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I have 2011 grand sport and had a 3500
stall converter installed.
I only drove it home from the shop and the transmission temperature got up to 190°. It was only a 10 minute drive and not a lot of stop and go but it was all city driving.
I understand the pros and cons regarding bypassing the radiator cooler that’s installed by the factory. I’m curious to some experiences from people who have done this themselves and any experiences. I have searched on this subject and read everything that’s out there but there’s nothing that’s fairly recent. The cooler that I purchased is a stacked plate design.
The car is a weekend toy that’s only driven in nice weather and stored in the winters. I won’t be beating on it at the track but just driving around town I don’t want to have issues with the transmission getting too hot.
If street driving, and going to be in some colder weather, then leave the radiator cooler in play before the external cooler.
Its going to warm up the oil when needed. Hence problem with the Z06 in colder weather to start with, since the oil really never gets up to temp.
If all road race or just going to run the car in hotter weather, then bypass the radiator cooler, since your first warm up lap will bring the oil temp up to temp fast enough instead.
As for motor/trans/diff temps in the 190, that is where they should be (really a little higher in the oil temps, to steam off any condensation in them from the last time the oil cooled down and pulled moisture), and really don't have to worry about these temps until they get up in the 260 ranges instead. Hence the lubes we use now a days, are taylored to work in the higher temp ranges to begin with.
I have 2011 grand sport and had a 3500
stall converter installed.
I only drove it home from the shop and the transmission temperature got up to 190°. It was only a 10 minute drive and not a lot of stop and go but it was all city driving.
I understand the pros and cons regarding bypassing the radiator cooler that’s installed by the factory. I’m curious to some experiences from people who have done this themselves and any experiences. I have searched on this subject and read everything that’s out there but there’s nothing that’s fairly recent. The cooler that I purchased is a stacked plate design.
The car is a weekend toy that’s only driven in nice weather and stored in the winters. I won’t be beating on it at the track but just driving around town I don’t want to have issues with the transmission getting too hot.
to bypass or not
Thanks, don
Considering how you use the car and the winter storage, I'd suggest routing the cooler after the radiator cooler. You'll get the trans fluid temps up fairly quickly by the OEM cooler to at least the 190 range and then cool the fluid down into the 160-180 range for the best trans longevity. The trans has cold shifting problems, primarily due to not enough heat induced fluid expansion. In addition to getting temps to 150F before going WOT, adding an extra 1/2 to full quart of fluid when using a high (3400+) converter, will prevent cavitation.
Good points here.
In the scenario of the car running for a couple hours cruising around and such, how do you see the temp difference from installing cooler in series with radiator vs stand alone?
thanks
Good points here.
In the scenario of the car running for a couple hours cruising around and such, how do you see the temp difference from installing cooler in series with radiator vs stand alone?
thanks
With the aftermarket cooler after the OEM radiator cooler, the temps will mostly remain stable in the 160-180 range. With the cooler separate, the temps will float up and down in relation to the ambient temps, the engine load aka fluctuating speed, and airflow through the cooler. If you add a fan to the cooler, you can possibly be too cool if not doing any activity to create much heat.
Racing/romping/hills etc creates far different results than cruising. At a steady 30-50 mph, you don't need a radiator fan either.
Did you make sure your condenser and radiator don’t have a lot of crap in them preventing good flow? Not all that uncommon. The converter certainly is playing its part in getting temps higher.
I bypassed the radiator when I installed my Derale stacked plate cooler. I DD my corvette 50 miles a day and even with my Dewitts radiator, I still saw over 200 degrees after 25 mins of driving on the freeway before the cooler install. Hottest I've seen was 225 degrees.
After the cooler, I barely see 180. The ATF temps sit between 140 and 170. I also installed a SPAL fan on the cooler that I can turn on and off when I'm sitting in traffic.
This is in central California. Very hot summer just passed and the cooler works great.
I bypassed the radiator when I installed a tranny cooler after installing a Circle-D high stall torque converter in my A6 tranny GS.
Even in summertime Florida my transmission temp don't go over 175 degrees in stop and go traffic.
The only problem with this would be if you lived in a cold state ... Bypassing the radiator, the trans temp may take forever to get to normal operating temp in the winter (not real good).
Install a fluid thermostat that bypasses the cooler until the fluid reaches a predetermined temp... then it opens allowing the fluid to go to the cooler... this will help promote quicker trans warm up temps then stabilize the temps once reached.
I have run these both on the transmission & Oil systems with their own dedicated coolers that had thermostatically controlled e-fans... When used together your engine and trans temps will remain remarkably stable and literally assist the coolant system with cooling duties.
If street driving, and going to be in some colder weather, then leave the radiator cooler in play before the external cooler.
Its going to warm up the oil when needed. Hence problem with the Z06 in colder weather to start with, since the oil really never gets up to temp.
If all road race or just going to run the car in hotter weather, then bypass the radiator cooler, since your first warm up lap will bring the oil temp up to temp fast enough instead.
As for motor/trans/diff temps in the 190, that is where they should be (really a little higher in the oil temps, to steam off any condensation in them from the last time the oil cooled down and pulled moisture), and really don't have to worry about these temps until they get up in the 260 ranges instead. Hence the lubes we use now a days, are taylored to work in the higher temp ranges to begin with.
I track a 2008 base w/ Z51 and in mid-70's F air temps, motor oil = 280 F, water = 200 F, trans fluid = 235 F. I've considered adding an additional trans cooler but it seemed these temps are considered acceptable. Can anyone confirm that this is well within safe operating temps or should extra cooling be added?
As a reference for typical highway driving, motor oil = 228 F, water = 196 F, trans fluid = 185 F.
bypassed the radiator when I installed a tranny cooler after installing a Circle-D high stall torque converter
Same with any car Ive had with a higher stall...running it through the radiator just increased engine temps when it slips.
Once bypassed the cooling system worked much less and trans seemed happy. No need for a thermostat unless temps are crazy low...I say just drive it
Use good line/connectors.
Installing trans cooler. Bypass radiator?
