into upgrading the radiator and/or considering other options to divorce items from the stock parallel cooling system.

 

[BuntaTypeR]

Regarding your 'spirited drives' in the FL5, can you quantify the duration. are we talking about 10–20 minute stints? And are you frequently sustaining high RPMs near redline.

I never experienced any issues with my FL5 in stock form, but I also didn’t push it nearly as hard in the canyons or touge as I did on track.

Under 105°F ambient conditions at the race track, the FL5 reaches oil temperatures of 275°F within about 3-4 minutes of sustained high-load racing

 

[blueroadster]

Under 105°F ambient conditions at the race track, the FL5 reaches oil temperatures of 275°F within about 3-4 minutes of sustained high-load racing

Yikes and holy crap observing those temps while there is actual airflow.

 

[blueroadster]

I guess I am old school but temperatures for coolant, oil and transmission fluid have closely related optimal operational temperature windows where oil can run a little hotter than the other two. Anything creeping past 225 in those fluid temperatures should warrant attention IMHO but the solution is more challenging when having to contend with a parallel cooling system.

Parallel cooling was introduced simply as a means to get all of the components up to temperature as quickly as possible. Many vehicles today also use higher rated thermostats (e.g., 195 degrees before opening) in an effort to run hotter for the sake of emissions while at the same time increasing wear and introducing fluid degradation.

 

[siwelnosaj]

I guess I am old school but temperatures for coolant, oil and transmission fluid have closely related optimal operational temperature windows where oil can run a little hotter than the other two. Anything creeping past 225 in those fluid temperatures should warrant attention IMHO but the solution is more challenging when having to contend with a parallel cooling system.

Parallel cooling was introduced simply as a means to get all of the components up to temperature as quickly as possible. Many vehicles today also use higher rated thermostats (e.g., 195 degrees before opening) in an effort to run hotter for the sake of emissions while at the same time increasing wear and introducing fluid degradation.

I am creating a transmission cooler kit that when paired with the radiator I'm working on should really help. The trans cooler can be attached in parallel or with divorcing the two systems, just depending on how the user wants to go about things for whatever their driving conditions are.

I think it will help all systems run a little happier

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