Water temp high?
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 1,440
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From: San Jose Ca
Water temp high?
So I just got a 2014 3LT M7 Z51 with 38K on it and am noticing that the water temp seems to run at 220? My previous 05 liked to run at 190 with the AC on most of the time, so the fans were on keeping the temp and fans from cycling. This car, with AC on as well, seems to run much higher, regardless of outside air temp. Is this normal?
Instructor
Joined: Dec 2016
Posts: 194
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From: Mass
I've seen mentioned that 2014's had a higher TSTAT. They went lower after that year. My stock 2016 Z51 ran at 210. Now runs at 198 after installing secondary radiator and tune but still same 2016 TSTAT.
HTH,
Pj
HTH,
Pj
Racer
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 305
Likes: 67
From: york south carolina
i bought mine 214 new and it ran 220. i thought it was crazy to see but it always stayed at 220 so i had no overheat problems. since then i just sold it for a 2017 z which has a 192 deg thermostat so it reads 198 average. you could swap it out for a lower temp but of course i do not know if the computer will flag it for low temp but to me that would be a good thing
Team Owner
Joined: Feb 2013
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All wrong info above... 2014s have a bad analog gauge. There's a TSB for it and no fix. If you pull up the digital readout via tour mode you can see the real temp. The analog gauge sits at 220 and doesn't get accurate until coolant gets at or over 220. The car is mechanically identical to later models as far as cooling system and t-stat.
Last edited by RapidC84B; Oct 25, 2018 at 03:23 PM.
Safety Car
Joined: Jul 2018
Posts: 4,303
Likes: 2,055
From: Margate, FL
All wrong info above... 2014s have a bad analog gauge. There's a TSB for it and no fix. If you pull up the digital readout via tour mode you can see the real temp. The analog gauge sits at 220 and doesn't get accurate until coolant gets at or over 220. The car is mechanically identical to later models as far as cooling system and t-stat.
I've noticed on my '14 the analog gauge reads about 20 degreees higher then the digital gauge. So 220 on the dash but around 198-200 on the Perf screen in Touring under all conditions I've encountered so far. A little higher in traffic or aggressive (not track) driving and little lower when highway cruise. At first I thought the values on the analog gauge might be wrong but then I noticed it just goes to 220 and sits there. So like most modern cars I bet the analog gauge really only shows 3 "ranges": cold, normal and hot. The gauge moves (slowly) between them but to keep customers from freaking out it doesn't readjust for every little 10 degree change. Instead it just settles into the normal range of 220 (right in the middle) when its not cold or hot.
Team Owner
Joined: Feb 2013
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Likes: 14,555
Thank you! I assumed this is what is going so maybe you confirmed it.
I've noticed on my '14 the analog gauge reads about 20 degreees higher then the digital gauge. So 220 on the dash but around 198-200 on the Perf screen in Touring under all conditions I've encountered so far. A little higher in traffic or aggressive (not track) driving and little lower when highway cruise. At first I thought the values on the analog gauge might be wrong but then I noticed it just goes to 220 and sits there. So like most modern cars I bet the analog gauge really only shows 3 "ranges": cold, normal and hot. The gauge moves (slowly) between them but to keep customers from freaking out it doesn't readjust for every little 10 degree change. Instead it just settles into the normal range of 220 (right in the middle) when its not cold or hot.
I've noticed on my '14 the analog gauge reads about 20 degreees higher then the digital gauge. So 220 on the dash but around 198-200 on the Perf screen in Touring under all conditions I've encountered so far. A little higher in traffic or aggressive (not track) driving and little lower when highway cruise. At first I thought the values on the analog gauge might be wrong but then I noticed it just goes to 220 and sits there. So like most modern cars I bet the analog gauge really only shows 3 "ranges": cold, normal and hot. The gauge moves (slowly) between them but to keep customers from freaking out it doesn't readjust for every little 10 degree change. Instead it just settles into the normal range of 220 (right in the middle) when its not cold or hot.
If you're on a road trip and keep tour digital up you can see the thermostat cycle as the coolant will go 188 to 195 and then back down again and repeat over and over. The factory t-stat is 192 or 194 I can't recall exactly.
Safety Car
Joined: Jul 2018
Posts: 4,303
Likes: 2,055
From: Margate, FL
For a track car just give me the real number, this way I can back off and see how things respond. If it drops I know everything is OK, but if its constantly high then I clearly need additional cooling. I have an OBD-II smart phone app so I can display temp data from that as well to confirm.
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Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2014
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From: Atlanta GA
On my 2015 the Analog gauge matches the Digital readout and I am hard pressed to get it to go over 195 unless I am beating on it hard at the track , even sitting in Atlanta traffic in the heat of the summer …
Dave
Dave
Safety Car
Joined: Jul 2018
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From: Margate, FL
Not sure why GM would highlight the 220 mark when the "normal" temp is around 200 which is actually the harsh mark BELOW the big obvious number.
Even more messed up is the gauge apparently changes scale - large hashes below 220 have 20 degrees of separation but the ones above represent just 10 degrees - this is madness!
I added my own numbers below in yellow next to each hash mark in effort to make sense of it...
Should this go into the Ask Tadge section? Why on earth would GM pick this crazy system?
Melting Slicks
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From: Baton Rouge LA
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 1,440
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From: San Jose Ca
My C6 was the same, the water temp gauge reflected actual temp.
I've run through the gauges and can't seem to find water temp. I'm in touring mode. Found trans temp though.....
I've run through the gauges and can't seem to find water temp. I'm in touring mode. Found trans temp though.....
Last edited by Red86Cfour; Oct 28, 2018 at 10:28 AM.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Jan 2015
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What? 210 on the street? That's not normal. Specially with a stock z51
Tech Contributor
Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 5,688
Likes: 1,450
I think its dumb for any car. Might as well have a gas gauge that says "full", "some", "not much" and "all gone"
For a track car just give me the real number, this way I can back off and see how things respond. If it droops I know everything is OK, but if its constantly high then I clearly need additional cooling. I have an OBD-II smart phone app so I can display temp data from that as well to confirm.
For a track car just give me the real number, this way I can back off and see how things respond. If it droops I know everything is OK, but if its constantly high then I clearly need additional cooling. I have an OBD-II smart phone app so I can display temp data from that as well to confirm.
Racer
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 495
Likes: 50
The 14's also have a different fan. The 15's up have a higher wattage fan. You can buy the 15 up fan on Rock Auto for about $200. The fan helps for stop and go driving but will not help once in motion. The analog gauge is terrible it will read 220 for temps under and over 220.
Team Owner
Joined: Feb 2013
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This applies to 2014s only. Gauge hovers around 220 when the car is warmed up and the actual temp is 195-205. Gauge doesn’t become accurate until 220 and up which the car should never see unless there’s a issue. Even on track mine stays 215-217. If you don’t believe me you can read the TSB on the issue. I posted about it when first getting my 2014 last fall.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Jan 2015
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Touring display and then pick 2nd from the top “performance” sub-group and it displays digital exact read outs.
This applies to 2014s only. Gauge hovers around 220 when the car is warmed up and the actual temp is 195-205. Gauge doesn’t become accurate until 220 and up which the car should never see unless there’s a issue. Even on track mine stays 215-217. If you don’t believe me you can read the TSB on the issue. I posted about it when first getting my 2014 last fall.
Safety Car
Joined: Jul 2018
Posts: 4,303
Likes: 2,055
From: Margate, FL
Yes it is!
I was beginning to think I was reading the gauge wrong
which is why I put yellow values in my picture above.
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 1,440
Likes: 173
From: San Jose Ca
Touring display and then pick 2nd from the top “performance” sub-group and it displays digital exact read outs.
This applies to 2014s only. Gauge hovers around 220 when the car is warmed up and the actual temp is 195-205. Gauge doesn’t become accurate until 220 and up which the car should never see unless there’s a issue. Even on track mine stays 215-217. If you don’t believe me you can read the TSB on the issue. I posted about it when first getting my 2014 last fall.