Running temperature advice anyone?

**Fastandcorse** · 12 Sep 08, 07:52 PM

Can anyone help with a little advice on normal running temp for my machine?

On a mild day cruising at 70mph in top the temperature guage is just below the 180 mark and stopping for a short while in town or at lights it rises quite quickly. This has never been a problem though (the coolant is at correct level) and I've never heard the fan click in at anytime either - what is your normal running temp and do you know at what temp the fan should start running?

Thanks - Colin

**stevel** · 12 Sep 08, 07:56 PM

Colin, it can depend on what mix of antifreeze you're running, more a/f to less water will raise the temp. My 996 ran at around 65 C, but I renewed the a/f to a 50/50 mix and it went up to around 75 C. You should be looking for approx 85 C as the most efficient running temp, some people use water wetter to combat high temps at slow speed but it ususally drops temps way down. Haynes book lists temp switch settings, can check on 996 for you later

**Fastandcorse** · 12 Sep 08, 08:12 PM

Thanks for the tips Stevel. I have never heard of water wetter so I'll do some research. How much effect does the oil cooler have on the overall cooling of the engine? Could poor performance here make it seem like the cooling system isn't working efficiently?

**998gsb** · 12 Sep 08, 08:28 PM

Fans kick in two stages 97C and 102C iirc...

**brian91cfr** · 12 Sep 08, 08:33 PM

the 916sps only has one fan ,i take it the 998 t/stretta eng has two?

brian.

**998gsb** · 12 Sep 08, 08:34 PM

Yeah it has.....oops

**Carbon749** · 12 Sep 08, 08:50 PM

Antifreeze should not be used much above a 50/50 mix. Above that it will actually have an adverse effect and stop cooling properly. A 50/50 mix will protect down to -40c, doubt many of our bikes see that.

Also, engine oil, say 10w/40, has the upper viscosity measured at 100c. So an engine running around 100c is not a problem for the engine oil.

**Rob998** · 12 Sep 08, 09:16 PM

I had some overheating problems earlier this year & amongst other things I added Water Wetter to the coolant.

I did a little unscientific before & after test , I ran it up to the temp which the fans kicked in. The fresh coolant (Shell Advance premixed) helped it straight away. Then I put in Water Wetter, and the next day ran it up again. It took longer to warm up enough for the fans to kick in and then when they did, the temp dropped quicker.

I would say the bike runs 10 deg C cooler at the top of the temp range now.

There have been some questions asked about wether Water Wetter can damage the cooling system, but I've never heard anyone actually come out and say "Yes, it ****ed my bike up!"

I'm happy with it.

**Fastandcorse** · 12 Sep 08, 09:35 PM

Thanks lads you've come up trumps again and it looks as though I need to begin with the coolant mix and/or possible additives. I think it may be worth checking manufacturers settings for temp/fan operation as well just for complete peace of mind.

**mcr998** · 13 Sep 08, 11:36 AM

My 916SPS normally runs at betwwen 60 - 80C and the fan kicks in at around 105C, and I'm running 50/50 mix.

**MarkG** · 13 Sep 08, 05:53 PM

I switched to Engine Ice last coolant change. I would say I'm almost always at 65 to 75C, and very rarely over 90, and that's in town traffic. Once I get on the highway it drops quickly. On back roads with over 80F ambient, closer to 65C really. Sorry to switch scales.

If you can get it in the UK I highly recommend it. My only concern with it is running too cool.

**Fastandcorse** · 13 Sep 08, 06:12 PM

Hi MarkG - Another product I hadn't heard of and worth lining up as an option.

Thanks

Colin

**Ascalon** · 14 Sep 08, 07:10 AM

I spend a lot of my time commutting trough the city and was getting concerned about sustained high temps, as in staying between 90 and 108c on my ST4s. The fan kicks in and out but sitting in heavy traffic, directly in the exhaust draft of a buss doesn't do anyone any good!

I looked into Water Wetter and decided against it. Instead, I went with Motul MoCool, which is formulated to do the same thing, but by a company that is more motorcycle focused. It is put in in a 5% solution to an existing system and I can report that same effects as the others here. It takes longer to get hot and when it does get hot, it cools quicker. That said, I still see occasional peaks that are pretty high. 118C flashed up for a second the other morning.

But I have the up rated Desmotimes fan on the way too, so that should help take care of the peaks.

So, I'd say, if you have any doubts on the Water Wetter solution go with the Motul stuff, it's recommended for bikes.

A

**Fastandcorse** · 14 Sep 08, 06:06 PM

Thanks Ascalon. Interestingly enough, I have found during my research that water temperature has an effect on fuel mixture rich/lean so it seems to me that it's got to be within manufacturers spec otherwise it can affect things....It mentions it hear where Weber explain how the Ducati ECU works;

Sigma Performance - Weber Fuel Injection