thermostats

[willc1980]

Ok as my search didnt find me what i was looking for. What are thoughts on changing the thermostat? I saw coolant temps over 200 while tracking the car in mid 80s temps. but ive also read the posts on ls1 forums about early engine wear due to the pistons not expanding completely. normal temp is 194 with the stock 180 thermo, so a 160 should pull it to the 175-180 range

[White_SS/RS]

Water temps that are steady at or below 215* on the track is not going to cause a problem. Temps that continually exceed 230 you may want to look into a more efficient cooling system. Installing a low temp thermostat won't gain you any benefit because the system will become an open circuit, not allowing coolant to pause in the radiator long enough to reduce the temp. The cooling fans will turn on around 205 If I'm remembering correctly and turn off at 195-200 so they will never bring the temp lower than what your currently seeing. Gm also did not leave the option to tune the fans to operate below the 195 range.

[willc1980]

Originally Posted by White_SS/RS

Water temps that are steady at or below 215* on the track is not going to cause a problem. Temps that continually exceed 230 you may want to look into a more efficient cooling system. Installing a low temp thermostat won't gain you any benefit because the system will become an open circuit, not allowing coolant to pause in the radiator long enough to reduce the temp. The cooling fans will turn on around 205 If I'm remembering correctly and turn off at 195-200 so they will never bring the temp lower than what your currently seeing. Gm also did not leave the option to tune the fans to operate below the 195 range.

would have to do some pretty heavy modding to breach the 230 mark i would hope, thanks for the info

People have to remember that having a 160 degree thermostat does not mean your engine will be at 160. My water temp sets constant at 185 with a 160 degree stat. I am using hp tuners with the factory range setting set to my liking.

You can also use hp tuners to run a different OS* and control the fans as low as you would like.

[White_SS/RS]

Originally Posted by KlugSS

People have to remember that having a 160 degree thermostat does not mean your engine will be at 160. My water temp sets constant at 185 with a 160 degree stat. I am using hp tuners with the factory range setting set to my liking.

You can also use hp tuners to run a different OS* and control the fans as low as you would like.

What temp do you have the fans turn on and off at?

[White_SS/RS]

Originally Posted by willc1980

would have to do some pretty heavy modding to breach the 230 mark i would hope, thanks for the info

I would think so. I've never had much problem with the water temps going above 210 on track, however be cautious of the oil temp, mine will easily reach 270+ on a cool day. Im definitely installing a good oil cooler before next race season.

Originally Posted by White_SS/RS

What temp do you have the fans turn on and off at?

I cant remember what the exact temps are but i have:
40 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 etc

Note: 0-33ish 0 fans on, 34-66ish 1 fan on, 66-99 2 fans on.

[willc1980]

Originally Posted by White_SS/RS

I would think so. I've never had much problem with the water temps going above 210 on track, however be cautious of the oil temp, mine will easily reach 270+ on a cool day. Im definitely installing a good oil cooler before next race season.

how do you know what your oil temps are? the 1LE has an oil cooler?

[Cuda7050]

When I first tracked my stock car I hit 223 water temperature at around 80 ambient temperature. After installing a 160 thermostat I got 210 degree temps on a 78 degree day, while another stock Camaro told me he got to 223 in the same track session. Although I have switches to manually turn on the fans I let the stock ecu fan settings control the fans.

[White_SS/RS]

Originally Posted by willc1980

how do you know what your oil temps are? the 1LE has an oil cooler?

It has a good transmission cooler which keeps it right at 180. the supposed engine cooler is a lame block of plates bolted on the side of the engine, it really doesn't do much since it's right next to the exhaust. The '14s have oil temp/pressure on the DIC and oil temp is also on the console cluster as well.

[willc1980]

Originally Posted by White_SS/RS

It has a good transmission cooler which keeps it right at 180. the supposed engine cooler is a lame block of plates bolted on the side of the engine, it really doesn't do much since it's right next to the exhaust. The '14s have oil temp/pressure on the DIC and oil temp is also on the console cluster as well.

the block of plates on mine has lines that do toward the radiator

[White_SS/RS]

Originally Posted by willc1980

the block of plates on mine has lines that do toward the radiator

Yes, those lines hold coolant, it helps the engine get to temp quicker but is insufficient at cooling the oil when driven hard. I think this system also doubles as an emissions piece.

[BigBlock69RS]

90% of your engine wear is startup until the time the car is up to temp (all the engine tolerances are off). 160* thermostat ensures the car takes longer to come up to temp by opening the themostat before tha car is up to operating tempurature.

It's a bandaid at best for cooling issues that dramatically reduces your available engine life.

[willc1980]

Originally Posted by White_SS/RS

Yes, those lines hold coolant, it helps the engine get to temp quicker but is insufficient at cooling the oil when driven hard. I think this system also doubles as an emissions piece.

awesome, thats good info, anyone make a good aftermarket oil cooler??