Hey guys, i live in Las Vegas, and just got a 92 RS today. Well it is HOT here, and the temp gauge reads 220 at idle with the A/C on at stops. Is this normal? It is dead center on the gauge, but under cruising it seems to be around 170-190. What T-stat should i be using for this heat?
Tyler

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that's normal for a third gen.Hot running cars,and i would recommend using a 195 T stat.if you put a lower temp in there your car won't have a chance to cool the coolant cause the t-stat will stay open..hope that helps

 

A 195* T-stat will make the car run hotter than a cooler one. The temp range on a T-stat is when it opens. If it is rated at 195* then the coolant stays in the engine until it reaches 195*. Then it opens so that the coolant can run through the radiator and be cooled down. The sooner it runs through the radiator, the cooler it stays. The stock t-stat is 195*. Everyone usually changes to a 180* or a 160*. That all depends on your area and the average temps there.

A good rule of thumb is that if your car will see temps below 76* a lot, then go with a 180* t-stat. That will allow the heater to work on cool days/nights. I'd say in Vegas that you won't see a lot of sub 76* temps.

 

180 is great for stock and slightly modified engines. I think my fan and radiator aren't doing so well, today my temp was up near 210 and I have a 160 stat in (it's hot right now). I'd switch in the winter to a 180 because if I didn't the temp would never get high enough to put the car into "normal" mode = no heat from heater.
Good idea to install a 180.

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, Jon (350 TBI!)
91 Red My website

 

i do the same thing.. summer here i run 160 but in winter i go back to the stock 195 b/c here in chi-town it gets so damn cold witch i kind of need heat for b/c i have to drive it. definitly run 160 out there .

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91 camaro RS
- 305 TBI
Mods: Performer TBI intake, 1" TBI spacer, K+N, jet fan switch ,160 thermo,Accel control module, Jet Stage 2 chip, edelbrock TES headers, Compleate 3" Flowmaster exhaust, Edelbrock springs, KYB struts and shocks, 700R4 built by TSI, SLP tq converter, b+m trans cooler, white guage faces, megashifter..
next month: spohn LCA's and panhard rod, BMR relocation brackets, 323 gear

 

I had the same problem in New Mexico. When it gets to 220 its starts running like crap. I put in a 180 and run it year round with out problems but in the summer it eventually get just as hot. I picked up an original dual fan kit from House of Camaros and a 195 fan switch from Jet and used an aftermarket switch on the other one and no more problems.

 

I have always run a 160 here in GA. in my LO3 with a hypertech thermomaster chip and I have just installed a 160 into my new 350TBI with a stock LO5 cop chip and was wondering if the lower temp thermostat affected how it runs with the stock chip.

 

Ok. So my car was just barley below the Red zone on the way home today. I guess i'll swap the stock Tstat for a 160* unit, and maybe a higher pressure cap? Could the water pump be going out? This car has never had one, and it has around 73K on the engine. Something to look into perhaps?
And how do you make the fans come on sooner? An aftermarket chip did someone say? Or is it like my LT1 and has a temp switch in the head that grounds when the device reaches 235* or so? Is there an aftermarket setup i should get? I thought i read about a lower air dam that is nessary for the flow of air into the radiaitor? What does it look like? Thanks for all the help guys, rememeber you're talking to a 1st gen guy here, and this is the "newest" car i'ver ever owned.
Tyler

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