Coolant Temp Issue on Highly Modified SS - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

Shake & Bake · 01-23-2021, 04:55 PM

I have a 2011 SS stroked to 416ci with 88mm single turbo and moderate cam and I've been fighting cooling problems for years with little success. The aftermarket radiator does have a large turbo intercooler in front of it and the intercooler has one (of two) TH400 coolers mounted to it - this admittedly needs to be moved. Anyhow, it's 32F outside today and I ran the car at idle for about 10-15 min and the coolant temp reached 195F with a 160F thermostat (IAT was around 45F). The fans were on and I measured under 160F in the upper radiator hose with around 185F on the lower hose. I also saw no reduction in coolant temp with the heater on full blast and blowing hot air. Coolant sensor issue?

I checked the coolant temp in hp tuners and it matched my gauge and the coolant sensor appears to be reading correctly at cold soak, but not sure if it's possible to read high during operation without throwing a code. I do know that the sensor is near my turbo up pipe which reaches near 600F at idle but it's not clear how this would affect the sensor or wiring with no obvious physical damage.

Why do I care...this thing hits 230F during normal driving at 80F ambient and I believe my tuner is pulling timing above 212F. Not sure if this is reasonable.

I can change the coolant sensor...just wondering if there are other troubleshooting or fix recommendations.

01-23-2021, 04:55 PM	#1
Shake & Bake Drives: 2011 Black 2SS/RS Convertible Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Cary, IL Posts: 28	Coolant Temp Issue on Highly Modified SS I have a 2011 SS stroked to 416ci with 88mm single turbo and moderate cam and I've been fighting cooling problems for years with little success. The aftermarket radiator does have a large turbo intercooler in front of it and the intercooler has one (of two) TH400 coolers mounted to it - this admittedly needs to be moved. Anyhow, it's 32F outside today and I ran the car at idle for about 10-15 min and the coolant temp reached 195F with a 160F thermostat (IAT was around 45F). The fans were on and I measured under 160F in the upper radiator hose with around 185F on the lower hose. I also saw no reduction in coolant temp with the heater on full blast and blowing hot air. Coolant sensor issue? I checked the coolant temp in hp tuners and it matched my gauge and the coolant sensor appears to be reading correctly at cold soak, but not sure if it's possible to read high during operation without throwing a code. I do know that the sensor is near my turbo up pipe which reaches near 600F at idle but it's not clear how this would affect the sensor or wiring with no obvious physical damage. Why do I care...this thing hits 230F during normal driving at 80F ambient and I believe my tuner is pulling timing above 212F. Not sure if this is reasonable. I can change the coolant sensor...just wondering if there are other troubleshooting or fix recommendations.