cooling question
Thread Starter
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Joined: Sep 2011
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cooling question
I'm thinking about putting a lower temp thermostat in my CE, but I'm not sure of what temp. Any thoughts, suggestions, or advice on this along with anything else cooling system related would be appreciated. Also does anyone know where I can find red silicone hoses for an lt4?
Team Owner
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 40,156
Likes: 45
From: San Pedro CA
summit racing should have the silicone hoses you want.
As for cooler... this is an old school concept where anything over 200F is going to cause an engine to melt into a pile of goo... won't happen. These modern engines have a number of alloys and the temps are designed to allow for proper expansion of said alloys.
With that said, keep the high temps around 195 and city around 210 and you will be fine.
This is done via a change to the fan temp settings on the PCM. If you live in a really hot area, consider a good aluminum radiator, such as a DeWitts. Also, consider running a thinner coolant mix, 70% water to 30% coolant is what I run here in SoCal... If you get freezes and cold, then keep it 50/50.
Otherwise, keep the system stock. Do not mess with t-stats... it won't help and might hurt.
As for cooler... this is an old school concept where anything over 200F is going to cause an engine to melt into a pile of goo... won't happen. These modern engines have a number of alloys and the temps are designed to allow for proper expansion of said alloys.
With that said, keep the high temps around 195 and city around 210 and you will be fine.
This is done via a change to the fan temp settings on the PCM. If you live in a really hot area, consider a good aluminum radiator, such as a DeWitts. Also, consider running a thinner coolant mix, 70% water to 30% coolant is what I run here in SoCal... If you get freezes and cold, then keep it 50/50.
Otherwise, keep the system stock. Do not mess with t-stats... it won't help and might hurt.
Thread Starter
Advanced
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 95
Likes: 0
summit racing should have the silicone hoses you want.
As for cooler... this is an old school concept where anything over 200F is going to cause an engine to melt into a pile of goo... won't happen. These modern engines have a number of alloys and the temps are designed to allow for proper expansion of said alloys.
With that said, keep the high temps around 195 and city around 210 and you will be fine.
This is done via a change to the fan temp settings on the PCM. If you live in a really hot area, consider a good aluminum radiator, such as a DeWitts. Also, consider running a thinner coolant mix, 70% water to 30% coolant is what I run here in SoCal... If you get freezes and cold, then keep it 50/50.
Otherwise, keep the system stock. Do not mess with t-stats... it won't help and might hurt.
As for cooler... this is an old school concept where anything over 200F is going to cause an engine to melt into a pile of goo... won't happen. These modern engines have a number of alloys and the temps are designed to allow for proper expansion of said alloys.
With that said, keep the high temps around 195 and city around 210 and you will be fine.
This is done via a change to the fan temp settings on the PCM. If you live in a really hot area, consider a good aluminum radiator, such as a DeWitts. Also, consider running a thinner coolant mix, 70% water to 30% coolant is what I run here in SoCal... If you get freezes and cold, then keep it 50/50.
Otherwise, keep the system stock. Do not mess with t-stats... it won't help and might hurt.
Race Director
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 11,769
Likes: 175
From: Rolla Missouri
2021 C4 of the Year - Unmodified Finalist
St. Jude Donor '10 thru '25
Sitting in stop and go traffic without the fans running, there little to no airflow across the radiator fins.
The coolant heats up to the factory temps, and the fans comes on.
Does not matter what thermostat you put it, that same process is going to happen.
It isn't hurting anything, and the car was designed to run that way.
If you insist on it running cooler than the factory temps, you will need to change more than just the thermostat.
My '96 is still factory stock with over 122,000 trouble free miles.
Running at the factory temps hasn't hurt a thing.
Moving at any speed over 30 mph = 195°F - 200°F
Sitting still in traffic = 205°F - 235°F
A modern cooling system with the proper coolant mix and pressure will have a boiling point around 260°F
