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Temperatures & Cooling

Seven temperature bars show how hot each part of the engine is. Temperature changes fuelling, idle, knock and wear.

What it is

The footer TEMP box shows seven temperature bars: COOLANT, IAT, OIL, HEAD, BLOCK, EXHAUST and CLUTCH, plus a FAN strip.

Cold start. Everything starts at ambient 20 °C. The thermostat opens at 82 °C, and the operating temperature is 90 °C. At 1× speed a warm-up from cold takes about 15 minutes of idle. The exhaust manifold idles around 150 °C and goes far hotter under load.

Fan. AUTO switches the fan on at 95 °C and off at 88 °C (the − / + buttons move the threshold); MAN is manual control. The fan draws 10 A (see Battery Voltage).

Why it matters

Temperature changes a lot:

  • Enrichment — cold = richer.
  • Cold idle — cold = a higher idle target.
  • Closed loop — only runs above 60 °C.
  • DFCO — inhibited below 55 °C.
  • The knock limit — it drops above 90 °C coolant and above 30 °C intake air.
  • Oil viscosity — cold oil means high friction and wear.
  • Exhaust pops — a cold exhaust is silent.

Overheating. Warning light 2 comes on when coolant is above 110 °C. Sustained heat damages the head, block and radiator, and low coolant makes it worse (see Damage & Wear).

How to tune it

You don't set temperatures directly — you manage the conditions that make them. OPTIONS → GAMEPLAY → WARM-UP SPEED (1×–10×) scales heating and cooling together, so the equilibrium temperatures don't change. WARM ENGINE NOW → SET WORKING TEMP jumps every temperature to its operating value.

Rule of thumb

Tune warm. Use SET WORKING TEMP to get to operating temperature instantly, then tune the cold curves separately on a cold engine.

In the game

The TEMP box in the footer. Reset all temperatures to ambient with RESET → RESET TEMPERATURES.