Coolant temperature overheating on track.
- Thread starter khalid0
- Start date
What was the ambient temperature on the day you ran? Were you shifting near redline? In Southern California, we have many hot track day temperatures. No experience with the NFGT but with most cars, backing off the ideal shift points by 1000 rpm or so may make the difference between being able to stay out and having to come in. The AC condensor is problematic on almost all street/track cars and I would imagine no different on the NFGT.
The day temperature was 34C to 38C, yes was shifting close to redline, I would do the same in a Porsche GT car and it will run all day with no issues, I thought the Ford GT based on an LM car would have more tolerance, I’m thinking to change the coolant to a more high performance. Anyone upgraded there coolant or other cooling hacks!
Tough task for a street car to run full-tilt in those kind of temperatures. Some tips to help you;
1. Shifting below redline should be a lot easier on the car - and probably the best thing you can do to control temps
2. Don't run AC on the track
3. Water only (NO coolant mixed) would be best for cooling
4. When/if car becomes a more dedicated track car, remove the AC condensor.
Two of the more major changes to make the NFGT suitable as a street car was; 1) the addition of a comparatively heavy suspension and requisite hydraulic system, and; 2) the addition of air conditioning - including a condensor in front of the radiator. On top of these changes, I believe the street car also has more HP/TQ and therefore has even higher cooling requirements than the race car.
1. Shifting below redline should be a lot easier on the car - and probably the best thing you can do to control temps
2. Don't run AC on the track
3. Water only (NO coolant mixed) would be best for cooling
4. When/if car becomes a more dedicated track car, remove the AC condensor.
Two of the more major changes to make the NFGT suitable as a street car was; 1) the addition of a comparatively heavy suspension and requisite hydraulic system, and; 2) the addition of air conditioning - including a condensor in front of the radiator. On top of these changes, I believe the street car also has more HP/TQ and therefore has even higher cooling requirements than the race car.
jammer
GT Owner
- Apr 19, 2016
- 206
In addition to ambient temperature, I'd also consider in the analysis Relative Humidity as higher RH can reduce the air capacity to transfer heat from the radiator. My recollection from a few years ago when I used to live in Dubai is that in October afternoon RH can get into the 60% to 70% range which when combined with high ambient temperature can make it very difficult for radiators to shed excessive heat generated by extended red line shifting.
Last edited:
Iconic GT
GT Owner
Some great feedback here!
If tracking in Maine last week there was a 50 degree swing with his temp..... 38C is 100.4F
That is true, but I swap cars between my NGT and my Porsche GT2RS in same track session with no issues in the Porsche. It is not acceptable to me that the NGT has heating issues.
texas mongrel
GT Owner
Apples and oranges. High ambient temperatures combined with high RPM shift points on a road course is going to be the biggest challenge for the cooling system.
Austinj427
Well-known member
COTA is a tough track on a lot of cars. I have a buddy who frequently runs that track and said the ZL1 1LEs frequently have overheating issues there.
Surviving at COTA, especially during summer, is a big task.
Agreed. I should have been more specific insofar that I was trying to refer to the Big Bend Road Race. Tracks like COTA ARE definitely a challenge on cooling systems. OP is citing high ambient temps 90-100F. I guess what I am trying to say is that I don't think there's a unique problem/issue with the OP's NFGT. Any NFGT when doing hard track work in those kind of ambient temperatures is going to struggle (as is the 05-06 GT). The comparison shouldn't be, "i've tracked my car and it didn't overheat" but rather "I've tracked my NFGT in 90-100F ambient temps and had no issues with overheating/limp mode." Anyone done that?