Before I get started I think I best apologise for wasting you time on this potentially very stupid idea.


Anyway since I've fitted my FMIC, like everyone else, I've now seen the water temps rise. So I've been thinking of ways to help cool the rad down.



I first thought of cold air feeds and a small air scoop (using the hole in the under tray for the FMIC) but that would only work when the coupé is moving and the temps are o.k. then.

Then I thought about the fan override switch but that's a lot of effort from the fan with little gain.

Now I've been thinking how about another little rad plumbed into the existing pipe work with the rad sitting where the old WMIC was. You could have a little fan sitting behind it wired in to come on when the main fan comes on. This rad would be a long way from the turbo and engine (so no heat soak) , have its own uninterrupted cold feed (SIP wont make any difference) and shouldn't cost too much. I sure we could find an existing rad and fan off something else (maybe a bike) or ask PA if they want another project. I think the wiring for the fan would be quite simple as well.

So what do you think, should I crawl back beneath my rock or hold my head up high and get rights to any profits made of my idea?

Cheers, Chris.

Head back to the rock. If you're worried about temps get an alloy radiator. But if your temps are reasonable when driving I dont see you have an issue. It's accepted that they will increase when stuck in traffic and maybe take slightly longer to come down again.

What temps are you getting that are worrying you?

I have PA Rad and I see serious rise in the temp as well. I feel that the FMIC is blocking the cold air. Fiat dealer is saying that the fans are not enough to cool the water in the large PA radiator :Confused: im not sure if anyone fit an extra fan though.

@mattB. I've not been using the car much as it needs mapping but after I came back from PF (120miles) after having the FMIC fitted the water tempts were normal. When I got home I let her idle for about 20sec then turned off the coupé for about two minutes, I then started her up again and the fan kicked in straight away and the water temperature hit 95. Now I'm a bit worried that the water may get very high when the car is off (I know this shouldn't happen but I thought this might be “heat soak”?) and do something nasty. The fan doesn’t kick in if the car has been turned off does it??? I know it can stay on for some time if it has seen the temps are too high before the engine is turned off.

Regarding the alloy rads I've been reliably informed that they don't really make that much difference in traffic (I'm sure I'm going to get banned for saying that).

I was thinking about this also - was thinking a fan on the oil cooler may help take some of the strain of the water coolant system, as the oil cooler doesn't do much while your stuck in traffic as its passive

So you're worried about the temps when the engine is turned off?

The coolant isn't pumping round the system when the engine is off so even if the fan was on it isn't going to make a hell of a lot of difference. And I dont think the coupe fan stays on when you switch off the engine, even if it's on at the point where you come to switch the engine off.

All that's happening when the engine is off is that heat is being transferred to the coolant from the engine. You are no longer generating any heat so I'm fairly convinced your head isn't going to spontaneously warp some time after you switch the engine off.

Yes, I'm worried about temps when engine is off as well as on as I have seen an increase in water temperature when the engine is off.

I understand that the engine isn't "making" anymore heat when it's off but I'm thinking the engine has heat stored that is warming the standing water when the engine is off due to insufficient cooling when running.

So I'm looking at ways to cool the water down whilst running which will take more heat out the engine so it shouldn't be as hot when it's turned off.

Maybe I should be thinking of other ways to cool the engine when it’s off but the only thing I can think of would be a bonnet vent.

P.S. I'm sure I've heard my fan working after I've turned the car off.

But you said your car is running at the correct temperature? You don’t want to run it any cooler than what it’s designed to run at otherwise you’ll get poor fuel economy and possibly eventually bore wash due to overfuelling. The water will always get hot when the engine has been switched off and it’s been standing, that’s just what happens.

You only really need to worry about water temperatures when you get up to 120 degrees or something like that. That wont happen with the engine off.

Oh, o.k. Thanks that makes me feel happyer when I'm driving and the car is off, but what about when it's in traffic. Why would it be a bad idea to try something like that for that purpose? If it had a switchable fan then with it being so clear down there surly it would help stationary cooling?

I guess in that situation it could help. How high are your temps getting though when you're sitting in traffic?

By all means give it a go and I cant see it particularly doing any harm. Just bear in mind we're about to get to winter so you've probably got months to come up with something.

Like I said I've not had any issues yet but I'd like to think of something to offer the coupé community and it looks like at least two people would be interested to see some results.

Like you say I think I'll look into this over the next few months and see what's available.

Cheers for your help. I'll keep this post in mind and report any progress.

Anyone got any mods to make the car go faster with the engine off too.....he he he.....couldnt resist!