Type R Overheating at the Track

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S2k_Dude

S2k_Dude

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I have a 2018 CTR which I run at 2 1/2 mile Gingerman raceway here in Michigan. In the spring and fall events with ambient temperatures between 55 and 75 degrees F , I can flog the car 5 or 6 20 minute sessions with the temperature gauge never moving off normal. In late June, July and August when it gets into the low 90`s I can only do 3 or 4 laps before the temperature gauge goes 3/4 to nearly full hot. I have 2 other friends with CTR`s ( one 2017 and the other 2018 ) and there cars are just as bad.
This winter I have installed a Koyo high density core radiator, a mishimoto oil cooler, a mishimoto inter-cooler and a mishimoto intake to hopefully fix this problem. I have also replaced the upper grill with a honeycomb sport front grill from wtautopart and installed an Evasive drivers side mesh parking light grill.
I bought a 5 gallon gas can to deal with the car gas staving with a 1/2 tank of gas on the racetrack on long sweepers. You must keep the car well over 1/2 tank or it goes into limp mode.
I love the car but it does not perform on the track like Honda claims!
Thanks for the update. I've since moved on from the CTR and purchased a Tesla Model 3 Performance, it's been an absolute monster on the AutoX courses in B-Street class, just killing all my previous times. However, on a road course, I can only do about 20 laps before the Model 3 battery drains down to 50% SOC and begins to slow down, which is more than I can do in one 20 or 30 minute session, but at that point it takes too long to "refuel" on a Level 2 charger, so it's more of a fun second car to run at a road course. The 1/4 mile is also a blast, hardly anything on the track, with one exception being a Tesla Model S P100D or a gutted Civic with a huge turbo, runs the 1/4 mile as fast as my car. So until some of the road courses get a Tesla Supercharger installed, the Model 3, even with the latest Trackmode V2 software, is a ton of fun but I'm not going to be putting any money into it to improve its track performance.

Glad to hear the CTR can hold it's own on cooler days though. I'd have no problem with backing off a bit on hot days, it's all for fun, not trying to set any records anyway.
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I have a 2018 CTR which I run at 2 1/2 mile Gingerman raceway here in Michigan. In the spring and fall events with ambient temperatures between 55 and 75 degrees F , I can flog the car 5 or 6 20 minute sessions with the temperature gauge never moving off normal. In late June, July and August when it gets into the low 90`s I can only do 3 or 4 laps before the temperature gauge goes 3/4 to nearly full hot. I have 2 other friends with CTR`s ( one 2017 and the other 2018 ) and there cars are just as bad.
This winter I have installed a Koyo high density core radiator, a mishimoto oil cooler, a mishimoto inter-cooler and a mishimoto intake to hopefully fix this problem. I have also replaced the upper grill with a honeycomb sport front grill from wtautopart and installed an Evasive drivers side mesh parking light grill.
I bought a 5 gallon gas can to deal with the car gas staving with a 1/2 tank of gas on the racetrack on long sweepers. You must keep the car well over 1/2 tank or it goes into limp mode.
I love the car but it does not perform on the track like Honda claims!
Please let us know how it goes when you can get back on track!
 

ApexEight

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Please let us know how it goes when you can get back on track!
There are many more threads on this topic now that the car's been out for a while now. If he's pushing hard in high temps (anything above 80F, maybe even less, and again, depending on his driver skill/how hard he's pushing, and whether his car is tuned/modded for power, amongst other variables), he'll probably still overheat. Step 1 is an oil cooler, so that's good that he got one. Step 2 is an eBay grille/modding the stock grille for more airflow. Then, imo, step 3 would be a turbo blanket since it sits right next to the radiator, and lastly would be finding a way to get the hot air out of the engine bay. The radiator seems to be of sufficient design (though there is room for improvement which the 2020 core seems to help with), but the real issue is lack of airflow behind the core. Sometimes denser cores exacerbate the problem because they're harder to get air to move through efficiently. Intercoolers can be the same way. All about striking the right balance. A vented hood would be great but expensive. Cutting the stock hood and installing vents is not ideal. My proposed alternative is removing the aluminum tray under the hood and removing the rubber cowl along the windshield. I would also consider removing the plastic valve cover piece and the metal and plastic undertrays. These can all be reinstalled pretty easily after a track day, except the aluminum tray under the hood which is riveted in, but maybe you could get adhesive-backed Velcro with a high-temp rating and stick it back on. The intercooler and maybe intake will just help with heatsoak, and have no real affect on coolant temps. This is all just my two cents. I don't even have an FK8 but have been doing a ridiculous amount of research ahead of getting one. ?
 

yargk

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There are many more threads on this topic now that the car's been out for a while now. If he's pushing hard in high temps (anything above 80F, maybe even less, and again, depending on his driver skill/how hard he's pushing, and whether his car is tuned/modded for power, amongst other variables), he'll probably still overheat. Step 1 is an oil cooler, so that's good that he got one. Step 2 is an eBay grille/modding the stock grille for more airflow. Then, imo, step 3 would be a turbo blanket since it sits right next to the radiator, and lastly would be finding a way to get the hot air out of the engine bay. The radiator seems to be of sufficient design (though there is room for improvement which the 2020 core seems to help with), but the real issue is lack of airflow behind the core. Sometimes denser cores exacerbate the problem because they're harder to get air to move through efficiently. Intercoolers can be the same way. All about striking the right balance. A vented hood would be great but expensive. Cutting the stock hood and installing vents is not ideal. My proposed alternative is removing the aluminum tray under the hood and removing the rubber cowl along the windshield. I would also consider removing the plastic valve cover piece and the metal and plastic undertrays. These can all be reinstalled pretty easily after a track day, except the aluminum tray under the hood which is riveted in, but maybe you could get adhesive-backed Velcro with a high-temp rating and stick it back on. The intercooler and maybe intake will just help with heatsoak, and have no real affect on coolant temps. This is all just my two cents. I don't even have an FK8 but have been doing a ridiculous amount of research ahead of getting one. ?
You are absolutely correct that there are lots of threads on this and that he'll probably still overheat. Maybe I've missed some posts, but where I was coming from is that despite lots of posts, I think only a few people have posted detailed data, such as, "it was 85 F outside, I run in the advanced group, and I got through 3/4 of a session before over heating with little traffic, and this happened at 80F.. and this happened at 95 F... and the cooling mods helped by this much..." I guess I'm just saying that from all the posts I've read I still wouldn't be able to guess whether with the mods this person has they'd get an extra lap or 3 extra laps at 90 F ambient.

So I'll say to you too ;) If you start doing these mods, do them one at a time so we can see what makes the biggest difference!
 

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So key note if your having issues with your ctr over heating on track turn on the in cabin heater on high this will resolve your issue and you will be able to run 20 min sessions easily. I ran 30 min sessions last year with out issue in September and October.
 


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So key note if your having issues with your ctr over heating on track turn on the in cabin heater on high this will resolve your issue and you will be able to run 20 min sessions easily. I ran 30 min sessions last year with out issue in September and October.
Tried that, still got hot.
 

finch_first

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Tried that, still got hot.
Does your car get a chance to cool down properly between sessions? Are you parking with hood open amd the sun not shining on it? Maybe you’ll need to install some more venting in your hood. I chase down Porsche at my local track. Getting the heat out of the engine compartment is what you guys need to focus your time on.... some time you need to get creative. Also big race rad can make a bit of difference as well. The stock grill is not doing anyone any favours but minimal gains to be made changing that. The focus for those of you woth heat issues is getting more heat escaping the engine bay. Good luck and keep the shiny side up.
 

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Does your car get a chance to cool down properly between sessions? Are you parking with hood open amd the sun not shining on it? Maybe you’ll need to install some more venting in your hood. I chase down Porsche at my local track. Getting the heat out of the engine compartment is what you guys need to focus your time on.... some time you need to get creative. Also big race rad can make a bit of difference as well. The stock grill is not doing anyone any favours but minimal gains to be made changing that. The focus for those of you woth heat issues is getting more heat escaping the engine bay. Good luck and keep the shiny side up.
I totally agree. Yes, proper cool down, spacing between sessions, parking with hood open out of direct sunlight, etc. etc.
I was only pointing out that simply cranking up the heater didn't mitigate the issue, for me. It is what it is, and I knew what I was getting myself into. It's not a reason for me to get rid of the car.
 

finch_first

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I think that if you work on some creative ways to vent some extra air into your engine bay that along with heat on should help you a long way
 


spyderman

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I totally agree. Yes, proper cool down, spacing between sessions, parking with hood open out of direct sunlight, etc. etc.
I was only pointing out that simply cranking up the heater didn't mitigate the issue, for me. It is what it is, and I knew what I was getting myself into. It's not a reason for me to get rid of the car.
 

finch_first

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Get creative with getting the air out of the engine bay;)
 

spyderman

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I ran the car at Gingerman this May 9th when it only got up to 51 degrees F. I removed the aluminum belly pan before the event. The car now has the ebay grill, Evasive drivers side parking light grill, Mishimoto oil cooler, Mishimoto intercooler, Mishimoto intake and Koyo race radiator installed. I ran in the advanced group for 6, 20 minute sessions and encountered no overheating problems. In fact the temperature gauge never moved off normal 1/2 way all day no matter how hard I drove. The next event is June 15th at Gingerman and it is starting to get hot and sticky here in Michigan.
When it did overheated on hot days last summer I only ran it until it got to between 3/4 and full hot with the heater going full blast. On over 80 degree days this resulted in only 3 to 4 laps. I have 2 friends with these cars and they both run at Gingerman on hot days and have the same overheating problem. One is a 2017 and the other is a 2018. We do not run the cars until ``check engine`` lights come on! By that time its too late!
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