What temperature is considered normal?

[Bad89coupe]

What temperature is considered normal driving on a hot day say 85-95 degrees? Going on the highway what should the temp gauge red as normal. My 89 coupe reads at 65 mph between 198-205 degrees. Is this too hot at this steady speed? I know when I am doing city driving it will go up to 224 degrees sometines 230 if stuck in traffic before the fan kicks on depending on the day. Is there any way to reduce the temp and make the engine run cooler?

 

[c4ever]

Sounds about right without mods. Here's what I have done due to heat issues in sunny South Florida on the 85.

Fans on at 174deg(hypertech chip), 160 stat, 70/30 water/antifreeze mix, make sure all crud is removed from radiator surface. I now run with 90deg ambient: highway about 185deg and never top 215 in stopped traffic.

Carlo

 

[franks]

my 93 fans are on before 200* new waterpump stock with new
thermastat & pump sending unit. do i have a problem?
solutions?
thanks
FRANKS 93 RUBY LT1

 

[Bad89coupe]

Is there a replacement radiator for the 89 such as modine? maybe a little thicker or with more cores than the OEM rad? How about the hyperchip? Any other mods needed to be done to install one where the fan goes on sooner?

 

[elkabong]

I purchased a Modine 2501 (I think) for my 84. The core is 1 5/8 inches thick. The stock was 7/8 inches thick. It made a big difference for me in AZ. I still have some minor issues but it is due to living in the land of blistering heat. I am also installing an Aux Fan - but this is due to where I live. In your neck of the woods the larger core would make difference but it will not control when the fans turn off or on. You need to work on the prom for that I believe.

Follow the advice for cleaning all the crud out between the radiator and ac evaporator. When I took mine apart to clean I was amazed at all the stuff that was there.

Also, there was a gentleman who offered to sell his extra HD Z51 radiator which may do the trick for you. Send me a note and I will dig up his email address or you can search for my name on CAC where he posted the offer.

 

[vader86]

Your temperatures sound normal.

There are aftermarket radiators like BeCool or Griffin or Ron Davis, they might require a little cutting but not much.

The hypertech chip is worthless except for the fan temp modification. I would not buy one new. Someone here can burn you one to make them come on sooner, or you can wire in a fan switch yourself to make them come on.

I did that, and had a 160 tstat installed. It was about 90 the other day, and my temps were 202 oil and 180somthin coolant in heavy traffic.

 

[Topload]

Gotta' go with the masses on this one - my temps were consistently running in the 190 to 215 bracket before I swapped the radiator core. Mine was so clogged with silt, dust and grime that I replaced it with a new OEM unit AND I added the remote switch to kick on the fans. Now whenever the temp starts to climb in stop & go traffic, I just kick the fans on and the temp drops back to ~195. The new radiator seemed to help a bit but the addition of the aux fan switch is just a little added insurance.

 

[Jersey-vinny]

Bad89: If you have an Eckler's catalog check out the fan switches which will turn on your fans as low as 185 degrees. I use one in my '88 that goes on at 200. Works great. Switch costs $40.00 plus about $ 13 for a harness. You don't have to remember to turn on the fans. One of the best thing about Corvettes is all the neat improvements you can purchase off the shelf.

Jersey-Vinny

 

[FordNoMore!]

Best 25 buk investement, Manual Fan Switch,easy hook up, and a big benefit, Along with a Ed Wrights, fastchip, the fans are on at 180 with chip, with switch, there on anytime,I have factory radiator with 27K on it, and run max 180's, in 110 heat,woooooha!,if ya are in a climate like Im in, run distilled water, with water wetter addative,throw in a little Anti freez, not much though, because the Water Wetter has addatives in it to lubricate your water pump,Bam at least 15 degree drop in engine temp,proven fact, Water decipates heat better then anything.

 

[Bad89coupe]

I do like the fan aux idea, it sounds good not that hard to install I am hoping, and best of all cheap! But I do want to take the radiator out and check it anyway for grime build up have it powerflushed and reinstalled. I guess I will go with the new tstat and cap as well. Waterwetter sounds like it might help a bit too. So with all of that I hope to drop 10 to 15 degrees. Thanks!