Coolant Temp
Safety Car
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 4,735
Likes: 14
From: Visalia CA
On a 105 degree afternoon, on the freeway my temp stayed right on 196. In town stop and go it showed 205 to 210. Even 230 is nothing to worry about.
Note: Check the color of your coolant. Is it dark brown and dirty? How many miles are on the coolant. Maybe time for a flush?
Note: Check the color of your coolant. Is it dark brown and dirty? How many miles are on the coolant. Maybe time for a flush?
Racer
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 361
Likes: 0
From: Landisville PA
That's about what ours is ....
Another good thing to check - is the front side of the radiator. Lots of debris from the roads gets stuck up in there. One of these days I'm gonna grab the vacuum cleaner and do some cleaning.
If you're worried about 230 degrees....take a look at what the gauge will go up to bofore its in the red.
230 is nothin to worry about (unless your fans don't come on...)
Another good thing to check - is the front side of the radiator. Lots of debris from the roads gets stuck up in there. One of these days I'm gonna grab the vacuum cleaner and do some cleaning.
If you're worried about 230 degrees....take a look at what the gauge will go up to bofore its in the red.
230 is nothin to worry about (unless your fans don't come on...)
Burning Brakes
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 1,006
Likes: 0
From: Cincinnati OH
Pro
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 689
Likes: 0
From: West Jordan Utah
Drove in the local parade last Wednesday, very slowly, temps pushing 100 and coolant temp stayed at about 200-205. I have programmed the fans to come on a bit sooner. Have a 180 thermo to put in, but haven't got to it yet.
Team Owner
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 25,044
Likes: 1,265
From: Virginia
St. Jude Donor '11
230 is ok while sitting(then your fans should take it back down to 215 then it goes back up....)...thats the way they planned it
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
2027 Corvette vs The World: Every Model vs Closest Competitor
Joe Kucinski
10 Most Common Corvette Problems of the Last 20 Years!
Joe Kucinski
5 MOST and 5 LEAST Popular Corvette Model Years in History!
Joe Kucinski
2027 Corvette Buyer's Guide: Everything You Need to Know!
Joe Kucinski
10 Things C8 Corvette Owners Hate (But Won't Tell You)
Joe Kucinski
10 Best Corvettes Coming to Barrett-Jackson Palm Beach 2026!
Brett Foote
Every Corvette Grand Sport Explained! (C2, C4, C6, C7, & C8)
Joe Kucinski
Grand Sport & Grand Sport X Launch Alongside All-New 535hp LS6 V8!
Michael S. Palmer
5 Reasons Bad Drivers Crash & 5 Ways to Avoid a Costly Mistake!
Joe Kucinski
Drifting
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 1,591
Likes: 1
From: San Jose CA
Race Director
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 15,318
Likes: 2,066
From: Guelph, Ontario
Mine normally runs around 190F at a steady highway speed with the AC off, but when it's super hot like today, and I've got the AC going and am stuck in traffic, I saw it get as high as 243!
Pro
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 650
Likes: 4
From: Pittsburg Ca.
100 degrees going up a 9000 foot mountain with A/C on Hit 243 as soon as I topped the mountain and started going down temp outside was 108 and dropped right back down to 220, and as soon as I hit the flat land still 106 out,dropped back down to 198
Last edited by Slick Rick; Jul 9, 2007 at 09:47 PM.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 19,384
Likes: 87
From: Horncastle Lincolnshire, England
2023 C5 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
Mine runs about 180 on the move. I never see traffic out here in the boondocks.
Administrator
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 367,288
Likes: 24,572
From: In a parallel universe. Currently own 2014 Stingray Coupe.
C7 of the Year - Modified Finalist 2021
MO Events Coordinator
St. Jude Co-Organizer
St. Jude Donor '03 thru '25
NCM Sinkhole Donor
CI 5, 8 & 11 Veteran
Your temps are not out of the ordinary for the C5. However, if you have never changed the coolant in your car, good time to do it. GM recommends a flush and fill every 5 years or 100K miles.
Racer
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 444
Likes: 56
From: DeBary Florida
On a 105 degree afternoon, on the freeway my temp stayed right on 196. In town stop and go it showed 205 to 210. Even 230 is nothing to worry about.
Note: Check the color of your coolant. Is it dark brown and dirty? How many miles are on the coolant. Maybe time for a flush?
Note: Check the color of your coolant. Is it dark brown and dirty? How many miles are on the coolant. Maybe time for a flush?
That's about what ours is ....
Another good thing to check - is the front side of the radiator. Lots of debris from the roads gets stuck up in there. One of these days I'm gonna grab the vacuum cleaner and do some cleaning.
If you're worried about 230 degrees....take a look at what the gauge will go up to bofore its in the red. 230 is nothin to worry about (unless your fans don't come on...)
Another good thing to check - is the front side of the radiator. Lots of debris from the roads gets stuck up in there. One of these days I'm gonna grab the vacuum cleaner and do some cleaning.
If you're worried about 230 degrees....take a look at what the gauge will go up to bofore its in the red.
230 is nothin to worry about (unless your fans don't come on...) If I'm not mistaken GM says to change the coolant every 5 years. Vacume it....Flush it...Refill it....and when you refill it add 2 bottles of Redlines Water Wetter...it helps.
Pro
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 682
Likes: 7
From: West Chester Pennsylvania
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 2,572
Likes: 3
From: Rehoboth MA . . . NRA Life Member
St. Jude Donor '06-'07
Just this past weekend I tested mine and in traffic the temp climbed to 230 and as soon as the fans turned on it went right back down. If you do some research you'll find this is the temperature range these engines were designed to run at.
I'm not trying to hijack the thread so lets continue this a bit further.
Having said this, I'd like to pose the following questions,
I'm not trying to hijack the thread so lets continue this a bit further.
Having said this, I'd like to pose the following questions,
- Why was it designed to run so high?
- What would happen if the PCM was changed to have both fans come on at 200 degrees Fahrenheit?
- Would changing the thermostat to a 170 degree and having the fans come on at 190 degrees cause any adverse affects?
- Would modifying the original design to a lower temperature range cause premature failure of any component?
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 2,161
Likes: 5
From: Knoxville TN
mine was sitting in stop and go heavy traffic yesterday the outside temp said 104 and the coolant temp got as high as 244, I got worried so I put the windows down, turned the heat up to 80, this colled it down to 220 , after moving it came down to 200, I put he AC back on as soon as we were moving
