Well first 103 degrees C equates to around 217 degrees F. That's really not that high when you consider that the boiling temp is 212 degrees F and our system is pressurized.
Secondly the thermostat is there for a number of reasons. First is to get the engine up to it's proper operating temperature as fast as possible and then maintain it. For us in the U.S., it's 190 degrees F when it opens. Second it provides some restriction to the coolant flow so the coolant has enough time to pull heat from the engine into itself and then eventually to the radiator to be cooled by the radiator. Third the restricted flow is needed to make sure that the water pump impellers are always covered in coolant so they don't cavitate and produce bubbles. So keep the thermostat in or at least some form of restriction in the circuit.
I'm not sure if some of you have noticed, but in certain racing circles this problem of over heating was seen to be caused by the pump running too fast and causing cavitation. I have seen pumps designed with different shaped impellers and also different pulley sizes to slow them down to prevent cavitation at the higher speeds that these engine are running. Sometimes they do both, depending on how the engine is used, such as drag racers, versus NASCAR, F1 and so on. I mean in F1 can you see how fast a water pump would be spinning at 19,000 RPM these engines are capable of these days. That's why I'm sure they are using electric water pumps to cool those engines as they are in other race engine designs.
So with that and everything else you've done, little has been said about the water pump design and/or speed when the car is always at or near redline under a heavy acceleration load for long periods of time. Has anyone looked in this area? What did Comptech do for the Spice Acura? Maybe you should email them about this to see what they have done to solve the problem. How about P.D. Cunningham's Real Time racing NSX. How did they solve the problem? They were even supercharged and that produces even more heat for the engine. I know an oil cooler is a must for a race car, but is that all you would need?
One final factor is that if you're going to track this car even on a part time basis, then get good gauges that are accurate and react quickly to the key things you need to know. Water temp; oil temp; oil pressure; are just the minimum. I do know from my car that when my stock oil pressure gauge reads about 2 1/2 marks during full Vtec, my aftermarket gauge is reading 52 psi and no lower even while my oil temp is reading above 235 degrees F. During normal driving the oil pressure is 80 psi with a spurt to 90 until the pressure relief valve kicks in and drops it back to 80. I've got a second tap on the oil block so I can have both a stock and aftermarket oil PSI gauge. If one goes dead, I can quickly see if the other one is showing pressure or not.
Good luck on this one. It looks like a long process you've been going through.
