I've noticed that some old cars with the same conditions as in the 70's run a lot hotter now. Some old timer says it's got something to do with oxegenated (current) fuels. Any thoughts?
Here, the e-10 replaces 10% of the gasoline with ethanol, and then adds in 1.5% benzine. neither of which has the BTU's of gasoline. So in effect the mixture is a little leaner. So that would make a little more heat right there, right?
Can't have anything to do with 30-40 years of wear/corrosion/plugging, or the increase in traffic, or poor memory, or anything else. Must be the fuel.
I was talking about this to my wife. I remember the days before "rush hour" traffic. Traffic wasn't slow enough to cause overheating in those days. Nowadays, even though I have a mechanical fan, I also run an electric "pusher fan" on those days when I'm stuck in traffic.
I expected a better answer from you. I'm talking same conditions. Standard bore block, acid dipped clean, correct piston to wall.......etc. Also clean or fresh 4 row radiator, no obstructions, rubber flaps still intact to divert air to core where applicable.....etc. Zero to little traffic conditions similar to 30-40 yrs ago, same or sometimes lower ambient temperatures.......etc. But, thanks for playing
The cars today run hotter because the fuel is made specific for the cars designed and built using fuel injection and monitoring exhaust g***es and all controlled by engine management controller. The fuel as stated is lower octane and additives ment to reduce emmisssions not so much performance. This all leads to leaner fuel mixtures which can cause engines to run hotter in the older cars we drive. Todays temp gage is controlled to show middle of the gage so customers do not see actual temp swings unless it is critical then the controller will show higher on the gage and also chime for temp. Thank the EPA for it all. So when the man said the fuel he was right.
The engine in the car in my Avatar runs just about 175 degrees, Town and Country...which is just about what it ran at in the DeSoto it came out of. Blown '55 DeSoto 291 with a mechanical fan through a 32 4 cylinder radiator. However, I'm willing to bet that the engine hanging wide open the the air has something to do with it..
More wives tales and myths... IF...it the fuels fault...wouldn't it be ok then to...retune your engine...? My daily driver 59 Stude Lark, 2dr wagon with the Stude 259 and automatic trans. still installed and running....runs at 180 degrees all day with a 180 thermostat. The only time it gets much over that...190 is on 95+ degree days here in So. Cal. And this is with the crummy little three row Stude radiator. My friends 54 Ford pickup with a Ford 302 (sm. blk.) also runs between 175 and 185 depending on how fast he's going. Now to the old days...no matter what engine I had in my ol 56 Chevy 210 sedan, it also ran 180...with a 180 thermostst. I owned that car for almost 13 years with no overheating problems. So where's the problem again...? Mike
You guys are overlooking one big thing...Tailpipe emmissions. Modern cars are adjusted to run leaner with the ethanol gas so as to emit LESS bad stuff out the tailpipe. They are intended to run hotter to achieve this..Hotter is better for catalytic convertors. Ahh, for the "good olden dayz".
Maybe it's the water we mix with the coolant. The water has been so contaminated over the years it can't do it's job to displace heat. This is why I only use top quality bottled water in my cars. Plus bottled water makes the antifreeze taste better.
My cars don't run any hotter than they did in the 60s. If one does I find out what happened. They do break just like they used to. This is the first time this old timer has ever heard this theory or the theoretical problem at all. Personally I think the old timers that you talked to just were looking for something to ***** about and made up this theory. When I was 21 they said you could never trust anyone over 35 so don't believe us old folks now.
I hate to bring up my original '51 Ford club coupe again, but it has 78,000 miles on it. I've had it for 25 years, and a year after I got it, it started to run hot. Had the radiator re-cored, and no problem since. With 160 thermostats, it runs ay less that half on the stock temp gauge and has never given me a bit of trouble. I run 91 octane "non-oxygenated" (no alcohol) most of the time, but if I'm caught out in the boonies, I have no problem putting in regular 10% alcohol gas. The car is so stock it would scare you, but I've never had any problems. About 20 years ago I drove it from the twin cities to a show in Chicago and back. The second day there, we got caught in traffic on a 95 degree day. That was the first and only time I've seen the temp gauge over half. Modern cars were peeling out of traffic and boiling over; I had no problems. Lately, since my arthritis has kicked in, I find myself driving the '51 more and more. The pickup is to high to get in easily, and the modern car and the Corvettes are too low. I am simply amazed how well it works. I read horror stories on here about problems with today's gas and oil. I really think if you have a car in good shape and watch the maintenance, you'll be all right. The only thing that hurt the old girl was no use. About 15 years ago, I fulfilled one of my high school dreams, which was a '36 3 window with a "full race" '50 Merc, a '39 floor box, 4.11 gears, and '39 hydraulics. During the time I did that car, the '51 spent 5 years without turning a wheel. When I got it out, it needed a tune-up and carb rebuild, and the brakes (that I completely went through when I got the car) needed to be gone through again. I did it all and did it right, and everything came back the way it was supposed to be. By the way; the '36 is long gone, and I'm driving the '51 every day I can. In case anybody wants to see it, I put up a photo album a couple of weeks ago. I've been bragging about this car so much, I decided that I should put up something so nobody will think I'm ****ting them.
That Thar is plumb funny... I would agree that ethanol runs cooler not hotter...but that is a tech question... ping...ping...ping...
Tuning enters the picture, but all other conditions the same, engines do run hotter and yes, IT IS THE FUEL! We recalibrate the carburetors to run with the ethanol (on cars and trucks), so other than reduced fuel economy, we don't have the hot running issue. We have more issues with personal lawn and garden tractors, weed eaters, etc. and I just detest working on small engine carbs. We have more than one lawn and garden tractor that will vapor lock while mowing if the ambient is 90 or above on pump fuel (E-10), and run fine if we go to the marina and purchase a five gallon can of real gasoline. Same lawn and garden tractor, same lawn, same day, same temperature, DIFFERENT fuel. To those who have never experienced any difficulties, so pooh pooh the issue: I have never seen either a volcano or a tsunami here in Missouri. I guess that means these issues don't exist anywhere. We ship carburetors world-wide, and spend more time on the telephone helping non-customers deal with this issue than selling parts. But the fuel isn't everything. Make sure that the fan belts don't slip, the timing is correct, the firing voltages are good, etc. Lots of hobbyists try to run too much timing. Jon.
I wonder how many of these folks who swear that their car runs hotter now than it did in '67, '78, '91 know how much rust and scale is currently clogging the cooling p***ages of their engine block. Now, if the fuel has changed in composition (or has become difficult to obtain in its original form), and no effort has been made to compensate for the different composition, then it is not the fuel, it is the tuner. If you can't, or don't want to tune your car, then bring it over, or to any of the other shops, and we'll take care of it for you.
They are probably the people that swore that our collector cars were doomed in 1974 when they took out the lead.
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