My GTA runs about one mark above the 160* line (would that be 175*?) if I cruise down the freeway, basically anywhere between 45 and 70mph. At ambiant temps under 90* it won't change if I bump it up to 75mph, but over about 90* it will then warm up and split the difference betwwen 160* and 220*. It will also do this at 70 mph if I get about 3-4 carlengths, or closer, behind a car. If I drive around town the gauge shoots up to 220*, but never over. I don't have much experience with turning the A/C on, as it was just refilled about a week ago, and I generally don't use it much anyway. But I do know that it will usually, in the city, cool the engine down to its normal ~175*.

Before I just came onto this board, I thought that my car was running "normally" during those steady state cruises and "hot" in stop and go/ slow driving. Now it seem to me that its is running a little cool. Would this indicate a 160* thermostat or what? I have only had this car since late May, so I have no idea what it would run in temps under 60*, though it has always seemed to stay at the first mark above 160* when the weather cooled.

Also, my drive to work is only about 2 miles, is this hurting my engine? The temp gauge only barly gets over 160* by the time I pull into the parking lot.

 

What you describe is normal for most TG's I have worked on that are stock, my own included. Normal driving I run right on the line between 100-220 marks. That is with a 195 stat, stock cooling system. I suspect that the temp guage or sender is not perfectly linear in it's operation in these cars. Sounds like everything is working as it should. To answer the question about short trip's that is why oil companies refer to it as severe service. It is tough on exhaust systems and the engine overall. I am in the same boat, my 89 just popped 60k original miles. Best thing you can do is give her a run once or twice a week, and as you explain to the officer just tell him it's preventative maintenance.

 

i have had three 350 tpi thirdgen's all at one time had everything stock. 195 thermostat's, stock waterpumps and radiators. So they had just plain old stock equipment either replaced or original.

once warmed up, the guage would read 220 on all three cars.
none of the fans would on and during traffic or higway that 220 would always be there.

with the a/c on the temps goes down just a bit because you are running both fans if under 35 mph traffic and usuing airdam during highway action.

So i say a normal stock everything thirdgen should be at 220 give or take a few degrees..

 

Thanks Danno and 'Formula, it just seemed that everyone else was running warmer than me, guess I'm the normal one . I usually do get to open it up on the weekends, it's just during the week that I make so many short trips.

 

Ahhhhhhhhh! thank you!

I thought everyone was OK and i was running too cool!

I have an 86 S.C. 305 4bbl and my temp guage sits just under the 1/4 mark all the time regardless of speed, even a quick 110 MPH blast down a deserted bypass (freeway) faild to budge it!

my fan does not kick in automaticly so when the temp guage reaches 1/4 in traffic i simply turn the A/C on and the fan kicks in.

the A/C does not work (needs re gas) so at least the switch does something usefull.

is there any chance an A/C re gas will cause my car to over heat? i've read some stories of cars getting hot with the A/C on, but they all seemed to be running a lot hotter to start with.

 

you may want to check that the temp gauge is working properly. it should move around some, even with cool weather (I'm making a leap of faith here, I doubt that England is having the 90*F+ temps we are). A good test would be to put it in a worst case situation. On a hot day, drive it around a down town area, then let it sit running for a while. it should get quite warm, even the best thirdgen engines would heat up pretty good by then. if the gauge doesn't move around at all (past the 1/4 mark), I would look into seeing if the gauge is getting a good signal.

hope that this helps. BTW, where is Bedford? its been about 6 years since I lived in the there, and I cannot remember where that was. I used to live in Stanford, near Peterbourgh.

 

guage works fine, if you sit in traffic without cutting fan in manualy it will go past the half way mark, that's where i bottle out i'm afraid! v. slow driving 20 MPH or less will raise temp as will hot humid days, but not by much.

Bedford is about 30 miles from Peteborough, heading south toward London, just off the A1 before sandy. one county over (Bedfordshire)

Nice to hear from an ex pat!

 

Ok, the way you worded your first post, I thought it never went past the 1/4 mark. Me and my ***-u-me-tions . Understand that I am not very experienced at this topic, so in no way take my advice as gosple(sp?).

Maybe you have the first 3rd gen with an over-efficiant radiator. Or, more likely, the thermostat may be set for a lower temperature than stock. I know the popular ones over here are set to 180* and 160*, with the stocker at 195*. With your car being so cool when there is airflow, perhaps it has the 160* 'stat. Since these are relativly inexpensive pieces, perhaps a weekend of experimentation is in order. See what a new 195* 'stat does and go from there.

I am almost afraid to ask, how are the POSH doing? I assume that the RAF base that does the Harrier training is still terrorizing the local skies. None of that where I live now, just the occasional airliner.

 

Yeah, the RAF sometimes come down to us for "training" we are considering tying a large blade to the bottom of their harriers so when they fly over they can mow the lawn as well!!!

as for the car, with it running so well i'm not going to rock the boat! i'm leaving it well alone.

 

you guys with your cool-running cars..... .
No I'm just kidding, and slightly jealous cause mine runs warm, at least someone has goodluck with it. Rock on man.
Speaking of which, maybe you guys can help me out with my temp problem (my post). Good luck with the car, and I agree, if its running fine, don't go asking for trouble.

 

MY TEMP GUAGE IN MY IROC WILL RUN JUST OFF THE FIRST LINE AT HIGHWAY SPEED, WITH THE AC ON. I DON'T KNOW WHAT STAT IS IN IT BUT THERE IS ONE IN IT, OTHER THAN THAT IT HAS A NEW FACTORY RAD. NEW WATER PUMP FROM AUTOZONE, THERE HIGH PROFORMANCE ONE. BUT IT HAS ALWAY RAN LIKE THAT SINCE I BOUGHT IT A YEAR AGO, AND I LIVE IN CENTRAL FLORIDA

 

That car looks good. The white camaro in the pic above.:rockon:

 

Cheers bud!

 

I think my cool running has something to do with the following things.

Water pump is brand new, it was fitted under warranty when i bought the car a year ago.

unknown thermostat, might well be a cooler one

rubbish climate! sunburn is less likely than death by persistant dampness fog and rain! check this photo out. I kid you not, this was August 1st 12:30 pm. this is by no means unusual.


Not going to complain about the cool engine though!