Shadow Assassin

Installed Hypertech Module III programmer on my '99 with matching Hyperstat 160 degree thermostat. Car runs 195-205 degrees under normal operating conditions. I have checked to make sure programming is correct.

Had the same set up on my '98 and the car consistently ran under 170 degrees.

Called Hypertech to ask if maybe I had a faulty thermo and the guy was very rude and abrupt and told me I would never be able to get the car to run that cool. Well, what the hell did I buy a lower temp thermo for then?

Am I just worrying for nothing or should we pull the thermo out and test it? Could the ECT sensor or the temp sender be faulty? I wouldn't think so since the temp it is running is so consistent.

Another_User

In the summer that is perfectly normal. When you are moving in the summer you may see 190 if you are lucky. In the winter, with some water wetter I could see 170ish temps. Anything under 200 is pretty decent. I never felt real comfortable with how much the temp would fluctuate, but heck, the stock fan settings would let your car get to 230+ in the summer. They are crap heads (and their fan settings probably suck compared to what you could do with HPTuners), but you are right on target with what you should be seeing. P.S. 98 is the only year the Fbody had a real dash thermostat. Every other year is pretty much a dummy light because it does not fluctuate.

horist

is that 195-205 confirmed w/a scanner or based on the gauge?
If based on the gauge, 98 gauges = accurate, 99+ temp gauges = dummy gauges (they don't react very fast to changes in temp)

Shadow Assassin

The temp is based on the gauge. What concerns me is the fans are coming on at the temps they are programmed to do under the 160 degree thermo ratings, so in effect, my fans are running all the time now. Isn't that wearing them out prematurely?

horist

probably will wear them out sooner than they would w/stock settings... though I've had my fans on all the time for almost 3 years now and no probs

2001NBMZ28

I have my fans set at 184/175 and 194/185 with LED's, they pretty much run all the time in the summer (high speed will cycle on and off on the interstate). I don't worry about wearing them out.

dvanorder

In summer temps this will be normal. My fans run quite a bit as well (173/183, 184/194). They can handle it. 160 degrees is just the temperature the block opens up and starts circulating coolant. One thing that will help drop your coolant temp is a tranny cooler (if you have an A4). Both coolant and tranny dropped a good 15-20 degrees.

Another_User

Redline water wetter will help too. Also, you may want to run a little more water than coolant. Coolant isn't there to help cool your engine, in fact it sucks. Depending on where you live you can get away with 60/40 water to coolant or more. Just don't overdo it.

tici

iTrader: (1)

I have a 180F thermostat from hypertech and it opens at higher temperatures than my stocker!
I also have their programmer and it was setting realistic values.
I ended up modifying my stock thermostat (adjustable from outside with a screw).

...programmer and thermostat sit now somewhere in the basement...

gametech

iTrader: (1)

If you are really concerned, take out your thermostat, put it in a pot of water on the stove, and measure the temp it opens at. Some T-stats are actually way off from their ratings, and some are nearly perfect. If it concerns you, check it.