What is your Normal running temp?

[tuxx2]

I just replaced the farn and it seems to be spinning ok but now im all parnaoid about the car over heating.

What is considered "normal" for a 95 firefird that has been running in normal traffice for 30 min or so?

Is the gauge half way normal? 3/4 normal? Anything under red?

Thanks in advance for your help

[Mr. Luos]

Mine stays about half.
But the 99-02 LS1 F-Bodys have a 'dummy' gauge. Only really shows 3 temps. Cold, warmed, overheat.
So I added an electric coolant temp. gauge.

[poormillionaire2]

30 minutes sitting in summer traffic runs my temp way up. Haven't tried it yet with my new t-stat, but the stock one ran it almost into the red on my 94 Z. That's when you blast the heater on full. That helps alleviate some of the heat.

[mrmartin23]

I just replaced my thermostat with a 160 and my average temp after @40mins on the freeway (rush hour, stop-and-go) is 210-220. When it is warm I blast the heater also. I hear that a drop induction air intake will also help cool and more performance as well. Shopping for one now .

[Savage Messiah]

When stock it was 210. Right in the middle. Sitting in the NJ summer hea in traffic.... it would go MAYBE to 230.

With the 160 degree thermostat and the comp tuned to turn the fans on around 170 - 175... at the very most it hits that 170-175

[philly rs]

yeah mines is set to 160 or a little lower i think...but sum times down here its hotter than hell and it gets up there but not bad...

[mrmartin23]

Ok I need to ask this so remember I am very new to working on my own car please.

What do I need to adjust the comp settings for the fans?

[Stealthy-One]

you need to get a new chip burned for the ecm.

[Savage Messiah]

unless you have a 4th gen, then it's a little different

[poormillionaire2]

You have to change it through the PCM.

[sreve]

i bought an LS-1 '02 camaro last month. those gauges just seem to fill up space in the dash. put a hypertech *180 stat in it and it still read almost *210 at the gauge. though scanner said *190, high speed fan kicked on till it burped at*230 on the scanner but not much over *210 on the gauge.
if your car is '94 or newer 8cyl. and you are near the ST.L area pm me i can do it. PCM for less is also a good option

[poormillionaire2]

Yeah, the gauges aren't the most accurate on the 4th gen f-bodies.

[Mr. Luos]

Originally Posted by poormillionaire2

Yeah, the gauges aren't the most accurate on the 4th gen f-bodies.

A very large understatement when it comes to the temp gauge.
The only year that was semi-accurate is 1998 for the LS1 cars.
The later years are even worse. They basicly have 3 levels on the gauge. Cold to warming, warmed, and overheating.
This is why I invested in an aftermarket coolant gauge.

Also...if you own a 160-180 degree thermostat in a 4th gen...you have to program the PCM to really utilize it.
My iron block LSx never goes over 220 degrees. Fan kicks on early though. If it was aluminum, it would be cooler.
You want your motor running 185-195 degrees for optimal performance/efficiency.