normal temp range?
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Joined: Apr 2018
Posts: 60
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From: Plainwell MI
normal temp range?
had my newly acquired 84 out today. first time in warm/hot weather. 81-83. running down the road it was at 180-185. sitting in town at lights and such ran up to 210-215. fans were coming on. Is that in the normal range? My 92 Firebird did the same. My 94 Firebird NEVER got that warm. I have run Red Line "water wetter" in the past and it did make the 92 run about 15 degrees cooler. That is an option. As is putting in a cooler thermostat. I have no idea what temp is in it now.
Thanks for the help
Thanks for the help
Drifting
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 1,762
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From: Citrus Heights CA
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Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 726
Likes: 159
From: N.W. Georgia
had my newly acquired 84 out today. first time in warm/hot weather. 81-83. running down the road it was at 180-185. sitting in town at lights and such ran up to 210-215. fans were coming on. Is that in the normal range? My 92 Firebird did the same. My 94 Firebird NEVER got that warm. I have run Red Line "water wetter" in the past and it did make the 92 run about 15 degrees cooler. That is an option. As is putting in a cooler thermostat. I have no idea what temp is in it now.
Thanks for the help
Thanks for the help
Pro
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 726
Likes: 159
From: N.W. Georgia
We've largely gotten used to the temperature gauges in our modern cars sitting steadily on 190F when they're warmed up. However, the 'temperature gauge' in a modern car is not a temperature gauge at all, its an 'idiot light' masquerading as a temperature gauge.
In modern cars, the engine temperature no longer directly controls what the gauge indicates. That's now the ECM's job. The ECM is programed with an acceptable 'window' of engine operating temperatures, and if the engine is operating within those norms, the ECM sends a 190F signal to the 'gauge' so the operator will know there's nothing amiss with the engine temperature. It will still display cold or out-of-acceptable-range hot temps...it has just taken some of the worry out of the equation.
Basically, they've 'dumbed it down' for us, though no one asked them to. Maybe they were tired of receiving complaints of engines running 'hot' when the engines were just fine...I don't know. What I do know is that personally, I prefer to know what the engine is actually doing at any given time.
In modern cars, the engine temperature no longer directly controls what the gauge indicates. That's now the ECM's job. The ECM is programed with an acceptable 'window' of engine operating temperatures, and if the engine is operating within those norms, the ECM sends a 190F signal to the 'gauge' so the operator will know there's nothing amiss with the engine temperature. It will still display cold or out-of-acceptable-range hot temps...it has just taken some of the worry out of the equation.
Basically, they've 'dumbed it down' for us, though no one asked them to. Maybe they were tired of receiving complaints of engines running 'hot' when the engines were just fine...I don't know. What I do know is that personally, I prefer to know what the engine is actually doing at any given time.
Last edited by 1analguy; May 30, 2018 at 12:19 PM.
