Mach 1 Track Build & Dark Horse Overheating + Trans Failures – Need Proven Cooling Setup

[Ring_Mach1]

@Ring_Mach1 your pics don't appear to show any true hood venting?

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Welcome!

Yes, I still don't have any hood vents. That's probably something I really need to address next.

Have you looked at the cooling modifications on the GT4 Dark Horse R cars? They have the largest Setrab oil cooler, an aftermarket radiator, and large holes drilled through the fan shroud to let air pass through the shroud at speed.

There are aftermarket transmission fluid coolers, too.

I see stevebd already mentioned venting the hood - if you get that air into the coolers and radiator, you need some way to let it out, or you will be restricting air flow.

I'm currently installing the largest ProLine Setrab oil cooler available. Hopefully it'll be enough. With the stock Mach 1 oil cooler, I've seen engine oil temperatures as high as 158°C (316.4°F).

Did you get this installed yet?

I recently installed a CANchecked display. I'm reading engine oil temperature from a sandwich plate, and for the TR-3160 transmission I installed a temperature sensor in the drain plug. The transmission stays between 80-90°C (176-194°F), which I think is perfectly fine. The engine oil, however, gets far too hot, as mentioned above. I also upgraded to the Ford Performance water pump.

I think my next priority should definitely be adding hood vents. But first, I'm really curious to see how much of a difference the new oil cooler will make.
One more thing: I'm also monitoring coolant temperature, cylinder head temperature, and differential temperature through the OBD data.
I've heard that the coolant temperature shown over OBD is actually a calculated value rather than being measured directly. Is that correct?
I'm also planning to switch the differential over to 75W-140 gear oil for the next track events.

Thanks again for all the replies and the great feedback. It's really interesting to see how everyone approaches these issues and what setups people are running.
Here in Germany, there are actually very few people who seriously dive into this level of track preparation and data analysis on these cars, so it's been incredibly helpful to hear from people with real experience. I really appreciate everyone taking the time to share their knowledge.

best Tim

 

[Junkyard Dog]

Yes, I still don't have any hood vents. That's probably something I really need to address next.

I'm currently installing the largest ProLine Setrab oil cooler available. Hopefully it'll be enough. With the stock Mach 1 oil cooler, I've seen engine oil temperatures as high as 158°C (316.4°F).

I recently installed a CANchecked display. I'm reading engine oil temperature from a sandwich plate, and for the TR-3160 transmission I installed a temperature sensor in the drain plug. The transmission stays between 80-90°C (176-194°F), which I think is perfectly fine. The engine oil, however, gets far too hot, as mentioned above. I also upgraded to the Ford Performance water pump.

I think my next priority should definitely be adding hood vents. But first, I'm really curious to see how much of a difference the new oil cooler will make.
One more thing: I'm also monitoring coolant temperature, cylinder head temperature, and differential temperature through the OBD data.
I've heard that the coolant temperature shown over OBD is actually a calculated value rather than being measured directly. Is that correct?
I'm also planning to switch the differential over to 75W-140 gear oil for the next track events.

Thanks again for all the replies and the great feedback. It's really interesting to see how everyone approaches these issues and what setups people are running.
Here in Germany, there are actually very few people who seriously dive into this level of track preparation and data analysis on these cars, so it's been incredibly helpful to hear from people with real experience. I really appreciate everyone taking the time to share their knowledge.

best Tim

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Just curious whether you have video from your cars at Nurburgring? I am sure plenty of us would want to watch.