another thermostat question
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 38
Likes: 0
From: tullahoma tennessee
another thermostat question
while driving today in stop and go traffic i noticed my 04 running a little warm.was running bout 220-230.now it was about 78 degrees outside.is this normal or should it not run that hot with that outside temp?didnt know if maybe i should flush my radiator.i know the fans kicked on around 230 cause it never got over that and dropped to 220.when i hit the highway it dropped to 180-190.im gonna lower my fan settings but didnt didnt know if a radiator flush was neccassary.thanks fellas....guess i should have titled it a temperature question lol
Drifting
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 1,720
Likes: 38
From: Colorado
water wetter's good stuff - i put that in all of my cars. unless you notice it kicking on a lot, i believe 220 is the magic point in which most cars are built for these days. even my gsx-r's magic number was 220. only if the fans stay on and its stuck higher than that would i be concerned at all.
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 21,325
Likes: 3,841
From: small town in S.E Pa. PA
St. Jude Donor '03-'04
you cant lower the fan settings without putting in a cold stat, with a 190 stat and lowered fan temps only, the fans will run all the time in the summer and they will burn up, their cycle life is based on stock cycling meaning they cycle on and off . IN the summer with a 190 stat you will see 220/230 temps even 240 and 250, under severe circumstances.. note the red line of the coolant temp on the gage.. the fan setting were designed in for these extremes. The stat on a C5 is designed to control how cold the run temp gets not how hot it gets, its critical not to allow the coolant temps to get too cold.. the sweet spot is 190 to 210 for coolant.. and 210 to 230 for oil.
Last edited by Evil-Twin; Apr 1, 2010 at 09:06 AM.
Pro
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 656
Likes: 5
From: Wright City MO
you cant lower the fan settings without putting in a cold stat, with a 190 stat and lowered fan temps only, the fans will run all the time in the summer and they will burn up, their cycle life is based on stock cycling meaning they cycle on and off . IN the summer with a 190 stat you will see 220/230 temps even 240 and 250, under severe circumstances.. note the red line of the coolant temp on the gage.. the fan setting were designed in for these extremes. The stat on a C5 is designed to control how cold the run temp gets not how hot it gets, its critical not to allow the coolant temps to get too cold.. the sweet spot is 190 to 210 for coolant.. and 210 to 230 for oil.
ET, this is good and directly to the point. I wish this could be made a sticky as often as the cooling question gets asked; especially concerning a stock stat.
Good info.
Thanks,
Instructor
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 102
Likes: 0
From: Delray Beach FL
Excellent points. You didn't say if your A/C was on or off. My '03 Z06 does exactly the same thing in traffic with the A/C off. With A/C on, no problem. I was told by my dealer back then, as well as Forum inputs, when in traffic, to just put the A/C on in recirc mode and all is well with the world.
Advanced
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 69
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From: SHREVEPORT LOUISIANA
Thermostat issues
while driving today in stop and go traffic i noticed my 04 running a little warm.was running bout 220-230.now it was about 78 degrees outside.is this normal or should it not run that hot with that outside temp?didnt know if maybe i should flush my radiator.i know the fans kicked on around 230 cause it never got over that and dropped to 220.when i hit the highway it dropped to 180-190.im gonna lower my fan settings but didnt didnt know if a radiator flush was neccassary.thanks fellas....guess i should have titled it a temperature question lol
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 21,325
Likes: 3,841
From: small town in S.E Pa. PA
St. Jude Donor '03-'04
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Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 38
Likes: 0
From: tullahoma tennessee
a/c wasnt on.i put a bottle of that watter wetter and it helped.im gonna put in a 170 thermostat and get the fans adjusted.we have some muggy hot humid days here in tennessee.just seems running 230 is a little to hot since redline is 260.i will put the stock thermostat back in for the winter months
Burning Brakes
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 1,163
Likes: 4
From: Concord California
GM designed the engine to work at a certain temperature, running cooler than that operating temperature may not give you the best performance. If you are running real hot, look for the problem causing that, either flushing or changing the coolant or something broken or clogged. Or you have modified your motor with all sorts of track upgrades. In 1979, my 1974 Dodge Dart with a 318 ran hot after all the modifications, we removed the thermostat and the motor never really go up to operating temperature, we ran way to cool, we put it back and had the radiator rev. flushed and that fixed the problem, it was full of crap at the bottom causing a almost clogged or very slow flow...These C5 work best at operating temp.... NOTE: This is my opinion if you only do normal driving and not track racing or have a modified LS1 with headers, cam, supercharger, then you have to know what your operating temp for your kind of driving needs.
Racer
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 342
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From: Cutler Ohio
Ohio Events Coordinator
St. Jude Donor '09
Jesse, I think GM does design the engine to preform at a certain temp. However they are leaving power on the table....A C5 and it's onboard PCM is not your mothers 318 Dogde Dart.
The 160 degree thermostat lets the car stay in a more aggressive state. When the coolant temps raise, the car starts pulling timing etc to keep detonation from happening. So the 160 degree thermostat basically allows the car to continue to make full power. Running cooler is not a bad thing for the LS1. The 160 degree thremostat isn't making the car run overly cool just helping it stay in the power range. 160 degree stat should be acompanied by resetting fan "on" temps in the PMC to also enhance this change... "pear"
The 160 degree thermostat lets the car stay in a more aggressive state. When the coolant temps raise, the car starts pulling timing etc to keep detonation from happening. So the 160 degree thermostat basically allows the car to continue to make full power. Running cooler is not a bad thing for the LS1. The 160 degree thremostat isn't making the car run overly cool just helping it stay in the power range. 160 degree stat should be acompanied by resetting fan "on" temps in the PMC to also enhance this change... "pear"