keeping engine from getting too hot

[skorpion317]

i don't mean it's over heating, but i'd like to have the car at 180* or less when it's running, even at idle. none of this 210* crap. i know a fan switch is probably the easiest way to go, but is there any other way?

[93camaro_zzz]

First buy a 180* or a 160* thermo. That will help out alot if you still have the stock 195. A manual fan switch will help a little, but to be honest, if you are going down the freeway, you dont need your fan on. So in theory you are just running another power source for no reason. Of course you could turn it off, but noone ever does. I know SLP sells a fan switch that will kick in at like 180* instead of the factory whatever it is. Like 980*. [img]smile.gif[/img] I have no thermostat in mine right now and good lord it runs at about 160-170 nonstop excpet at stop lights, it will rise a little. But it surely doesnt rise as much as when I had my 160*. But I will probably put a 160 back in for winter. Good luck. ;)

[Big Tymer]

i have a 160º themo in mine and in the winter, If i want any heat from my heater, I have to let my car run about 10 mins before I get in it. It keeps it sooooo cool

[BLLDOGG]

a thermostat doesnt nothing to effect the temp., it just slows down the heating up process by having the coolant kick in earlier.
having no thermo is not a good idea [img]graemlins/popcorn.gif[/img]
if you want you engine to run cooler, you need a fans switch or go the PCM tuning direction [img]smile.gif[/img]

[ReodDai]

Fan Switch: Worthless unless your thermostat is open and your water pump is running. All your fans do is cool down the coolant. Get a 180 or 160 deg thermo and your ok though.

Lower temp thermo: Worthless unless the fans are set to turn on earlier then stock. Otherwise you will just be running "hot" coolant through your car untill it reaches the stock heat range for the fans to turn on. Tuning or Fan switch is a MUST if you want it to have any effect on your car.

Electric Water Pump: All around good idea. Flows more then stock water pump and you can run it without the engine running. Great for track use and I prefer having one no matter what. Frees up horsepower, better flow, and you can cool the car down in minutes if need be. Not a must by any means but definetly helps cooling.

[BLLDOGG]

i was under the impression the fans dont cool your coolant. it cools your motor

[ReodDai]

Originally posted by BLLDOGG:
i was under the impression the fans dont cool your coolant. it cools your motor

How is a little bit of moving air going to cool a motor that is burning fuel inside of it at searing temperatures? It isn't. (don't belive me? turn your stove on and put a pan on it [put something in it so it doesn't catch on fire lol], now point a fan at the pan, is it cooling down? Probably not)

The coolant cools the engine internally by drawing the heat out of the metal of the engine into the coolant. Thus lowering the temperatures. The fans are there so that when the coolant exits the engine it goes by the radiator and is cooled down there. When the engine reaches a certain temperature however the the fans turn on. The fans force more air through the radiator thus cooling the coolant quicker. In exchange this lowers the temperature of the engine. Remember your engine temperature only measures the temperature of your coolant/water ;) Not the actual temperature of the metal.

[BLLDOGG]

your right. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[memphis_raines]

Originally posted by BLLDOGG:
i was under the impression the fans dont cool your coolant. it cools your motor

Man, I know you're a notorious post whore, and I've seen you put up some stupid stuff before, but that one takes the cake [img]graemlins/stickpoke.gif[/img]

Have you ever even looked under your hood? It doesn't take a rocket surgeon to figure out which direction the fans are blowing.....

[BLLDOGG]

:rolleyes:
a chevelle's fans i work on blows on the motor. im sorry if i dont fequently check which direction my fans blow. and i never made it seem like my comment was the all mighty law of cars. and dont act like you know everything cause you dont

[ September 05, 2004, 11:50 PM: Message edited by: BLLDOGG ]

[ReodDai]

If it ain't blowing air at the radiator then its sucking air through the radiator ;) Irrelavent arguement.

[BLLDOGG]

sucking air through is what i thought it did. well now with the great support of memphis_raines, i and others reading know now. thank you

[FlyBoy9994]

Yep.. Even the older cars worked on the principal of pulling more air through the radiator via the fan shroud. Sure it blows on the motor too but the purpose was to get more air across the radiator, thereby cooling the coolant.

[Distephano]

Blowing cool air onto the engine itself serves next to no purpose. Pretty much any fan(s) in the engine bay are there to pull more air over the radiator's fins, thus better cooling the liquid moving inside of the radiator.

As for the temp. Your car should be running around 180 while you are moving. If you just let it idle, the fans should kick in, keeping your temp around 210 while sitting at idle. If it goes this high, there is no cause for alarm. GM wouldn't have made it this way if it was going to hurt the engine.

I can understand if you want to cool the engine off more in the staging lanes at the track or something, but the fact of the matter is, for everyday driving, you aren't going to hurt anything letting it run at stock temps.

[ReodDai]

Originally posted by Distephano:
Blowing cool air onto the engine itself serves next to no purpose. Pretty much any fan(s) in the engine bay are there to pull more air over the radiator's fins, thus better cooling the liquid moving inside of the radiator.

As for the temp. Your car should be running around 180 while you are moving. If you just let it idle, the fans should kick in, keeping your temp around 210 while sitting at idle. If it goes this high, there is no cause for alarm. GM wouldn't have made it this way if it was going to hurt the engine.

I can understand if you want to cool the engine off more in the staging lanes at the track or something, but the fact of the matter is, for everyday driving, you aren't going to hurt anything letting it run at stock temps.

My car has NEVER gone above 200 deg (per the stock gauge).