How cold is too cold...

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Oct 3, 2006 | 08:36 AM

Jstyle

Thread Starter

Burning Brakes

Joined: Feb 2003

Posts: 1,024

Likes: 3

From: Warrenton VA

How cold is too cold...

I was driving a C5 I just picked up last week. Well as you can see from my sig it has a good bit done to it. I know he has a 178 thermo and he must have programmed the fans to come on very early. It runs as cold as 124 on the highway on a brisk (50 degree) day.

So my question is "is this going to hurt something." I always thought the colder the better once the engine was warmed up...

Oct 3, 2006 | 08:39 AM

Fastbird

Race Director

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From: Fort Wayne IN

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Initial thoughts: Your thermostat is stuck open. The car shouldn't be running THAT cold.

Oct 3, 2006 | 08:52 AM

Jstyle

Thread Starter

Burning Brakes

Joined: Feb 2003

Posts: 1,024

Likes: 3

From: Warrenton VA

Is that really a problem though???

Oct 3, 2006 | 09:05 AM

6Speeder

Safety Car

Joined: May 2000

Posts: 4,820

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From: Albuquerque NM

I would say that's too cold. Your thermostat is not working correctly. I've seen this before with stock stats modified by vendors to open at lower temps and for some reason they don't close when they should. Just get a Hypertech 160, it'll keep your temps in the 170 to 190 range (with fan temp changes) and won't hurt your engine.

Running steady state at that low a temp the engine isn't "warmed up", you could cause more wear on moving parts and could be in open loop, cold start mode, reducing gas mileage.

Oct 3, 2006 | 09:15 AM

Secret237

Pro

Joined: Sep 2006

Posts: 731

Likes: 9

From: Ivins, Utah

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jstyle

Is that really a problem though???

It's too cold.

Your engine is designed to run at a certain temp. when things are too cold things do not expand , like pistons, to achieve the proper clearances. Therefore they rock around in there causing much moire wear and oil consumption than if they were at the proper temp.
I like the 192 thermostat, the colder ones just open sooner, but they all open, an overheating problem is rarely a problem due to a thermostat, unless it is not opening at all.

Oct 3, 2006 | 10:34 AM

White99FRC

Pro

Joined: Oct 2004

Posts: 578

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From: Folsom CA

based on what my tuner has said, optimal performance temp should be between 180-195 degrees. 124 is way too low!!

Oct 3, 2006 | 11:00 AM

Dan_the_C5_Man

Le Mans Master

Joined: Dec 2003

Posts: 5,561

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From: Atlanta metro Ga.

Way too cold, stop driving it like that immediately! You are scrubbing the cylinder walls.

Oct 3, 2006 | 11:16 AM

Evil-Twin

Team Owner

Joined: Mar 2001

Posts: 21,325

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From: small town in S.E Pa. PA

St. Jude Donor '03-'04

I can tell you from first hand design knowledge that anything below 170 F for long periods of time will destroy an ls1. The shear alone will destroy the lubricity of the oil. It's not a question of if it will harm, but when it will harm.. running at these temps for long periods of time will cause catastrophic damage. I have seen it on our test platforms.
The sweet spot for an Ls1/6 is 180/200. All part of the design with very tight clearances, to help extract the most performance. On a stock lower end, too cold will rob the motor of HP, the motor has to work harder when cold. Thats why we put cold starts into the algorithm for the oil life monitor, because it destroys the oil.
Good Luck
Bill aka ET