Engine Coolant Temp
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 953
Likes: 117
From: Panama City, Florida
Engine Coolant Temp
I've not had my C5 very long and was wondering about the coolant temp. Mine is running in the 180's while moving, in the 190's while stopped at a light. Is that fairly standard?
Acct Suspended APR 2026 by request
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 10,367
Likes: 1,272
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
C5 of Year Winner (performance mods) 2019
it sounds like the car may have been tuned, they tend to run up into the 230ish range when bone stock
Melting Slicks
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 2,800
Likes: 356
From: Northville, MI
For racing, HPDE, autocross, those are good temps as you only look at oil temps in those events, for gas mileage and emissions, the 220-230 temps were the sweet spot in the initial testing and certification process. The LS1 engine is more efficient at the higher temps than the older 327-350 engines. Personally I like to keep my oil temps below 260 on the track and 240 when autocrossing so my fans are set to come on accordingly. When starting the engine, I always wait till the oil temps hit at least 180 before getting above 3000 rpms.
Pro
Joined: Sep 2017
Posts: 675
Likes: 195
From: Green Oak Township, Michigan
For racing, HPDE, autocross, those are good temps as you only look at oil temps in those events, for gas mileage and emissions, the 220-230 temps were the sweet spot in the initial testing and certification process. The LS1 engine is more efficient at the higher temps than the older 327-350 engines. Personally I like to keep my oil temps below 260 on the track and 240 when autocrossing so my fans are set to come on accordingly. When starting the engine, I always wait till the oil temps hit at least 180 before getting above 3000 rpms.
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