88 iroc z 350 tpi. 160 thermostat. fans constantly running. 70/30 water/coolant mix. driving i stay at around 170-175f. when i stop it goes up and up. next thing you know. its at 230-235. also should i tune the car when it is this hot. i was told normal operating temp was 210 - 230. but thats with a 195 thermo. shouldnt i be running cooler??? any ideas.

 

got a similar issue here, but not as bad. i'm pretty sure my problem is caused by too lean operation (afpr to be installed soon, or some other fuel system problem), you might want to look into that. another problem could imho be that you're not running enough spark advance to get it to run efficiently.
210-230 is very hot in my book. i'd rather run it at between 180 and 190, or a tad colder even. just my 2c.

 

bigtom68: You have dual fans correct? Are you running A/C when this is happening? One fan should come on with temp, other fan only with A/C - maybe A/C fan is not coming on? Maybe neither is coming on - have you checked? Also, 70/30 mix should be 50/50 instead - everyone always recommends 50/50 mix. 160 stat is probably overkill - most say to not go below a 180 - like you said, normal temps are 210+ for these cars. The 160 stat may help at the moment, but there's an underlying issue that, when corrected, will probably need to return to a 180 or higher. The Water Wetter (or other brands) really do seem to help as well, but again that's a bandaid. If fans seem to be operating normally, as suggested I'd look into the tune - timing, fuel pressure, spark, etc.

 

i have both fans working all the time. i have no a/c. im thinking my old water pump may not be moving enough water. i have had mixed comments about what ratio coolant to water. but was told in my area a 70/30 mix would be best. i think the water pump may be the culprit. the owner before me put stop leak in it. i replaced the radiator and i do have the original fans. it did it tonite as well. but only got up to 195. then i drove and it didnt come down below 185. so im thinking its not pushing water enough. as far as tuning. i tuned it according to haynes manual and made sure it runs right. the only thing im not sure of is when it gets hot the iac acts up alittle. maybe that helps some for more info. but thanks for the answers. i hope i can get this thing right. i love driving it

 

BigTom, you need to put 50/50 in it!Id suggest changing that water pump.Normal operating with a 195 is around 210 and your fans are suppost to kick on around 215 or 220.Id change that pump and i bet that will fix your problem for sure!Good luck