Engine Coolant Temperature
Instructor
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 237
Likes: 0
From: Palmdale California
A 160 stat will kill you gas mileage in the cooler months. There is a reason why your car has a 195 degree stat.
My car used to run a too hot for my tastes. It would run 210-220 all the time and get up to 230 in bad traffic. My local dealer told me this was normal. l live in SOCAL and commute 120 miles a day. It's as hot as the surface of the sun at times.
My friend owns a shop that does radiators & AC. I called him and told him what was going on. He said that he knew exactly what we had to do and told me to bring the car over asap. He had his guys power flush my cooling system several times and then he replaced the stat, added water wetter, and put in regular glycol based coolant. Now my car runs at 195 as long as it's moving. It still warms up in traffic but the instant I start moving the temps drop immediately. The only downside is that when it cools off outside my mileage drops 1-2 mpg. These cars are very well engineered and do not respond the way you would expect when you change certain things.
As far as your cooling system goes, keep the coolant fresh and add a bottle of water wetter and you should be fine.
My car used to run a too hot for my tastes. It would run 210-220 all the time and get up to 230 in bad traffic. My local dealer told me this was normal. l live in SOCAL and commute 120 miles a day. It's as hot as the surface of the sun at times.
My friend owns a shop that does radiators & AC. I called him and told him what was going on. He said that he knew exactly what we had to do and told me to bring the car over asap. He had his guys power flush my cooling system several times and then he replaced the stat, added water wetter, and put in regular glycol based coolant. Now my car runs at 195 as long as it's moving. It still warms up in traffic but the instant I start moving the temps drop immediately. The only downside is that when it cools off outside my mileage drops 1-2 mpg. These cars are very well engineered and do not respond the way you would expect when you change certain things.
As far as your cooling system goes, keep the coolant fresh and add a bottle of water wetter and you should be fine.
Last edited by OfficeGuy; Sep 13, 2007 at 11:03 AM.
Drifting
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 1,437
Likes: 5
Don't go thru the trouble of changing the t-stat. I will not address your problem. Purchase a handlend tuner, there are many out there! They enable you to change many parameters including the fans. I have a Diablo Predator. I too would run in the upper 220's, now I never see 200. Typically, I run between 187 and 192. There are times I've seen 198 when sitting in traffic on a hot day.
Problem Solved!
Problem Solved!
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 22,202
Likes: 4,187
From: Kannapolis NC
You OK. Do not go to a 160 thermostat=it will do you no good! It will only keep your car from reaching normal temps by slowing the warm up time.. If the fans come on and the temp drops then its working the way it was designed. If you can safely raise the front of the car look up and into the radiator from below. It forms an upside down "V" with condenser. C5s are bottom breathers and suck up leaves, plaitic bags and other such blockers. You may need to vacuum it out.
Exactly what I was going to say, don't waste your time changing the thermostat on a properly working car. I would clean out between the radiator and condensor just for preventative measures, but as everyone knowledgable has told you, it's NORMAL!
