Temperature

[nzmike]

Hi all, my S1 4.2 is back on the road after an engine rebuild. It has an 82 degree thermostat and an after market electric fan. Where does the temp guage tend to sit in normal running? Mine is sitting just below the 90 degree mark, is this normal?

I have a standard radiator, water pump etc. I am aware of many cooling upgrades for the E Type, are any of these worth doing?

Many thanks

[abowie]

I have 4 cars with XK engines and they all sit at different temperatures, between 75 and 90. I suspect that this is as much gauge error as it is anything else.

As long as your car isn't going over 90 it is fine.

[WizudOfOz]

My experience since I've had mine is that it the engine's working hard, i.e. uphill, warm day, following traffic, it'll sit a bit below 90. I've never seen it get above 90.
"Normal" is, say, about 75.
I've got a KoolKat electric fan & on what I presume is a standard radiator with I presume a standard water pump.
Cheers

[MarekH]

An 82'c thermostat starts opening at about 82'c. It keeps opening further with higher temperature
(but not in a linear fashion) and is fully open at about 94'c. Within this 12'c range, it can still divert a greater percentage of water to the radiator and thus have influence on the temperature. There is still some control on the outcome.

If you reach 94-95'c and the temperature continues to rise, then you are overheating.

Once fully open, the thermostat has no further influence on the outcome. Whether your temperatures continue rising above that point or not are now down to how much heat you are producing versus how good your radiator/fan are at dissipating that heat. The temperature now adjusts to equilibrate by those two factors alone.

I'd measure how good a cooling system is by how quickly it can push the temperature back down, rather than worry about what particular value it is.

kind regards
Marek

[mtnjag]

As said, sounds like your thermostat and cooling system is working correctly.
Given that, if you would be more comfortable with a lower running temp put in a lower temp thermostat.
It will still vary temp with work done but will that variation will start at a lower temp and cruise at a lower temp. It may well achieve the same max with extended work.
Also, keep in mind that you will see much more variation in readings in an E than in a modern car. Normal.

[Polse7317]

Worth checking your voltage regulator…
I had some months ago a temp too high but the temp stickers I have put on the header tank indicated a temp much lower
Reading the upgrade section ,…. I did the modification on the regulator… and now all is fine
It’s quite easy !
Good luck