The heat here in PA is killing me and probably my car. I know the guy before me put a new thermostat in but I'm not sure what degree. The engine gets pretty hot and I would like to know what I can do to keep it cool... Thanks.

Is your air dam in place?
Is your radiator clean inside?
is your radiator blocked by leaves of paper outside?

Give us more info about your car and when it gets hot, then we can help better.

It's on hot days. Particularly when I stop and go a lot.

Getting hot is a common problem and it's always worse in stop & go traffic. Check that your fan(s) is(are) coming on when the temp rises. If the air dam below the radiator is off, replace it. It doesn't do anything in stop and go traffic but it helps push air up through the radiator when you start moving again. Some people try replacing the 195° thermostat with one for a lower temp, but going too low interferes with the proper operation of the engine and can fool the computer into thinking the car isn't warming up so it will run rich as if just started. 195° is supposed to be best for optimum efficiency.

My car is similar to yours and it too gets hot in traffic but once the fans come on the temp rise is halted. Once I get moving again at about 40-45 mph it takes less than a minute for the temp to drop right back down to 190° where it always runs (my thermostat is for 195°.)

You could change the coolant to 70% distilled water/ 30% antifreeze. It's the water that carries the heat, the antifreeze helps it not boil or freeze and contains water pump lubricants and anti corrosion additives. You should never run 100% antifreeze.

There are products which help the water carry away the heat and not let hot spots form. One is called Keep Cool and the other is called Water Wetter. One is from NEO and the other is from Redline I believe. Some people have been helped by these products.

If you can't increase the airflow under the hood, a more extreme option is to put some kind of heat shielding over the exhaust headers so heat doesn't radiate up from them and is forced to flow under the car.

I hope this was of some help to you.

OK thanks guys. Someone also said something about getting a fan switch that turns on the fan earlier. Is this an actual switch that is controlled manually or just one that replaces the stock one?

They could be talking about a toggle switch. I just recently did this with my car and its great. Just buy a toggle switch and some wires. Then find a place to put it where it's easy to switch on and off. I'll get a picture after I eat some dinner. You just connect a wire from the fan to the switch and I can't remember where the other wire went to. Maybe someone else will know....

you can hook up a manual fan switch, or get one from HyperTech or a few other companies which will automaticaly turn them on at a lower temp, i prefer hooking up both. in case u want to turn them on for whatever reason.. but if u want to hook up a manual fan switch, u need to hook it up to the ground wire on whichever fan relay that u want to control. so when u flip the switch it grounds it.

Why should you never run 100 percent antifreeze?

u never wanna get close to 100 % antifreeze... water transfers heat ALOT better then antifreeze does. water is ALOT more efficient then antifreeze.. The main reason u need antifreeze is to help protect the cooling system, and keep things from corroding. you NEVER want to run more then 50% antifreeze\water.. and if u live in the south, u can pretty much run straight water as long as u run a protectant like water wetter..

stil need some type of anti corrodant however, also do not use tap water unless has been through a purifier to remove calcium or it wil end up clogging radiator bad all that white yellow crap is calcium in there, go buy water in gallon from grocery store or collect rain or lake or pond or water and strain it first.

good luck
R

I didn't want a manual switch, I just wanted something that turned it on at a lower temp.

Thanks guys, you've have been a big help.