F430 GT3

Is your car Loris Kessel version 430GT3?

 

Was engine really that hot or bad gauge reading? If it was and everything is as you say, likely air in line system needs bleeding.

How hot did oil get?

If water got that high it would boil over and likely damage engine.

 

430 water temperature gets to about 115 to 120 degrees Celcius at Sepang's full track configuration in 30 minute sprint races.

If your water temp got up to 140 then something is wrong.

 

When running we never had a issue but during refueling we did
so we fit a cooling fan that stays on and an electric water pump
to keep flow going and never had another overheating issue.


Something is wrong with flow. Are you sure water pump is ok and impeller
is ok? Is a cooling line crimped? Is fuel/air ok? Very lean could run hot.

If you can't find anything in car can you put your engine on a dyno to see if
it overheats?

Somehow I think it's a problem with flow caused by air/ bad pump/or crimped coolant line.

Is cooling fan working?

If you were in Torino we'd check for you.

Best

 

If you lost coolant from just 109 degrees Celcius then your pressure cap at the overflow tank is probably out of spec. Have that checked and replaced. There is a 0.2 Bar higher pressure cap spec from 575 or 599, I don't quite remember which model, green in color I think, that we fitted to our 430. No boil overs up to about 119 degrees, but you better make sure your radiators and hoses are in good condition so the additional 0.2 Bar or about 10% extra pressure in the system won't blow them.

To lose water on 3rd lap at Sepang is way too early, so I suspect your pressure cap is faulty or there were air locks in your cooling system you did not flush out properly. We normally will run the cooling fan even on out lap and formation lap just to delay the inevitable overheating.

As your temp gets to around 112 degrees you should start to short shift at 8,000 rpm, use much less engine braking in down shifts, and backing off throttle slightly for the last 50 meters at the front and back straight These measures will help engine temp to stabilize at around 115. If you don't take these precautions to conserve your engine, then it's usually too late by the time engine temp reaches 117 and start the downward spiral of boil over and even hotter engine temp in a very short period of time.

 

Official answer from Ferrari is that the engine can take the higher temp, but that's really meaningless as Ferrari treats engines as a consumable item.

Losing power while over heated is never a good sign. Keep close eye on your compression and leak down numbers, as burnt exhaust valves and/or head gaskets are not unusual for 430 running in hot Asia climate.

 

It seems like you're doing the right things. The lambda fuel air ratios are fine? Not too lean?

I can't think of anything else except that the engine is damaged. Is there any white smoke in the exhaust?

The Engine may need to come out.

We're racing again at The Ring on September 29TH. If you want to come over, watch the race and talk to our mechanics and engineers let me know.

 

As an aside we can get you any parts you need.

 

Are both radiators new? The cooling fins take quite a bit of abuse and will at some point get air flow restricted due to constant gravel pelting. If the radiator fins are laid over at all replace both.

What coolant are you running? We have had best results with distilled water and water-wetter during hot summer events.

Hope you find the issue is not a motor problem.