The tempreture gauge goes a little bit over the 220 mark, then as the fans start working it goes back to 220. Through out driving this remains the pattern.

Is this too high? And if it is what to do? Is there a way to have the fans start at lower temp?

The radiator is new


Thanks

89 Camaro RS V8 TBI LO3

 

It's a little high, nothing to be worried about. Might just be inaccuracy in the gauge, or the thermostat opening late. Check out summitracing.com for a fan controller.

 

I did some research, seems like the 220 is the designed temp for our cars,

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/cool...esnt-turn.html

Here Kevin suggests that we should get a fan switch that starts at 205 and change the thermostat to 180 degrees.

Has anyone of you done this or recommend this over the stock settings?

 

the factory fan switch turns the fan on really hot, sometimes something like 238 degrees. In the same breath, the factory gauges are pretty much for reference only and are not very accurate.

 

A 180* thermostat probably won't help much, but a fan switch that comes on at 205* will.

 

I bought a gauge for $20. Its a cheap good test. My factory gauge was 40 off. My engine builder told me 190 to 200 was where I should run at.

 

The temps your builder told you are good. What's better to know is....
Where your sender is mounted - Intake or Manifold - will change what you read on your gauge.
A 180 Stat should give you 180 Manifold and roughly 195 Head temps with Cast Heads ( 182 with my Aluminum Heads ) and a 195 Stat would correspond closely.
Keep in mind that a perfectly running Gas Engine loves to fire @ 185, although people argue whether that is Coolant around the Cylinders or Manifold Temp.
A 180 is fine for a Carb but can cause you to run Rich on anything FI as the ECM is looking for a fully warmed-up Engine, ie; 195 Stat. I'm sure you could tune FI to run a colder Stat, but it's not my area.
Good luck

 

So you think on my carb lO3 it's bettr to go with 180 stat or 195?
And what about the fan switch, 205*?

 

Depends on what carb you are using. Is it the feed-back carb, or other? If you have a feed-back carb, it might be best to use a 195* t-stat, but with any other carb, 180* t-stat is fine.