Lower temp T-stat recommendations please
Safety Car
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 4,659
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From: Toronto ontario
Why would you even post something like this? First off C4 fans shut off at highway speeds and only come back on below 45mph so this makes the first part of you post wrong..Secondly, 160 degree stats are not any good in the cooler parts of the country because most of use want out heaters to work in the winter. The 160 degree stats also wont let the car reach a high enough temp to evaporate the condensation from the oil in the colder states.Third, if your car doesn't maintain a high enough temperture you will get excessive wear on your motor..Fourth, don't even get me started on you talking about doing 180 mph on the roads where our wives and kids drive there cars..
..This is also against forum rules, so you should be hearing from a moderator shortly....WW
..This is also against forum rules, so you should be hearing from a moderator shortly....WWI do agree about using a lower stat in the winter as it takes longer to warm up. at city speeds the 160 stat wont keep the temps lower (if you dont have fans reprogrammed) so the engine will still get up to temperature and everything can do its job.
180+ was done on an airfield. 207 to be exact. My wife and my little girl is not allowed to drive there. My little one wont be driving for another 15 years but I dont think Ill let her when she's old enough.
My whole point was at higher speeds a lower thermostat DOES work. It's not much but it's noticeable.
Race Director
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From: Color my life with the chaos of trouble.
Team Owner
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From: Cincinnati, Oh USA
Also, thermostats only ensure the lowest temperature your coolant will run at, they will not lower your coolant temp. Above 195, your 195 stat is wide open and so will a lower opening temp thermostat and your coolant temp will be identical to what it is now! Why people think a lower temp thermostat will lower their coolant temp in slow summer traffic tells me that they have no idea of how engine cooling systems work.
GM says to shut the engine off and let it cool down if the coolant temp gets to 260 F and that is because 50% antifreeze at 15 psi boils at 265 F. 260 F is a nothing for automobile engines and will harm nothing. I recommend you clean your radiator fins and leave your 195 stat in place, a 180 stat will do absolutely nothing in slow summer traffic.
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Le Mans Master
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From: WV
Jfb is right, unless you reprogram your fans to come on at a lower temp it doesn't matter which stat you have in your car, the car will run at the same temp..I have a 180 degree stat in my car, I also have the fans reprogrammed to come on at 200 degrees and go off at 184 degrees , so my car never goes above 200 degrees..This is the only way using a lower stat will make a difference at low speeds.If your not going to lower the temp that your fans come on, you might as well use the stock 195 stat.....WW
Last edited by WW7; Apr 24, 2011 at 07:40 AM.
Safety Car
Joined: Apr 2011
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anyway, I saw $250,000 cars , Lambos, Porches, Ford GTs. Some heavily modified Turbo AND bottle blown Hyabusas, and lemme tell ya...200 is damn hard to do on the mile track. One of the fastest of the day was a mustang shell with a power-stroke diesel......
All of these cars were street legal and driven to the event. One of the baddest Porches (record holder) came from several states away. Drive down, run, drive home.
Some of the nicest runs were Zo6's...a couple that were worth $200K with carbon fiber bodys, other hi-tech stuff. Even hitting 180 was challenging with these very very high HP super lite-weight cars and bikes.
For someone to just casually throw 180 or 207 MPH out there forces me to throw the
flag.BTW...anyone that breaks 200 gets a nice little plaque and a T shirt. Pics are easy enough to post. Events like this are held all over the country at small private airports that are closed or abandoned.
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Burning Brakes
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 951
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From: Placerville CA
That being said, you can take all the switches, stats and fans in the world and put them up against a new radiator from DeWitts or Reliable.
Nothing will remove the heat from a C4 engine better than a performance purpose radiator.
Nothing will remove the heat from a C4 engine better than a performance purpose radiator.
I switch on my fan(s) when stopped and idling and the temp climbs to 210 or so, then watch it drop like a stone all the way down to the 185 thermostat setting. I could see spending for a high-performance radiator if I raced the thing, but a couple of bucks for some Radio Shack toggle switches seems more sensible to me.
But I'm a cheap SOB when it comes to this car.
Safety Car
Joined: May 2002
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From: Toronto ontario
Race Director
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From: Color my life with the chaos of trouble.
Yea, that would certainly make me want to trust your expertise. On that same note, your directional tires are going the wrong way in the picture.
It's pretty simple really. People who race down the highway are idiots. You want to race, go to a track. Just this morning, I saw a kid try to jump a bmx bike off of the roof of his house on youtube... although I'm not sure what morons do in videos on the internet have to do with anything.
Safety Car
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 4,659
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From: Toronto ontario
Nice catch with the tires. Direction means almost nothing when it isn't wet. I think I had 2 plugs in that tire too should have seen the bulge after! I'll stop posting so this doesn't get too far off topic.
Last edited by 5abivt; Apr 24, 2011 at 06:55 PM.
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Racer
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From: Spokane WA
A C4 doing over 200 mph I would have to see it to believe it. If you are going that fast why would you be on these forums you should be a rock star with that kind of money to blow on a raggedy old C4.
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There are a few here that will hold down to 200.
But c'mon! "raggedy old C4"???
You must be referring to your own.
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From: Overland Park Kansas
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