Thread: how hot's too hot?

Tweet

the other day my firebird spiked at 230. what's the maximum operating temp? when it hit up there I immediately let up and turned on the heat.

Originally posted by firebird45331
the other day my firebird spiked at 230. what's the maximum operating temp? when it hit up there I immediately let up and turned on the heat.

you didnt say what kind of car it was. on late model stuff, the fans comes on around 225 and cut off at 215. with the right cap, antifreeze mix, you can do that. on the older cars we thought 210 was about it. i used to run some stuff in my blower motor that wouldnt boil over and on a real hot day i ran the car 260 degrees and it did ok, i took it out because i didnt like ridding around with the temp. gauge on 260. the stuff cost 35.00 a gal. 230 would be to hot for the older car. as long as the water stays in the radiator its ok anyway, when the radiator get low in water is when you get into trouble. use a good recovery tank and cap and you can run a little hotter because you are reuseing the over flow water when you need it.

it's a 79 350 in an 86 firebird with an iroc radiator 160 degree thermostat and dual electric fans

Hitting 230 shouldn't hurt it..........I wouldn't want to run it there all day.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by firebird45331
it's a 79 350 in an 86 firebird with an iroc radiator 160 degree thermostat and dual electric fans [/QUOTE

I wouldn't try to run it at 230, but if you could get it to stabilize (on a hot day) around 210- 215 would be ok.

on a hot day it doesn't get about 190 unless I'm driving it pretty hard. I believe the radiator was out of an 305 Iroc camaro. Does a pretty decent job cooling it. The guy I got it off of had it in a Z-28 with a 383 in it. I like that dual fan setup. I don't have them coming on sequentially I have them set up to both be on at the same time. I was pondering getting an electric water pump and running them on some sort of a timer in conjunction with the pump. but that seems like a lot of work and running relays for all that would be a pain

Originally posted by firebird45331
on a hot day it doesn't get about 190 unless I'm driving it pretty hard. I believe the radiator was out of an 305 Iroc camaro. Does a pretty decent job cooling it. The guy I got it off of had it in a Z-28 with a 383 in it. I like that dual fan setup. I don't have them coming on sequentially I have them set up to both be on at the same time. I was pondering getting an electric water pump and running them on some sort of a timer in conjunction with the pump. but that seems like a lot of work and running relays for all that would be a pain

dont sound like you got enough radiator, dont know about the fans. dont think the elec. water pump will work on the st. you dont wont to run your motor hot to many times you need to be looking at a stabilizing temp. thats as hot as it should get at most any given time.

on a day where it's only in the 50's or low 60's it will hardly break 160. I have two temperature sensors in it. One in the block and the other right above the thermostat. I don't see how the block sensor is all that accurate since it's sitting right above the exhaust manifolds. It's kind of cool cause I can see exactly when the thermostat opens. Nifty little diagnostic thing. If my block temp raises and my thermostat gauge isn't coming up then the thing's stuck shut. If it's coming up slowly then it's stuck open.

Originally posted by firebird45331
on a day where it's only in the 50's or low 60's it will hardly break 160. I have two temperature sensors in it. One in the block and the other right above the thermostat. I don't see how the block sensor is all that accurate since it's sitting right above the exhaust manifolds. It's kind of cool cause I can see exactly when the thermostat opens. Nifty little diagnostic thing. If my block temp raises and my thermostat gauge isn't coming up then the thing's stuck shut. If it's coming up slowly then it's stuck open.

where you got the sensor in the head is the best place for the temp gauge because it is at the exhaust valves which is the hottest spot on the block.

i was gonna say that comp controled chevys program is set to run its best at 210 degrees but your last post reminded me that your not comp controlled but up to 220 is liveable for moderate periods of cruising-- i have a friend with 89 gta having same go around with 160 tstat --only problem i really see with that low tstat is the f- bodies rad is not that big and coolant doesnt stay in rad long enough to cool down to regulate temps----------- also is your lower air dam still in place in front-- its all that directs air up thru the radiator

This may sound stupid, but its worth a look. I have seen a few people run electric fans the wrong way (puller fans on the outboard side of the radiator, or a pusher fan on the inboard side of the radiator) so youd actually be pushing, or pulling hot air onto the radiator. Like I said Its would be a pretty stupid thing to do but Ive seen it happen.

i personally think that you should go to a hotter thermostat a 170 or maybe even a 180... you would be amazed how much cooler your engine will actually run.... plus also changing the sensor driven fan to a switch fan is a good idea.... kicking the fan on earlier than what the sensor is set to do will make it a lot cooler... i know i had a similar problem with my 87 mustang.... the car would get to about 220 before the fan even turned on... the sensor was supposed to be 180... so i bought 3 new ones and none of them would kick in below boiling point

i cant get my car to break 200 and its a 301 just thought id stir the pot hehehehe no offense intended........scooter

i agree with thesals the longer the coolant is in the radiator the better.

well I had a 180 or a 190 in it and it ran constantly 220