Jpaul26

Hey, I tried to find something specifically on installing the RX8Performance fan control kit on an S2, but couldn't find anything.

First off, I'm unable to find the 10mm bolt to ground the sensor to, as the S2 ECU and Negative terminal ground seems to be different than the S1, and the ground wire is only about 8-10 inches long. The instructions specify fuse selections for S2, but nothing else specific to S2.

Second, had anyone else with an S2 used this mod to combat high operating temperatures? I live in central Texas and the summer days have been 105°F most days, so I'm trying my best to make the rotary feasible to drive safely despite the circumstances 😥

PS - it seems tough to find any S2 rx8 info. Rare breed I guess
​​​

0913B

iTrader: (1)

I’ve used that on an s2, I connected it to the battery terminal connector.

Jpaul26

Did that get into in the way of things during normal operations? My negative terminal is closer towards the front of the car

0913B

iTrader: (1)

yea that’s how the battery tray is laid out, everything worked fine, I monitored the coolant temps using the torque pro app, and i never saw temps higher than 185 no matter how hard I ran the car, definitely worked.

Jpaul26

Great to know! Much appreciated! And that's with stock S2 cooling, otherwise? I'll hook mine to the negative terminal and try it out next week. I'll let you know how it goes

0913B

iTrader: (1)

yes that was with the stock radiator although I eventually upgraded to one from Koyorad, if you ever swap out your coolant tank be careful removing the tubing from the tank to the radiator, the stock radiator has really fragile plastic nipples that will snap off, happened to me. Flush your coolant and maybe install some foam lining (like the ones used for ac’s) around the radiator to help direct air through it, you should be fine.

TeamRX8

iTrader: (25)

Any chassis bolt is grounded if the paint is cleaned off properly.

I would strongly recommend dumping the factory fan cooling strategy, bunch of people on here still haven’t figured that out after all these years …
.

Jpaul26

Even for the S2? Folks mention the stock radiator is larger and the cooling efforts are greater so I figured stock plus was the way to go

0913B

iTrader: (1)

I guess it depends on your application, if you want to track your car it might not be enough but for the street the fan control kit kept my temps down.

Jpaul26

Right, I don't plan to track mine at the moment, so if it can keep the temps down on the street then I'm satisfied

0913B

iTrader: (1)

also depends where you live , if it does get really hot you should be ok

Jpaul26

UPDATE on Install and Results:

Slotted the negative terminal for the sensor underneath my negative battery terminal, wrapped everything up and started the car. Didn't heat up too quickly, so I took it for a drive, so I never physically heard when the fans kicked on, to confirm they kicked on earlier. HOWEVER, while driving, I can confirm that the temperature never exceeded 195F. Actually, even under load it hung out around 185F, which I'd call a huge win on this 100F day in Texas.

Unfortunately, my oil temperatures are still higher than I'd like. Previously, they had been getting as high as 250F (which is why I stopped driving it until I found some solutions to change that) but even during this drive with 185F coolant temps, the oil temperature hung around 220-230F, and would get up to 240F at redline. Much more manageable than before (almost a 20 degree drop!) but still what I think most would call a dangerous operating oil temp.

So if anyone has suggestions on next steps to address the OIL TEMPERATURE, that'd be greatly appreciated.

Thanks again for all who contributed their experiences and considerations!

Meat Head

Quick google search got me here to this thread:
https://www.rx8club.com/series-ii-di...t-swap-271898/

A start point and possibly worth exploring. Also, don’t want to assume anything so will mention this well - have you straightened the oil cooler fins and cleaned the dead bugs off? I went a different way and changed the fan trigger temperatures in VersaTuner. Seems to be effective.

Jpaul26

Glad you asked! I was too busy excitedly writing about my new coolant numbers to really dig into the Oil Temp plans, but my first step is to take my infrared thermometer and try to verify my oil temp somehow? (Open to ideas, but I want to make sure the OBDII numbers aren't artificially high). Second step regardless of the results from step one will be to clean the oil radiators for bugs, straighten dents, etc. Third, I'll check the sensors, wherever those are, to make sure they aren't damaged (hence the reason for step one).

I'll check the thread for more!

samakijoe

JPaul26: I installed these :

https://rotaryperformance.com/produc...ler-thermostat

Jpaul26

Do I need one of these, or two?

samakijoe

More then likely need two, but I would ask when you call them.
They will know..
Also, I'm looking into getting a Bluetooth driven scanner for my Android.
This will give you updated temperatures as you drive..
I'm going with "BlueDriver". There a number of "APs" for scanning.
Make sure the "AP" works with your car..

0913B

iTrader: (1)

s2’s have 2 oil coolers

Jpaul26

Thanks. I ordered two, and I'll give another update once I receive, install and test them out. 💪🏾✌🏾

Jpaul26

Alright folks! Thanks to everyone who has provided insights and help so far. Having an infant slows down time for a car haha.

Was able to install both Oil thermostats earlier this week; took me less than an hour. It only required moving a few plastic pieces underneath the car. Was able to take the car for a drive this morning and the temps are about 20 DEGREES lower at idle and light driving. Specifically, Coolant temp is 181-185F CONSISTENTLY, and Oil temps are 215-225F. Under load, though, they still climb up to about 240F according to the data coming in from my OBDII screen. I've seen others installing oil thermometers and getting 190F under load and it's driving me crazy because I'm nowhere near those numbers. Now, I've scoured forums to figure out what the ideal oil temperatures are, IF there even is a thing. My current thought is that maybe the oil temperature will never get below 200, and maybe it shouldn't be, since too cool of oil can keep non-oil things like moisture/condensation/water inside of it. I'm currently running 5W-30 in my car since I wasn't convinced to deviate so far from the OEM recommendation like some have who are running like 20W-30... so with that said:

1. What Oil Temperatures should I be looking for, and WHY?
2. Are Oil Temperatures as important as Coolant Temperatures?
3. Should I be worried about my engine with oil temperatures reaching 240F under spirited street driving?
4. If so, what are the next steps I should take in my "Stock+ S2" journey?

samakijoe

.

I would ask some questions: age of car, miles, new radiator or old, do the fan actually turn on?
I never understood if you have the a lower temperature fan control installed?
An easy way to see what temp turns on the fan. With the over flow cap off, start the engine, steal
your wife's candy making thermometer from the kitchen. put the thermometer in the open tank fill.
Stand there until the fans start. If both fans come on, listen for an out of sink sound from the fans, (one fan has 4 blades the other has 6..)
(Kind of like the twin engine Japanese planes out in the Pacific. This one pilot always ran them
that way on purpose so the yanks below would know it was him, again.)
Monitor temp. Proceed from there...
Your plastic over flow tank is getting old. (hell aren't we all?) If this guy explodes at a bad time
you will need a tow home if not a new engine..
I went with this guy. It has a level sensor as well as a lower temp fan control.

https://www.rx8performance.com/products/ast ($299)

I looked for a new plastic one, they wanted $165 for it..

...

Jpaul26

I installed the cooling fan control kit first and it significantly helped my coolant numbers. Fan turns on at 180F and temps don't go past 195F even in traffic. Recently bought and installed oil thermostats that open up at 165F instead of 220F, and they have dropped my oil temps to around 115-125F at idle and up to 240F if I'm redlining it.

Motor was a factory rebuild that has about 65k miles on it. Chassis has 144k no though. It's a 2009. I've replaced the ignition coils, spark plug wires and spark plugs. New alternator, new battery.

kevink0000

I was not aware that the s2 had an obd sensor for oil temp, so I am unaware(so far) what location it is in. That matters, because if you are getting a spike in temp after some full throttle runs, it may or may not present an issue. My guess is that you don't have an issue, since I have those same thermostats in Arizona,(100 degrees is overcoat weather) and I get 215 max after hard running, and the temp is allowed to settle after the oil cooler thermostats open fully and oil flows through the system with them open. You can see a spike in temp like I do, with my sensor in the oil cooler engine output line. It is a brief spike.

Many will disagree, but 20w-50 is your friend. I have over 300,000 miles of Mazda rotary powered travel using 20w-50 in all cases. Even upstate New York and Washington State. I went to 5w-30 only in subzero Montana temps when I lived there. GTX 20w-50 is plentiful and cheap at Walmart, which is what I use.
I would also premix heavily with a quality 2 stroke.

Please use this guide for the RX-8, from Australia I believe, and don't look back. (I think this is even an S2 manual). 5w-20 is silly, even with the S2's better oil pressure. Not enough people know the benefits of that weight of oil in this engine for longevity. Really, it should be every RX-8 owner's year-round oil in most parts of the US. Just follow the temp chart. Yes, 20w-50 is OK down to 0'F. Shocking. 20w-50 was the racer's friend back in the day. It's not so different now, even with the wonderful oils we have currently. Especially for this engine.

TeamRX8

iTrader: (25)

that was posted on here 10-15 years ago, nobody remembers those things

any more than missing what is still before every fleshly eye and ear, yet still to this day is neither known nor perceived by all the fleshly minds on here regarding this specific topic.
.

kevink0000

That's why I posted it, it seems like nobody even considers 20w-50 for these cars at this point in time.

Not really interested in quotations from The Book of Team, however.