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My pleasure! I LOVE things that make sense. I learned a lot by tracing the coolant flow inside the engine case, heads, and the front console (oil pump) so now I understand the whole cooling system routing.
In the M96 engine, the water pump pushes the coolant from the bottom of the engine to the top of the engine so by the time the coolant reaches the bank 2 thrust side, the coolant is already quite warm so it has less capability to carry the extra heat away from the thrust side. Bank 1 is the opposite because the thrust side of bank 1 is at the bottom (the ground side) so everything is good.
So if everything is good, why is bank 1 always the piston slapper?
Why a low temperature thermostat is a good mod for the M96
Originally Posted by Ahsai
It's very simple. The coolant temperature inside the M96 engine is not very even, leading to hotter spots on the bank 2 thrust side (the sky side). The LTT lowers the temp of the whole system to create more headroom for the bank 2 thrust side. If heat load is added suddenly (e.g., WOT after a long stop light), there's still room to tolerate the heat increase.
In the M96 engine, the water pump pushes the coolant from the bottom of the engine to the top of the engine so by the time the coolant reaches the bank 2 thrust side, the coolant is already quite warm so it has less capability to carry the extra heat away from the thrust side. Bank 1 is the opposite because the thrust side of bank 1 is at the bottom (the ground side) so everything is good.
Another point is the thermostat is submerged in both the coolant coming back from the radiators (cooled) and the coolant coming out of the top of the engine. So any sudden heat increase from the cylinders will be averaged out by the cooler return coolant from the radiator and that makes the thermostat less responsive to open up.
Ahsai - thank you for the first complete and intelligent explanation of the justification for the LTT modification.
Other (well intentioned) dismissals of the LTT mod ignored the unique(?) peculiarities of the M96. Those of us who actually have rebuilt this engine learned the hard way not to blindly apply conventional wisdom and old school experience to this engine.
Thank you for explaining one of the many mysteries of the M96. Imagine how many engines(& wallets) may have been saved if this explanation had been available years ago.
Ahsai - thank you for the first complete and intelligent explanation of the justification for the LTT modification.
Other (well intentioned) dismissals of the LTT mod ignored the unique(?) peculiarities of the M96. Those of us who actually have rebuilt this engine learned the hard way not to blindly apply conventional wisdom and old school experience to this engine.
Thank you for explaining one of the many mysteries of the M96. Imagine how many engines(& wallets) may have been saved if this explanation had been available years ago.
Thanks Schnell. I can't take full credit though. A major part of this was explained in the not-easy-to-read Hartech paper. I've probably saved you 10 pages of reading highly technical writing though
You will also come to the same conclusion if you take time to trace all the coolant passages inside the engine block and try to understand all the different flows. Pay close attention to the cross-sections of each passage/opening as that governs the relative amount of flow between all the parallel coolant "circuits" throughout the block and heads.
The literary language that Baz uses is very old English Grammar School.It is like reading Jane Austen. I am fluent in it indeed my first car was an Austin(Healey). But to my knowledge, nobody else has independently supported his LTT theory. I followed most of his recommendations.I was admonished by one Forum for regarding Hartech as my bible !
So your comments are a particularly significant corroboration. I presume JR agrees but I understand his reluctance to be harangued by the 'keyboard experts'.
Doubtless all will be revealed when "The M96 - a Definitive Guide" is published :-)
Just because he makes a few diy videos ,does not make this self-publicist an M96 expert. His point of view may be valid(or not). The place to find out the truth is here where he has to debate others who may have more experience/knowledge. Despite all it's limitations Rennlist is a far more rigorous debating chamber than You Tube !
Exactly. I'm hoping to keep this thread as technical and factual as possible. Rational discussion and info sharing are of course welcome.
Originally Posted by Schnell Gelb
Just because he makes a few diy videos ,does not make this self-publicist an M96 expert. His point of view may be valid(or not). The place to find out the truth is here where he has to debate others who may have more experience/knowledge. Despite all it's limitations Rennlist is a far more rigorous debating chamber than You Tube !
06-28-2016, 11:43 AM
may have been saved if this explanation had been available years ago.
