Alfa Romeo Forum banner

Running Hot

Tags
hot running
1K views 13 replies 4 participants last post by  Wrenched 
#1 ·
My 146ti has been running hotter than normal lately. Before on the freeway the temperature would drop to about 60 but now it just stays at 80.

Any ideas at to what may be causing this? The coolan is at the correct level.
 
#4 ·
The 'stat' wants checking, but they are usually meant to fail open. The age of the car might point in the direction of choked rad, cyl block or a problem with the water pump. Has it had a history of coolant leaks at any stage? Too much hard tap water is bad.
 
#5 ·
Go along with all of the above, remember the old alcohol bellows, type wrenched? What are they now wax capsuled, or something else? Gee, this Motor Vehicle stuff, what tips are they using on the Wankel Engine now? Is it just Mazda, Did that Norton motorcycle ever go into production with it's twin rotors? Called the Interstate or summat.
 
#6 ·
Steady boy, you're in 'Way Off..' territory now! Norton built quite a lot for the police who they seemed to be using as their development dept. I talked to a copper years ago who was leaning on his. I got the impreesion they were working well technically, but commercially?? Why Wankel eh?? what has it achieved? It's themodynamics permanently relegate it to the top of the Worlds Worst Guzzler leaderboard. What on earth have Mazda spent on it?? Just baffled!
 
#10 ·
I think the incentive was low parts count and weight compared to a reciprocating engine of similar smoothness. It takes a lot of cylinders and balance weights to make a smooth piston engine. With Wankel you get a six cylinder engine with 2 or 3 moving parts, effectively eliminating con rods, valves, camshafts, valve gear. So yes, I can see why effort was put into it. If fuel consumption wasn't a Big Thing, it would have been more keenly adopted. It still makes my mind boggle to think of the thrust on the rotor and what the poor tip seals suffer. I watched, and heard, the Mazda win Le-Mans a few years ago but still have diffculty believing it!
 
#11 ·
If fuel consumption wasn't a Big Thing, it would have been more keenly adopted. It still makes my mind boggle to think of the thrust on the rotor and what the poor tip seals suffer. I watched, and heard, the Mazda win Le-Mans a few years ago but still have diffculty believing it!
Thinking about a little more philosophically, you might think that the Wankel is to the petrol 4 stroke what a petrol 4 stroke is to a diesel. More power, less torque, lighter, smoother, less economical. I have managed to get 30mpg out of my RX, but only the once :rolleyes:
 
#12 ·
So do you generally run at higher RPM with the rotary, I mean is it lower geared? Always had to suppress a secret hankering for an RX. Seemed a good package for the price. Then there was that fabulous Suzuki of the seventies. I didn't fancy many Japanese m/cycles but that had me fascinated. It's the Dan Dare/Thunderbirds thing I suppose.
 
#13 ·
Depends what you are doing. The series 3 RX7 has got twin turbos, so you're making decent boost by 2000rpm. Pootling around town is generally 1500-3000rpm. It's often in a low gear because its actually pretty highly geared; 3rd is good for about 115mph. Driving briskly I normally keep below 4000 because after that you get the second turbo on boost, and it starts drinking fuel. Driving fast I keep it above 4500, but its hard to find space; in 1st I struggle for grip, in 2nd its over fairly quickly, and in 3rd its seriously licence losing!
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top