Engine Temp and Overheating??
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Dec 2020
Posts: 31
Likes: 45
From: Pasadena CA
Engine Temp and Overheating??
Folks,
'20 C8. All is well, except....when I get in line at a drive through, and engine is idling temp runs up to 203 pretty quickly. I turn off and wait for line to flow, restart, move, turn off. And this is in Winter.
Just wondering when it is 100 out side, AC is running and we are stuck in a traffic line of any kind, how hot do we let the engine temp get? Assuming fan et al are working correctly does it matter?? Or is there a hidden handshake amongst C8's to turn off and keep temps down until air can flow through ducts and cooling system.
TIA
C8 Torch
'20 C8. All is well, except....when I get in line at a drive through, and engine is idling temp runs up to 203 pretty quickly. I turn off and wait for line to flow, restart, move, turn off. And this is in Winter.
Just wondering when it is 100 out side, AC is running and we are stuck in a traffic line of any kind, how hot do we let the engine temp get? Assuming fan et al are working correctly does it matter?? Or is there a hidden handshake amongst C8's to turn off and keep temps down until air can flow through ducts and cooling system.
TIA
C8 Torch
Race Director
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 13,180
Likes: 10,522
203 is not overheating. Water boils at 212F. With the recommended 60/40 water / coolant mix, with a pressurized system, boiling point is about 250 - 260F. Leave it idle and see if it gets hotter. The radiator fans should come on. If they don't, THAT'S a problem.
Last edited by Red Mist Rulz; Apr 4, 2021 at 07:54 PM.
Race Director
Joined: Nov 2017
Posts: 12,759
Likes: 10,655
From: Prosper TX/Austin TX
2020 C6 of the Year Winner - Modified
Isn’t there a red line on your coolant temp gauge somewhere around 260? 203 is not anywhere near overheating, & I definitely wouldn’t be turning off/re-starting the vehicle repeatedly sitting in a drive-thru line.
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Racer
Joined: Aug 2020
Posts: 412
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From: San Diego, CA
Folks,
'20 C8. All is well, except....when I get in line at a drive through, and engine is idling temp runs up to 203 pretty quickly. I turn off and wait for line to flow, restart, move, turn off. And this is in Winter.
Just wondering when it is 100 out side, AC is running and we are stuck in a traffic line of any kind, how hot do we let the engine temp get? Assuming fan et al are working correctly does it matter?? Or is there a hidden handshake amongst C8's to turn off and keep temps down until air can flow through ducts and cooling system.
TIA
C8 Torch
'20 C8. All is well, except....when I get in line at a drive through, and engine is idling temp runs up to 203 pretty quickly. I turn off and wait for line to flow, restart, move, turn off. And this is in Winter.
Just wondering when it is 100 out side, AC is running and we are stuck in a traffic line of any kind, how hot do we let the engine temp get? Assuming fan et al are working correctly does it matter?? Or is there a hidden handshake amongst C8's to turn off and keep temps down until air can flow through ducts and cooling system.
TIA
C8 Torch
Race Director
Joined: Aug 1999
Posts: 13,275
Likes: 2,509
From: Bluffton SC via Canton Oh
At 205 207 you are way under the thresholds. You’ll hear the fans and there are plenty of nannies built in to get you ample notification. C7s went into limp mode and I sure the c8 if it ever overheated would do the same.
I doubt gm would not have fixed the overheating issues of the c7 which were very limited but were real.
I doubt gm would not have fixed the overheating issues of the c7 which were very limited but were real.
Safety Car
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 4,960
Likes: 527
From: Witness Protection Program Somewhere, USA
Interesting thread.
I have a friend with a 2021 HTC and we were slowly idling (parade like) for about 30 minutes and he told me he got a reduced power DIC message.
He said he turned off the engine for a short while and then it was ok.
Got me thinking though about sitting in traffic in hot summer days.
I have a friend with a 2021 HTC and we were slowly idling (parade like) for about 30 minutes and he told me he got a reduced power DIC message.
He said he turned off the engine for a short while and then it was ok.
Got me thinking though about sitting in traffic in hot summer days.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 3,184
Likes: 1,764
Thermostats open at a pretty high temp today, over 200, for emission reasons. In the old days we would install a 160 or 180 thermostat. What you are seeing is normal. Sometimes adding a water wetter like Red Line can help lower it a few degrees.
Race Director
Joined: Nov 2017
Posts: 12,759
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From: Prosper TX/Austin TX
2020 C6 of the Year Winner - Modified
Race Director
Joined: Oct 2008
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From: NJ
Optimizing the burn friend. These (and most) internal combustion engines are made to run in that range for efficiency.
Read this. Should help (100c is 212f)
https://business.inquirer.net/1609/g...ooling-systems
Will the car have the "most" hp available higher than that? No. It will pill timing. But mfrs care about emissions and fuel economy 1st
Read this. Should help (100c is 212f)
https://business.inquirer.net/1609/g...ooling-systems
Will the car have the "most" hp available higher than that? No. It will pill timing. But mfrs care about emissions and fuel economy 1st
Instructor
Joined: Aug 2019
Posts: 188
Likes: 127
From: Pittsburgh, PA
I'd venture to say the c8 thermostat is around 170 or 180, since that is what the coolant temps settle at on extended highway trips. Definitely opens well below 200. Fans only come on sometime after 200, though.
Team Owner
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 25,583
Likes: 16,942
The boiling point of pressurized fluids is much higher than at ambient, sea-level, pressure (212ºF), which is one reason the system is pressurized along with increased flow in a pressurized system. System pressure combined with the antifreeze mixture raises the boiling point in the average vehicle to about 260ºF.
Last edited by Foosh; Apr 5, 2021 at 01:05 PM.
