Hello Family,
I drive a 2nd Gen, 2011 GE8 RS 6-Speed manual with an L15A engine.
I recently deleted the two mufflers and did a straight pipe exhaust and everything was okay up until I installed a cold air intake.
Now my car is ever showing sign of overheating.

So the story is this, after the muffler delete all was good then one day my OEM radiator gave in and replaced with a new one OEM and radiator cap changed as well.
After this I bought and installed the cold air intake, again all was good until it wasn't. Now I keep suffering from overheating and my mech tells me it could be due to the cold air intake hence the engine is struggling.

I wonder whether to go in for a tune, or just get a perfomance 3-row radiator to sort out the cooling issues.

I really need advice on this as my once lion-like car is now being reduced to a mere cat on the roads.

Regards
Erastus

 

Did you try removing the Cold Air Intake to see if your issue went away?

Many folks have posted here about issues with Cold Air Intakes. It seems like the main problem is when the intake tube diameter is different (=larger) than stock, which causes improper readings from the MAF sensor. I'm not sure if odd MAF sensor readings could affect the cooling system, but maybe.

I would: 1) determine if the Cold Air Intake has the same diameter as stock leading to the MAF sensor and 2) remove the Cold Air Intake (for a while) to see if the cooling issue persists.

 

Thanks @Drew21 I'm actually getting rid of the cold air intake for now.

I have seen the diameters are similar. But let me revert to factory settings first and see if the cooling issue will persist.

Thank you so much

 

Was the coolant properly bled when replacing the radiator?

 

Two issues come to mind. Are your engine cooling fans working? One is thermally controlled and the other one comes on when you turn the a/c on.
The second issue is your catalytic converter delete. Did you delete the catalytic converter and the muffler or the muffler and resonator? If you deleted the catalytic converter, did you also remove the primary and secondary oxygen sensors? If so, why?
Lastly, do you have a check engine light on? If so, what codes are showing?

 

@Frenzal this was properly done I believe. But I may just have to try it out again tomorrow.
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@56chevydan about the engine fans, we've checked and they are working. After the engine runs for a while they run and shut as they should.
Yes I deleted catalytic converter and muffler.. resonator was retained and the two oxygen sensors as well. We did use some junction to 'cheat' the oxygen sensor at the bottom so with this check engine light was successfully evaded.

 

I'm sure you have a legitimate reason for deleting your catalytic converter, but I can't think of one. You drive a computer controlled car with smog controls and signals that adjust the air fuel ratio based on the signals to the computer by the oxygen sensor.
The closest oxygen sensor to the engine is considered the air/fuel sensor and the downstream sensor senses the condition of the catalytic converter. Without the oxygen sensors reading correctly, and with no catalytic converter, are you sure info isn't being sent to your computer causing the air fuel ratio to completely go lean, thus causing the overheating?
As far as your fans go, the fan that goes on with the a/c being turned on, should not go off until the a/c is turned off. It should not cycle on and off.

 

@56chevydan You are actually correct.
So this is what we established, my head gasket is gone or blown. And i couldnt think of a better explanation other than a time i drove a few kms with the overheating sign on and still before coming to a stop. At this point my OEM radiator had given in and i lost all coolant in seconds.
So I have installed a new slim engine and the cooling issue is all gone. Its now day 5 of massive accelerator flooring and the car is very okay, no more overheating.
However the check engine light now has come up and the computer signals air-fuel ratio is lean.
As per your explanation i think it would be wise for me to reinstall the muffler for the primary oxygen sensor to work efficiently.
Question now is, would you suggest that I reinstall the muffler but delete the catalytic converter? and what would be the consequence of this? Because I deleted them both for my car to have a little bit more power (or at least that is what is thought of here in Kenya). Please advice.

 

Your catalytic converter is there to reduce the pollutants emitted from your car, so if you or anyone you care about enjoys breathing I would definitely suggest that you reinstall it and make sure it is functioning properly.

Driving your car when it is overheating or doesn't have coolant will definitely cause serious issues. One of the downsides of the Fit is that you don't get an actual temperature gauge but you do get a warning light. Maybe they should change the light from a small red thermometer symbol to a giant red flashing "STOP!"

 

Put the catalytic converter back on.

 

Alright sir.
Even with my aftermarket exhaust system? Or I can change my exhaust system from the manifold to the end with a slightly higher diameter than OEM?

 

Sure noted.
I just deleted to have more power

 

Your aftermarket exhaust system is mostly just making more noise, not really gaining much power.

 

True. Thank you.
I'll just revert to the OEM setup.