JeremyGSU

Hi guys,

I have an '04 Z with a DeWitts radiator and Ron Davis larger oil cooler, a Vararam, 160 thermostat, and tune.

I was hitting 290 oil and 245 water temps at the track so I put a radiator and an oil cooler in.

Now when I'm at the track (mostly Sebring) I'm hitting 210ish water and 245-255 oil temps. Perfect. I run 70% water and 30% coolant.

However, this is a street/track car and since I've installed the radiator I noticed my temps are only hovering around 165 water when highway cruising. I intially had the same problem with the oil cooler but now I completely taped it up and then put syran wrap over that and taped it down and I get the oil in the 180's.

Cruising around town and light to light the water goes into the 180's & 190's so the 160 t-stat isn't the problem.

I've talked to a few people and they said as long as it stays above 160 it isn't hurting anything but that's still on the cooler side for my taste.

So how can I raise my cruising temps?

Would taping up the A/C condensor help to bring the temps up?

What about going to more of a coolant percentage? Say 50/50?

I also thought about sliding a piece of cardboard up between the radiator and condensor and taping it from the bottom so it couldn't fall out? Would that work? Any dangers to this?

Any ideas are welcomed and appreciated.

Thanks!

froggy47

Aardwolf

If it's just a little driving I don't worry about it. 165° won't break anything short term. Prolonged driving in cold weather I tie wrap a thin square piece of metal over the coolers. It took some experimentation in how much to cover. I like metal instead of cardboard because the pieces I make I can store till the next years plus it won't break down if it gets wet/road grimed.

rithsleeper

Sorry if I missed something but it is your thermostat.... if its at 160 on highway cause you get more air to the radiator... its 180/190 around town cause less air at lower speeds. Why not switch to a 180/190º thermostat and your track temps will not be effected. Only thing might be would be around town a slight increase like 10 degrees possibly since it isnt holding cool water longer. Either way its negligible.

I agree that your condition isnt hurting anything but its totally unecessary.

Maybe I missed something.... this seems like basic car 101...

blkbrd69

Stock thermostat.

Unless you need the extra 3 horsepower on the street?

Have done both, and as the thermostat is fully open on track anyway why bother with the slow warmup?

Snuckley

Oil never burning off the condensate(water) is a problem after some months. Try using 3rd and 4th gear more once you're up to safe operting temps. I had big radiat + external oil cooler and had the same issue. WIth comp valve springs it is more of an issue , as they can snap if oil is <140 deg as I was told. It was difficult up North on cold days, but I would just not use the car. If I did it over, I'd get a combined oil cooler/rad. for a street & track car.

Aardwolf

A lower temp thermostat fully opens sooner which can keep the car cooler for longer. It also lets you cool the car down to a lower point to have a cooler starting point. A prolonged warm up helps in situations like moving a little on grid and turning the car off. Yes definitely seems like basic car 101.

JeremyGSU

I agree but I can get it up to 190 and hit the highway and start cruising in 6th and it goes down to the 160's very quickly. It's simply cruising only temps that are effected, not around town or WOT. I don't think a t-stat would change anything in that case. I need to reduce airflow to the radiator for the street.

JeremyGSU

This seems like the answer. How do you get it to stay in exactly? There is very little room between the condensor and radiator. Not sure how I would tie it off on the sides?

JeremyGSU

Yeah, maybe I should have in hindsight. It just gets so hot down here I wanted maximum cooling. Even with my 19R oil cooler I've gotten it into the 260's. I don't think a radiator/oil cooler combo would have been able to keep it cool enough.

I think the other guys idea of blocking some of it off is the answer.

wtb-z

If you want the car to operate at normal temperatures, you really need to start with one of these.

Aardwolf

On my '88 I just tie wrap the shield to the cooler hoses. I use mine for mixed street/drag/time trial and the stock thermostat did not work well. You don't have to put the shield between the condenser and radiator, just cover right in front of them both. Where ever it works the easiest, then test drive so to be sure not to much is covered. I also shield my oil cooler, that's actually the most important one (I have an extra one and more concerned with oil temp than water). Might be even easiest to block the back of the radiator not sure about your year.

rithsleeper

No, thats exactly what will change. Once again I apologize if it sounds demeaning but maybe you are not fully aware of what a thermostat does. If you put a 190 degree stat it stops circulating coolant to the radiator until that temperature is reached. So all your cardboard and wraps dont matter because the car will not use the radiator until it reaches 190º in the coolant inside the engine. So on the interstate even with the increased airflow the car will never get below 190º because the thermostat closes and blocks the cold coolant from circulating through the engine. Once the engine temps reach above 190 then it opens a little and lets cold coolant from the rad in until the temps are below 190. Then it closes and temps start climbing again.

I promise you if you put a 180 in it will solve all your problems. Its such a simple thing and you are trying to solve a problem in such a rediculous way. There is absoluely no reason for a car to have anything below 180º stat. Please save yourself the trouble and just change it out. Im not sure how hard it is on an ls engine but mine takes all of 10 min and costs 10 bucks. Ive been in your situation and someone put a 160 in my first vette and I had problems keeping the car in closed loop. There is no difference between a 180 and 160 stat once the car is up to opperating temps. If your coolant is at 180 both will be fully open either way just with the 180 your car can not reach temps below 180 after initial warmup.

Its so simple, just try it. It will work because that is the purpose of a thermostat... to regulate temperatue.

JeremyGSU

I guess I don't know how it works. haha. I will change it back to 180 and see what happens. Thanks for the insight.

Aardwolf

You should start a thermostat thread in C4 tech.

There is a big difference between a 160° and 180° thermostat. If the coolant is at 180° the 160° thermostat would be fully open but the 180° model would not be.

http://www.stant.com/Consumer-Products/FAQs/

How does a thermostat work?
...It is fully open about 15-20 degrees above its rated temperature.

Of course there are reasons to use a lower than 180° thermostat. I stated them in a previous post.

waddisme

I had the same issue with oil temps with the big Setrab cooler I have. It would barely get above 155* for dd. I removed the center air dam and temps went up to around 180* for the oil. I have the DeWitts for coolant and it stays around 178* most of the time even with the air dam removed.

JeremyGSU

I never thought about doing that. How hard is it to uninstall/reinstall?

Is it just a few bolts?

waddisme

Mine has like 2 bolts - #20 star bits I think.

froggy47

For the OP check this out:


I did it to keep the debris off the radiator. But if you put enough screen to block enough air flow, it'll run hotter.

Maybe 2-3 layers.

Also make sure your fans are not programmed to turn on early (as is often the case).

Plus I do think a hotter stat will help for sure.

rithsleeper

We have both been around enough to know there are plenty out there. I think you need to tell the op the reasons a 160 would be benificial. The ONLY legitamate reason is used in drag racing to keep the manifold from being hot when they finally make their run and slows the warming process (just like putting ice on it). However, He is road racing.

As for the stat being totally open, this is why I said put a 180 and not a 190. He said on track he sits at 210. So that is the 10-15º for full open. So on track if its a 160 or 180 it doesnt matter. Its fully open. However this would definately fix the off track problem of being cold on the interstate.

If there are other signifigant benifits to a car that sits at 200+ degrees on track I would like to know. My car sits at 250 on track....

Ardwolf, I know you are one of the trustworthy members here and you usually have good knowledgeable advice, but lets step back here and unless you are about to teach me something new you are confusing the op on the basis of trying make sure the info is 100% complete. Its like trying to explain the molecular structure of a piston to someone who wants an engine capable of holding up to 500 tq. Just say piston "a" is stonger than "b" and posibly tolarance levels. There is no need to explain anymore until that knowledge is required. Baby steps.

The thermostat will fix the problem with no adverse effects. End of story. (Unless I am about to learn something new)