Too Hot?, 914/6 engine temp & RPM Options

[boxerboy]

I just drove my 914-6 from California to Colorado and for the whole trip it seemed to run at a very high indicated temperature. I have stock instrumentation and the temp gauge was almost always in the first shaded red zone (not the solid red zone but beyond the white zone).

It didn't seem to matter if I was in the heat of the desert or in the relatively cooler mountain air. The temperature always seemed too hot. At one point, after unpacking our luggage, this luggage was still hot to the touch in our hotel room one hour after arriving.

Also, at an indicated highway speed of 80 MPH (and this seemed to be higher than actual speed) the engine was turning 4200 RPM. This felt too high. I had a 74 914 2.0 and the engine never felt like it was spinning this fast at highway speeds.

Can anyone tell me what is normal engine RPM at 80 MPH for the 914-6? And what is a normal temp guage reading at a sustained (2 hours or more) 80 MPH?

[boxerboy]

Great responses... thanks.

This is a 914-6 and yes, I'm sure I as in 5th (and its ok to ask because I have made my share of 4th to 3rd shifts - not intending to downshift - over the years) Wheels and tires are stock 185 x 14 as well.

The engine has been recently upped to 2.3 liters with bigger valves installed, and new tensioners. I can provide a complete list of what was done, but the one change that springs to mind was that I had a new alternator installed to replace the old one that failed and the new one has an increased output to compensate for an electrical ignition system I had installed. Sorry, I do not have the brand at hand. I am out of the country at the moment and my files are back at home in Colorado.

I seem to recall some modification to the pully on the alternator and I'm not sure if this had an effect on the speed at which the cooling fan runs but I will have this checked out.

The car ran hot (I think) the whole trip though and it didn't seem to matter if I was in the desert or at altitude where the air was cooler. The needle lived in that red zone. I did not notice the small numbers mentioned but I will look for them the next time I am in Colorado.

This is a 914-6 though, not a conversion from a 4. The VIN number supports this as do the standard engine compartment features of a 6 vs a 4.

I appreciate all of your help. Trying to diagnosis this from so far away is problematic I know. I do know that I need to have the carbs adjusted for altitude and if anyone can recommend someone in the Denver area I would appreciate that too. As I drove the car into higher altitudes, it ran fine at speed but as soon as I got into traffic it was difficult to maintain idle. I found I had to use the throttle and bring it up to somewhere around 1,500 rpm to keep the engine alive. I could "nurse" it to idle at just below 1,000 rpm, but then as soon as I hit the throttle it would seem to load up on fuel and stall again, so I simply held it at 1,500 rpm as I went through those few mountain towns with stop and go traffic. Once I got out on the open road again it ran fine... just a little too hot for me to be completely comfortable with it.

What a joy to run through those mountain roads with the power of the flat six though. It made me remember what I loved about my '73 2.0

I just need to work through this temperature issue and make sure that either everything is normal or make the needed adjustments. Thanks again for your help.