160 stat vs 195
Guys if you have a 160 T-stat, i gurantee the car is not running at 160*. I have a 160 in my car, i know the gauge is a dummy gage and my needle gets to about 210. I am sure if i did a scan on teh car that the temp would be about 220* or so.
So not let the hype get to you
So not let the hype get to you
11 Second Club
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 1,537
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From: Was New Orleans, but swam to Baton Rouge
There is a retired GM engineer on CF that developed and tested the cooling for the C5 Corvette. They ran all kinds of endurance testing on the LS1 and he states the optimum temperature is 180 - 195 degrees for coolant and over 200 for oil. Lower temps showed much higher wear on the motor and the cooler the faster the wear. If you belong to CF, just search on "Sweet Spot". His handle is Evil Twin.
when i had a stock water pump (i now have a Mez EWP), i played with my fans a little.
in ~80deg air temps (florida), sitting in the driveway with a scanner hooked up...
with a 160 stat my engine would hover at ~180 with a fan switch turned on LOW
with the fan switch on HI it would pull it down to 174-176 after a few minutes.
idling it would NOT get cooler than that...probably due to the stat starting to close and restrict flow.
so i figure my operating temp while driving is 175-185 depending on speed, power demand, and ambient air temp.
its been a while since i've had stock fan settings, but i beleive they would keep the coolant tems ~210 while sitting in the driveway. this was without using the fan switch. and that WAS with a 160 stat.
in ~80deg air temps (florida), sitting in the driveway with a scanner hooked up...
with a 160 stat my engine would hover at ~180 with a fan switch turned on LOW
with the fan switch on HI it would pull it down to 174-176 after a few minutes.
idling it would NOT get cooler than that...probably due to the stat starting to close and restrict flow.
so i figure my operating temp while driving is 175-185 depending on speed, power demand, and ambient air temp.
its been a while since i've had stock fan settings, but i beleive they would keep the coolant tems ~210 while sitting in the driveway. this was without using the fan switch. and that WAS with a 160 stat.
One other note. The stock LS1 thermostat is very easy to mod to make it open at any temp you want. It just requires you make a 1/8" diameter shim. I bought aluminum rod at a hardware store and used it to make the shim. Cost under $1 and a little time. Link to mod
Last edited by vettenuts; Mar 26, 2009 at 11:33 AM.
