temperature

[garlt4]

Hello all. This is a great forum. Finally am on a computer where I can log in again! Purchased Black/Black LT4 last fall..just got it out for the Spring. A whole lotta car ! I had heard that they run quite hot and found that around the city it crept up near about 240. Is that to be expected??

 

[vetteguy]

Should run between 190 - 200 while moving. Heats up quickly when stopped. Fans should kick on at 230 and cool it down to about 210. If yours is hitting 240 your fans may not be coming on. Fans will run all the time while A/C is on. Hope this helps, Guy

 

[Tuna]

What vetteguy said.

However, 240 sitting in traffic with the AC off is not uncommon. Just in case, check the radiator for stuff and junk plugging up the air flow.
With the car moving, the temps should come quickly down. On my last LT4 car, the normal temperature range was more like 190-205 when moving and I did see the 230-240 range a few times when stuck in freeway jams in the summer. My car was working normally for the stock programming. Yours maybe also.

Remember, these cars are belly breathers so they're sucking air right off the hot road surface when sitting still or going real slow. If the AC is not on, the fans do not come on until 229 or so. You need either one or both fans turning or the car moving to get sufficent air flow through the radiator to keep them in the 190-205 range.

On my 96 CE LT4 car, I never did let that bother me too (yea right) much. I never liked it much either. On my 92, I have a 160 stat and the computer chip that turns on the fans sooner. Makes me feel better.

 

[Harley1@coiinc.com]

What experience has anyone had with switching to Mobile 1. My 85 runs hot also. It has 86,000 miles. I had great luck when I switched my work Ford truck to synthetic at 160,000 miles--has 180,000 now. Running Harley synthetic for Bagger. Switched at 5,000--has 15,000 miles now. Racers use synthetic. Is it as good as touted ? My experience is good. No significant problems when switching- like oil consumption.
Synthetic is too high priced but nothing is too good for my babies. It is said it will run cooler and protects better with proven more dyno H.P. How can you not use it ?

 

[Skant]

Re: 240 degrees: I would be a bit concerned about 240. The engine should come up to 230 degrees while its at idle... and only because the computer lets it. It's quite capable of bringing it down lower rather rapidly. If it's reaching up to 240, that's not a good sign... that would indicate that it's struggling to keep cool and not just getting up that high because it's programmed to.

As I understand it, the engine will emergency shutoff at 250 degrees. And some say that this is already too late. So there's not much safety margin there.

This is one reason why quite a lot of people reprogram their computers or otherwise convince their cars to turn on the fans sooner and keep the temp to something more around 200.

Anyway... the typical cause for temperatures above 230 is leaves stuck between the condensor and radiator. This area is rather hard to reach and difficult to see. And it gets full up with leaves which block the radiator. It is possible to diagnose this problem using a flashlight to peer between the slats from certain angles.

Alternatively, your secondary fan may not be functional. But it's usually the leaves.

Also... you should check your under the front of your car commonly... any time you see the temperature spike at all... and every time you stop at a gas station. These bottom feeders suck up plastic bags about once a month, in my experience.


Re: Mobile 1 oil: Your question should really be a seperate thread. But I'll comment anyway. Later years of Corvettes went to Mobil 1 as the factory fill. They did this in part so that they could remove the oil cooler and thereby save weight and space. The synthetic oil is the only variety that can withstand this application. Just think about that for moment. Regular oil isn't rated high enough to survive in the later vettes. Wow. Mobil 1 is great stuff, and I would highly recommend it. The cost of oil... even expensive oil... is utterly insignicant compared to the cost of corvette repairs. Why play games seeing how cheap you can go before it has a problem?

I've read articles and claims of people running cars on much less than ideal oil specs and change intervals... and heralding their successes in still having a car that runs. Obviously good oil isn't needed, and manufacturers are just trying to burn you for money by recommending shorter change intervals than you could possibly get away with. *rolls eyes* I just don't understand that attitude myself. Oil can't be clean _enough_. The cleaner and higher quality it is, the longer the engine will last. Plain and simple. There are diminishing returns, sure. Absolutely. But I want my vette to last forever. I'm not just trying to make it last for a couple of years until I've run it into the ground enough to sell it for another one.

And I have definately noticed that all the people that I know who change their oil religiously every 3,000 miles... seem to hardly ever have any engine problems. Funny that.


PS: Dunno why I've gone ranting on this. Not angry or anything... just talkative I guess. I've been quite sick today and I'm stir crazy. Anyway, I hope there some useful information up there somewhere.

- Skant

 

[96vetteLT4]

Mobil 1 is the only way to go...think of it..all Nascar...N.H.R.A...I.H.R.A. and all other forms of racing use it without question...they have 100,000.00 dollar motors on the line and they choose Mobil 1...at $4.00 a quart or $20.00 per oil change why would you not use it? With a filter that a $30.00 oil change...pretty cheap insurance...