Engine Temp???
Race Director
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 10,084
Likes: 3,055
From: CA
pretty much every gauge is a dummy, hate to break it to you. car manufacturers, especially domestics, use the cheapest crap they can get their hands on. you pay 100 dollars for an accurate gauge like an autometer. you think you have that in your car, you craaaaazy.
the only ones that move in real time/function is the tach and speedo. even the volt meter is smoothed. all they have ever indicated is "ok here" not exact temp/pressure. they would be moving all over the place constantly....people would crash.
the only ones that move in real time/function is the tach and speedo. even the volt meter is smoothed. all they have ever indicated is "ok here" not exact temp/pressure. they would be moving all over the place constantly....people would crash.
A working coolant temperature gauge has value. My 4th Gen Firebird has one, so no, they are not all "dummies". So does my C5 Corvette. This gauge cycles up and down, depending on air temperature, vehicle speed, and if the fans are on or not. The Firebird started running hotter than normal based on the coolant gauge, but not overheating. I replaced the thermostat, and all was back to normal. The car never overheated, and having the gauge prevented me from be stranded at a later time.
As far as I am concerned, the bogus C7 coolant temperature gauge is just taking up precious dash real estate. If enough people complain, maybe they can fix it with a firmware update.
Michael
Last edited by Michael A; Jun 21, 2014 at 05:50 PM.
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 2,596
Likes: 120
From: East Tennessee
I've owned a lot of cars over the years and whenever they present an indexed gauge, you know, a gauge with NUMBERS on it, they are expected be accurate to withing 2%. None of my Porsche's worked that way but shame on me for expecting something as simple as an indexed gauge to be accurate....... AND, since it can't be selected in the pocket gauges on Sport or Track there's no way to accurately assess the water temp when pushing the car hard, you just get to watch it sit there at 220.
While in the grand scheme of things this is very minor, it's an annoyance and a letdown considering just how good the rest of the car is. I guess I just haven't drunk enough of the Corvette Kool Aid to give GM a pass on this.......
While in the grand scheme of things this is very minor, it's an annoyance and a letdown considering just how good the rest of the car is. I guess I just haven't drunk enough of the Corvette Kool Aid to give GM a pass on this.......
Plus where the sender is placed on the engine means a lot as well. Thats why a lot of performance cars use cylinder head and oil temp instead of water temp. Plus a temp gauge really wont help to find hot spots, if the sender is mounted low enough and you have an air pocket in one of the cylinder heads you can show a low coolant temp yet detonate it to death.
I understand why you arent happy, it is possible they can change the gauge to reflect small temp changes. I was able to program the gas gauge through the ECM for an aftermarket sender/aluminum tank on a 98 F body. Oddly enough 98 F-body still had a 'real' temp gauge that was not connected to the ECM at all, but in 99 they went to the fake gauge.
I would like to know at what temp the 'fake' gauge starts to rise on the C7, is it 221 or 230 degrees?
In reality the oil temp gauge is what should be used to determine if warmed up enough for battle. And I'm sure there will be lights and chimes if the engine gets too hot. Like I posted my old '11 M3, which the epitome of 'track day' cars at the time and adored by the media had no coolant temp gauge at all. I'm trying to remember if you could even see the coolant temp on any of the other displays, I thought you could but maybe not..
Drifting
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 1,505
Likes: 13
Most 'real' gauges are not within 2% unless you are buying lab stuff, then you have sender and voltage errors.
Plus where the sender is placed on the engine means a lot as well. Thats why a lot of performance cars use cylinder head and oil temp instead of water temp. Plus a temp gauge really wont help to find hot spots, if the sender is mounted low enough and you have an air pocket in one of the cylinder heads you can show a low coolant temp yet detonate it to death.
I understand why you arent happy, it is possible they can change the gauge to reflect small temp changes. I was able to program the gas gauge through the ECM for an aftermarket sender/aluminum tank on a 98 F body. Oddly enough 98 F-body still had a 'real' temp gauge that was not connected to the ECM at all, but in 99 they went to the fake gauge.
I would like to know at what temp the 'fake' gauge starts to rise on the C7, is it 221 or 230 degrees?
In reality the oil temp gauge is what should be used to determine if warmed up enough for battle. And I'm sure there will be lights and chimes if the engine gets too hot. Like I posted my old '11 M3, which the epitome of 'track day' cars at the time and adored by the media had no coolant temp gauge at all. I'm trying to remember if you could even see the coolant temp on any of the other displays, I thought you could but maybe not..
Plus where the sender is placed on the engine means a lot as well. Thats why a lot of performance cars use cylinder head and oil temp instead of water temp. Plus a temp gauge really wont help to find hot spots, if the sender is mounted low enough and you have an air pocket in one of the cylinder heads you can show a low coolant temp yet detonate it to death.
I understand why you arent happy, it is possible they can change the gauge to reflect small temp changes. I was able to program the gas gauge through the ECM for an aftermarket sender/aluminum tank on a 98 F body. Oddly enough 98 F-body still had a 'real' temp gauge that was not connected to the ECM at all, but in 99 they went to the fake gauge.
I would like to know at what temp the 'fake' gauge starts to rise on the C7, is it 221 or 230 degrees?
In reality the oil temp gauge is what should be used to determine if warmed up enough for battle. And I'm sure there will be lights and chimes if the engine gets too hot. Like I posted my old '11 M3, which the epitome of 'track day' cars at the time and adored by the media had no coolant temp gauge at all. I'm trying to remember if you could even see the coolant temp on any of the other displays, I thought you could but maybe not..
Whether it's 2% or 5% it should still track with the digital reading. The info is there, they just intentionally chose to dumb it down. That's disappointing for their halo car.
This thread has gotten a bit out of hand, I've said my piece, will ask GM why and only post back if I get a response.
Race Director
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 10,084
Likes: 3,055
From: CA
I just checked the temp gauge on my rental 2013 Dodge Charger. It has both analog and digital readings. Unlike the 2014 Corvette, the $27K Charger's temp gauge tracks the coolant temperature up and down. even on a gauge that only says "C" and "H".
Michael
Michael
Race Director
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 10,959
Likes: 2,641
From: Texas Hill Country
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