what cooling are y'all running

[DRAGIN]

my lt-1 is stock right now but i am working on the performance bolt ons. i guess i am just old school but i bothers me when my temp climbs over 220.since i just got this car i do not want too trust the thermostat in it because at times it is ok at others is lets the temp climb 2 around half way between 220 and the red mark. so i am going too change the thermostat. what temperature thermostat are you guys and gals using? and also what type of non stock fan switches are you running? thanks for any and all input.
dragin

[FTA1995]

Its going to run above 190 deg no matter what, unless you get a lower thermostat. If you are worried about it still, reprogram the Fan on off temperatures to more accurately work to your needs. On a stock motor, dont mess with too much, it probably wont help. Go with a 160 deg thermostat in the summer and fall, and a 180 for winter and spring. You dont want it to run too cool, then you wont ever get into closed loop. Also,The stock GM spark coolant table bias pulls timing, about 3-6 degrees at about 210 deg F, loosing a lot of power. They did this because of the high compression of the LT1 to compensate for expected detonation.

Just be careful. Change what you need to for the bolt ons, if you move to building the engine, then think about cooling a bit more.

Overall, the stock engines are better left alone as far as cooling, the more energy generated by the engine, the more cooling is necessary.

[Al 96 Ram Air T/A]

You're fine running a lower thermostat all year. I've done it (160) for 13 years and have had no issues in the dead of winter. The thermostat will open sooner, but it really can't keep the overall temperature down, only reprogramming the fans will do that.

Also, there is a good chance you've got the dreaded "brown boogers" gumming up your heater core and radiator. I ran clean water through the core from a garden hose, both forward and reverse, and the gunk that came out was surprising.

I've recently replaced every hose and flush/filled my system prior to installing a new water pump. My temps. remain low, even at a standstill. I'll typically sit a 185 stopped, and 165 cruising.

[Injuneer]

GM designed the engine to operate with the coolant in the 210-220*F range. Produces the best fuel mileage and lowest emissions. It shouldn't bother you when it operates there. The first fan (or low speed - late 94-97) is not programmed to come on until 226*F, the second fan (or high speed) at 235*F.

On the other hand, the 160*F t'stat, coupled with lower fan on/off operating temps and a bit more ignition advance has been shown to produce ~10 HP increase, due to reduced preheat in the incoming air charge. Couple that with removing the coolant lines from the throttle body (+6HP), and its a decent power upgrade. But don't go tooo cool with the fan on/off temps. It MAY cause emissions problems if you are subject to a periodic tailpipe check. Very low cooloant temps will also reduce the oil temp, and if you go too low, the oil may not boil off harmful condensates.

I've been running the Hypertech 160*F t'stat with lower fan on/off temps since 1995, with no problems. Only effect in cold weather is a couple minutes extra from cold start for the heater to start producing nice, warm air. My engine is programmed to run at 195*F, since that's what the engine dyno testing showed to produce the best results.

I've never seen any evidence that the PCM pulls significant timing at GM's version of a "normal" operating temp, and the PCM goes iinto closed loopp way before 160*F, so that is not a concern.

[DRAGIN]

i do appreciate all the feedback

well it climbed way up on me again today and the engine started bucking back and forth in the rpms i could tell it was not good so babied it for about 5 miles turning on and off the air cond on max(did no good) then all of a sudden the temp fell back to around the 180 mark,the engine stopped the bucking but it had no feeling of power at all for the next 3 or 4 miles. the temp stayed 180 and the power seemed to come back by the time i got to the shop. this has got me gun shy. i am going to put in the 160 thermostat as i do live in texas and our cold doesnt last long. i intend to flush the whole system. and buy hypertecs fan adjustment switch to keep it below 195 degrees. thanks for all the help guys.

[msfyter]

160 stat in mine, reprogrammed fans and a bottle of water wetter in the coolant tank. I usually run 180-190 ish on my gauge

[Wretched]

i just bought my 94' z28, and i'm completely noobish when it comes to camaro's...or chevy's for that matter. but, mine stays about a 1/4 way up on the gauge. when i sit in traffic, the temp will creep to half way, then the high speed fan (i'm assuming b/c it's so loud) comes on and the temp goes back down/stays steady... i'm guessing someone reprogrammed the fans, but i'm not sure, b/c otherwise it's completely stock.

[RAF7789]

Welcom aboard! Make sure you have the air dam installed. it makes a helk of a difference.

And when you start to heat up too much, its better to turn the heater on full blast, and windows down (the heater can make your car like a tunnel furnace ). turning on the AC requires power from the engine to run, thus effectively demanding more energy from the engine, thus making it work harder, thus heat up more. thus.

PS Fred, that is good to know about the condensates being boiled out of the oil when heated high.
PPS i like the new sig pic FRED!

Happy heating to all!

[DRAGIN]

over the holiday.....

see thats just it i cannot hear any fan noise at all. so i intend to break it all down and clean and test all the components. i also have the 160 thermostat and fan re-program switch 2 kick fans on automatically at 195 and off at 185 on the way from jegs. so we will see, thanks, ya'll have a MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!

DRAGIN