best temp is the best on ls1 engines
best temp is the best on ls1 engines I want my car to stay cold without a supercharger or turbo. what can i do and what is the best temp to run on a ls1 motor. is it the colder the better or what, I am not really experienced in this but i want my car to run the best at what temp. Please help
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From: Schiller Park, ILL Member: #317
In my experiance, for a stock to mildly modded LS1, I'd say to keep the temps in the 190-205 degree range at all times. This can be done with a stock T-stat and custom fan programing. That might sound hot to you, but keep in mind that with stock fan settings LS1s can easily get into the 230 degree range at idle or during stop and go traffic in hot weather...now that is too hot IMO.
I've found that running my stock to bolt-on + cam LS1s any cooler than 190 just doesn't seem to have any benifit towards power. Of course, aggressive timing tables, high(er) compression, or blower/turbo applications can/will be different.
I've found that running my stock to bolt-on + cam LS1s any cooler than 190 just doesn't seem to have any benifit towards power. Of course, aggressive timing tables, high(er) compression, or blower/turbo applications can/will be different.
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From: Schiller Park, ILL Member: #317
Originally Posted by LS1Aggie09
it won't hurt anything by putting a 160 or 190 degree thermo in with living way deep in the south in real hot climates? (not to hijack the thread)
Personally I just don't see the need for a 160 stat on a stock to mild LS1, because I've tried it and saw no gains. Just my experiance.
TECH Fanatic
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From: Wichita KS
Reprogramming the fans is a crucial step. Ever since I did (stage 1- 175 & stage 2 185) the car never gets over 196 degrees while sitting at a stop. Once and awhile it will hit 200 right after i go to WOT, but it cools down around 100mph
Last edited by natronathon; Jun 1, 2006 at 05:20 PM.
Originally Posted by RPM WS6
In my experiance, for a stock to mildly modded LS1, I'd say to keep the temps in the 190-205 degree range at all times. This can be done with a stock T-stat and custom fan programing.
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TECH Fanatic
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From: Wichita KS
I'd reccomend having the fans come on to the point where the 2nd stage operation (highest setting) is initiated before the Thermostat is completely open (around 195). Have the 1st stage come on before that. I gave the first stage around a 10 degree window before turing on the second stage... here's my exact setting...
Stage 1
on: 175
off: 170
Stage 2
on: 185
off: 175
This pretty much guarantees that my fans will be on when im at a stop and the car is at operating temp. Through HP tuners it is also possible to have the fans shut off after the car reaches a certain speed. in my case this is set at 35 mph.
Stage 1
on: 175
off: 170
Stage 2
on: 185
off: 175
This pretty much guarantees that my fans will be on when im at a stop and the car is at operating temp. Through HP tuners it is also possible to have the fans shut off after the car reaches a certain speed. in my case this is set at 35 mph.
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Verdad Gallardo Joined: Nov 2001
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From: Schiller Park, ILL Member: #317
Originally Posted by stillremains
What do you suggest setting the fans to?
The stock stat is an 86C unit (186F).
I like settings that look something like this (for a stock t-stat):
Low Speed on at 204/off at 194
High Speed on at 214/off at 205
With these settings, you see the normal operating temps stay in the 194-204 range about 95% of the time, unless the outside temp is really hot or you're in heavy traffic for extended periods of time.
mine is set at 180 and i have stock thermostat but i have it tuned and fans come on a 180 so it never reaches anything above that, even in this 90+ heat and the humidity is unbearable.
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From: Schiller Park, ILL Member: #317
Originally Posted by Z28LS1camaroguy
mine is set at 180 and i have stock thermostat but i have it tuned and fans come on a 180 so it never reaches anything above that, even in this 90+ heat and the humidity is unbearable.
If your coolant actually maintains a consistant 180 temp on an accurate scanner, then you don't have a stock t-stat (or if it is stock, it's been shimmed). I've owned 3 LS1 cars now, and all three stock stats never would maintain a temp lower than 190 no matter how much I ran the fans or how cold it got outside. Sure, the stock stat starts to open in the low-mid 180s, but it's just not open enough to maintain a temp as low as 180 after inital warm-up.
Never a bad idea to run a bottle of "water wetter" as well...race cars run straight water with water wetter...obviously you'll want coolant, but water wetter is a worthwhile, and cheap, coolant aid.
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From: Schiller Park, ILL Member: #317
Originally Posted by Z28LS1camaroguy
i have a 98 and it has the real temp gauge in it so i trust what it says, and my tuner also told me what the fans were set and all that.
Again, if you have a stock stat, you're not going to be able to get the temps as low as 180 regardless of the fan settings......
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From: Schiller Park, ILL Member: #317
Originally Posted by Giddswat
How do you reprogram the fan settings?
Other option would be to get a manual fan switch. Then you can cut the fans on and off whenever you want, but it can be a pain to have to do that all the time.
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From: Schiller Park, ILL Member: #317
Originally Posted by senicalj4579
what would useing a 160 t-stat do along with my fan setting at 190?
