Overheating in silent running mode

In Elite: Dangerous, I need to use the silent running mode for a covert mission, where I can't allow my ship to be scanned. However, it's very easy overheat when silent running mode is enabled. How do I prevent myself from overheating, when using silent running mode?

2 Answers

My best advice for you is: don't use silent running to get into the station; go fast.

Silent running is an unreliable way to get into the station. Additionally, if you get anything wrong you could easily damage (or destroy) your ship, since your shields will be down.

Best way to get in without being scanned: go fast

1. In supercruise, drop into the station with the planet it orbits directly behind you. This will ensure that you can see the station entrance. Easiest way to do this is to arc out of the ecliptic and then arc down to the station, which also helps you travel through the system faster anyways.
2. Put 2 pips to SYS and 4 pips to ENG (ideally when in supercruise).
3. Full throttle and continual boost. Use lateral and vertical thrusters to get lined up with the station entrance. It really helps to have a good feeling for how much your ship drifts to the side. Once you're lined up, an immediate boost towards the slot helps cancel the lateral and vertical slide. Keep boosting until you're passing the "rack" outside the slot.
4. Try to aim for the side of the slot with the solid green light and stay away from the side with the blinking red light.
5. When you're almost at the rack/slot, move pips to SYS, so that you have 4 in SYS and 2 in ENG.
6. Once you are through the slot and inside the station, you are safe from scans.

Best way to get good at this is to practice. Make a game of avoiding the "scan detected" notification every time you dock.

If you're not lined up well with the station when you drop in, still boost towards the station, just use even more lateral and vertical thrusters. (some people will say to stay away from the station and get lined up, but this is less reliable).

If you still want to do silent running:

Any of the following can help: - Buy an A-rated power plant. (any size that works for your needs, but A rated has best heat efficiency.) - Engineer your power plant for heat efficiency with either the highest grade of "Low Emissions" powerplant you can manage, or by doing enough grade 1 "overcharged" powerplant rolls that you get a roll with improved heat efficiency. - Turn everything off, except thrusters and scanners. And heat sinks if you have them. - Use a heat sink if your ship gets too hot. - Start off over 10km out (but lined up well with the entrance), turn everything but life support off, wait for the windshield to ice up, then turn off life support and turn on thrusters and scanners. Then you can turn on silent running and dock. This drops your temperature, so you're heating up from 1% instead of from 40% when you start silent running. - If you want to be really fancy, turn off flight assist, do the previous routine, get very carefully lined up perfectly with the exact right amount of roll, thrust towards the station, turn thrusters off, at 7.5km out request docking, then turn scanners off too. Then, after you drift through the slot, quickly turn on thrusters before you hit the back wall of the station.

To reduce power consumption, and limit heat output, try these things:

1. Disable unnecessary modules
   • Weapons
   • Shields
   • Cargo hatch
   • All scanner types
   • Life support
2. Try to avoid using your engine boost (TAB by default)
3. Don't use your frame shift drive (FSD)