Edited

 

Real world example today. After some spirited cyn driving we pulled over at our usual scenic view and my car's fans did not come on as they always used to during this run. I have noticed this several times now which makes me think that the car is running cooler even when pressed.It was a balmy 102 this afternoon on the Ventrua Fwy and on my way home my water temp was 180 while moving and went up to 187 in some stop and go. Seems like a good benefit to me rite there
Randy
Team M7
www.m7tuning.com

 

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The engine will run cooler than stock.If that seems like it might help counteract the increased heat of a 19% pulley then that is a added bonus. We will not run the 19% for a variety of reasons so unfortunatly I will not be able to give you direct evidence one way or the other.
Randy
Team M7
www.m7tuning.com

 

if the engine run cooler than stock would the M7 thermostat also lower the oil temp?

 

We haven't looked into that area to be honest as we are working on a separate oil cooler for that particular situation. Preliminary numbers look very good. The ball park figures off the top of my head were a 30+ degree reduction compared to the stock 10 degree reduction in oil temperatures. Had another 102 day today and the car still ran at a even 180 or less all around town.

Randy
Team M7
www.M7tuning.com

 

Hi Randy,

So which mean that with the thermostate it would also help the oil temp?
I am currently running at about 270F on normal driving, going over 300F on hard driving.
This make me really worry about the engine, i will be inline for the oil cooler but for the mean time the thermostate will help? right?

thx for all the help

MiniE

 

Without a doubt your car will run cooler . Those are about the highest temps I have seen. What type of gauge are you using and where is the sending unit picking up the temp ?
Randy
Team M7
www.M7tuning.com

 

Thx for the quick reply Randy

I have a Autometer ultralite oil temp gauge. I am using the stock sender unit at the oil plug,

the 1st autometer i brought was 100-250, i was alway over it. so when out 2 buy the 140-300 last week, now with hard driving is also going over.

This is making me quite worry.

Is time for me to order a thermostate

 

As our tests have been with checking the water temp I am very interested to see what it does a far as your oil temp meter goes. If you place the order this week you can still get it at the introductory price of $ 29.95. Go to the site for the order info and please keep in touch as far as your results.

Randy
Team M7
www.M7tuning.com

 

Randy,

I just ordered from Peter, hopfully get it really soon, I will keep you posted on the oil temp issue.

 

DDTUNG

 

can someone enlighten me as to what exactly the thermostat does? it sounds like just a temperature gauge or somethin but how it works i dont exactly understand

 

Are there any problems with the M7 thermostat not allowing the oil to get up to temperature? What temp does the oil need to get to in order to get the contaminants out. Also, does this thermostat change the position of the collant temp gauge (and does it force the engine to inject more gas because it can't warm up all the way...what temp does MINI consider a "warm" engine)? If the answer is no, then how easy is it to install?

 

Our thermostat allows the car to run 15 degrees less than normal. There are no ill effects other than extra tire wear The coolant temp gage will not change as that gage is really a fancy " idiot lite " something Mini doesn't really talk about. That meter now only goes to a pre set spot and stays there no matter what the temp. The word from the " inside " is that the service people got tired of owners coming in and saying things like " my buddy's car runs 5 degrees less than mine what is wrong " . Mini's solution was to turn the " gages ' into pre sets. I have a real temp gage in my car and as long as it is moving I am at 180d and that included a couple of 102 days last week. Its not a lot of difference temp wise but just enough to make a beneficial difference. FYI the response was bigger than expected and we are currently awaiting our next shipment. We will announce when they are shipping again.

Randy
Team M7

www.m7tuning

 

installed the thermostate yesterday,
now the check engine light is on,
i am also getting a strange idle, the mini idle at 1500rpm, and it will rev itself slowly to 2000k, and drop it back to 1500rpm,

did i do something wrong? anyone can shine some light on this matter?

 

Did you check all of your vacuum lines and other hoses? Something like that will cause this.

 

i check all the line, seem to be ok,
anyway, i have send my mini into service, hopefully the computer will read some fault code and tell me what is going on

 

Sound likes a loose throttle body cable, that is the symthom when the cable is loose or off car won't rev past 2K and idles very rough. From experienmce

 

What's involved in installing this thermostat?

 

dealer fighure it out,
i didn't install the intercooler sleeve properly,
anyway, everything it running great again, thx for everyone help,

installing is not really that hard, about an hr job, i think there is a writen how to here, let me try to search for it later,

but so far i do feel my mcs is runing smoother, also my oil temp finally drop a little,
it used to be runing normally at 270F, not is just under 250F, which is way cool,

 

Here is the link of the how to

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ght=Thermostat

 

Thanks very much

 

This was part of the original question, and the answer is no. The heat added by the 19% pulley comes from the added airflow being compressed and forced into the engine. The lower temp thermostat might give some very slight help, but countering the effects of the pulley means addressing the temp of the intake charge, not reducing the engine's coolant temps. I think. :smile:

I would also be careful about changing the thermostat, since the car is designed to run at a certain temp for both pollution and driveability reasons. I'm sure M7 knows those parameters and has supplied the correct thermostat with those issues in mind.

 

I had some of these same questions about the idea of changing the thermostat.
My main concern was how could lowering the water temperature threshold possibly help my Mini? The thermostat only regulates the minimum water temperature and most cars operate well above this minimum level. My next question was even if it worked, how could lowering the water temperature effect air charge temperature and reduce heat soak?

As some of you know I am a Ca. Smog Tech. As such I will say that changing the thermostat can cause the ECM to perceive that the engine is cold and richen the mixture. This can cause elevated carbon monoxide levels.

It was strongly suggested that I try the change and that if I could see or prove no benefit, the part would be removed and my money refunded. Back to the smog issue, I figured that when my car was required to be tested I would worry about it then (2008) and if need be I could always change it back.

I have since discovered that the Mini is very different then most cars. Under performance driving conditions the Mini does run cooler with the 180 degree thermostat. Although I am still convinced that it can not possibly affect air charge temperature and reduce heat soak. It does however reduce cylinder head temperature and thereby reduces combustion chamber temperature. This effectively does provide the same benefit.

I have since smog checked my car (I do have the equipment) to prove that the modifications done did not adversely effect emissions. In a garage environment with little air flow through the front of the car, the water temperature is not lowered enough to harm emissions.

So after all of that, buy the M7 Thermostat. It offers good benefit for minimum investment.

Dave