200 and rising?

[ecko70]

Ok ive noticed lately that my temp gauge has been ranging 200-230 quite frequently when i do my daily driving after it has warmed up. is this normal? i dont remember it ever hittin above 200 when i first bought it. will a CAI do anything for this?

*edit* the radiator busted due to someone *cough*people at the tire store*cough* jacked it up by the radiator, but it has been replaced with a brand spankin new one since it was still under warranty. i have also replaced the water pump too ( that went out as well about 5 months ago)

[bumpin2000gagt]

try putting in the high performance thermostat. after putting that hypertech 180 in mine i noticed a nice difference in engine temp gauge. well worth the money.

[ecko70]

is it just something that fools the gauge or does it actually keep the engine running cooler?

[bumpin2000gagt]

it definitely keeps the engine running cooler, i wouldn't bother with something that fooled the gauge. check out www.partsforyourcar.com that's where i got mine.

[ecko70]

how hard is it to install? sounds like a pretty reasonable price

[bumpin2000gagt]

honestly, i had to play around for a while. you would think something as easy as a thermostat would not pose a problem, but once you work with it it's not so bad. i asked one of my buddies to help once i ran into the problem. i just think i didn't have the right tools for the job and he did. i am used to changing a thermostat in an engine with a lot of room under the hood. the gagt doesn't have much room to manuever around, at least i'm used to more room.

[ecko70]

right on, thanks for the info man :thumbs: appreciate it

[NDN Racer]

is there one for a 96 SE? (3100)

[UGAkilla]

Mr car is at 379xx miles and the temp is still hanging around 200 while I'm in the wind. If I'm stuck in traffic (happens alot in Atlanta), then my gauge will get to about 215 or so.

Performance-wise, what benefits will be seen from putting in a 180 thermostat? It's obvious that the engine would run cooler, would you see a 1-2HP gain or is it just better for the engine? If it were better for the engine, why didn't GM put the 180 thermostat in the engine in the first place?

*EDIT*: The website noted above answered my question. Thanks!

[Themeneea]

"Performance-wise, what benefits will be seen from putting in a 180 thermostat? It's obvious that the engine would run cooler, would you see a 1-2HP gain or is it just better for the engine? If it were better for the engine, why didn't GM put the 180 thermostat in the engine in the first place?"




i have it, and on a very hot summer day, my temp never passes 200. I dont think theres any gain, maybe just 1-2HP. but a cooler engine is better overall. i have heard that it helps your gaskets last longer. i think the reason GM dosnt make it stock is because of emissions, and in the dead cool, the heat has to be turned to max, just for room temp.

[bumpin2000gagt]

i've never dynoed it or anything, but noticed huge differences in temp for the engine. i know i want my baby well taken care of. for only 10-12 bucks or so i'm more than willing to do that. as for the 3100, you might wanna check around at your local auto parts store. just tell em you want a 180 or 160 thermostat. i wouldn't go 160 unless you really have to. don't want the engine tooo cool, well at least that's what i hear.

[99blackgt]

i had the same problem with my temp, was intake manifold gasket

[RocketFast321]

This is the same for my car and the malibu in the summer
http://www.gaownersclub.com/forum/attachment.php?postid=155526

[matts]

why pay 10 or 12 dollars? go to autozone and get a 180 degree thermostat for like $5. same thing different package. it'll help out in the summer, but i've known people to not even run a thermostat in the summer. in the winter you're heat wont get as hot, which is why i figure GM goes with a 200 or 205....whatever it is. and a 180 will help against detonation. also, if you can find a relay that will kick your fans on earlier it'll help too. i've known of people putting a toggle switch on their electric fans and turning them on at their own leisure

[coupe]

Originally posted by matts
why pay 10 or 12 dollars? go to autozone and get a 180 degree thermostat for like $5. same thing different package. it'll help out in the summer, but i've known people to not even run a thermostat in the summer. in the winter you're heat wont get as hot, which is why i figure GM goes with a 200 or 205....whatever it is. and a 180 will help against detonation. also, if you can find a relay that will kick your fans on earlier it'll help too. i've known of people putting a toggle switch on their electric fans and turning them on at their own leisure

Its called a "caspers fan switch" also found at pfyc.com.

[92CamaroRS]

what i think alot of people fail to realize is that if you put a lower T-stat in your car your computer also needs to be reprogramed for the lower temp T-stat. without doing so your car will fail to enter Closed Loop.

[coupe]

I have one. No probs at all. Put it in with my headers, much easier. But no probs.

[matts]

now corey, why would you need the computer to notice the thermostat? all that thermostat does is open a little earlier to keep the coolant from getting as hot. the only computer controlled thing to do with cooling is with the electric fan operation.

[92CamaroRS]

no. until the O2 sensor reaches 660* the computer will consider some of its decisions based on teh coolant temp. if the coolant doesnt get hot enugh the car will be close to the line between Closed and Open Loop. you want Closed. if the car is switching back and forth or stuck in Open loop then your gas mileage will suck.

[coupe]

Not tryin to save gas any how, i am driven a v6, wont suck that much gas no matter what i do.

[akabatman2]

Ok. What is "Closed" and "Open" Loop? What does that mean?
I have a 2001 Grand Am and now I am worried because RocketFast321's picture post looks exactly where my engine likes to ride the temp. Always between 200-215 just like his photo. Does this mean I am having a gasket problem?
When I first bought it a little over a month ago there was some brown sludge in the coolant container. I was told that it wasn't a big deal and to have them flush it. The car seems to run ok. It has trouble starting sometimes though. But it scoots down the road, everyone is in my rear view. :)

I would like to be able to have the 180 thermostat installed and have the engine cut the fans on whenever it is supposed to to try to keep the engine cool automatically.

What is the best thing to do to prolong my engines life, I still need heat in the winter of course so I am sure 160 would be to cold to put some heat in the cabin.

Thanks. :spidey:

[RocketFast321]

The pic i posted shows the norm for my car. If i have the a/c on it will stay at 200 all day no matter how hot it is, or how hard i drive it. It might go a tad over and come back down. Now if i use my 4-70 a/c (4 windows down and 70mph) it will also stay at 200. But at a red light it will go all the way to 3rd or 4th and stay. Start moving again it will come back down.


also
160 will be too low for winter.
Brown Sludge has in in our malibu overflow tank for about 3 years and run fine. It might not be normal oh well.

[Trevlya006]

read the title and thought it had to do with HP.. but nah..

-trev in a bad mood

[Texican]

Your ecu looks at the O2 sensor, MAF/MAP sensor, IAT sensor and coolant sensor to adjust the a/f ratio during closed loop operations. If one of the sensors goes offline or drops beyond "acceptable" ranges, then the ecu initiates open loop operations (limp mode) which is a fixed variable, usually around 6-10:1 a/f mixture. Bad on gas milage.

Engine temperature also affects performance. The usual "rule-of-thumb" that most tuners shoot for is 205°-215°. Too low and fuel milage suffers. Too high and detonation occures.

This is general information. I haven't tried tuning the ecotec, so my information may be "off".

[robry]

I have a 180F tstat in my car. Imo it runs much better than without it. I don't care if it hurts my gas mileage slightly (I'm getting the DHP PCM coon which will take care of issues with computer tuning), but in any event, I really feel its worthwhile. On a cool night, that thing pulls twice as hard even in 4th gear TCL (torque converter lockup). Its up to you, less power = better gas mileage, more power = worse gas milage. I still average on the highway 350-400miles to a tank and around city I get 210~220. So I really havent noticed the mileage going to hell. Also, my heat is still red hot, like I can't even stand it, hot. So as for all of the hype, I think that the 180F tstat is the way to go. Also, matts, I was unable to get anything besides the stock tstat at autozone or advanced. A local parts store had a 160F, the only place that had 180F was pfyc and hypertech.

[Silver99SE]

My 3400 also runs around the same area, 200º to 215º. I might look into the 180º in the spring, but it's getting close to winter now. This is the worst time to put in a cooler T-Stat unless you're having trouble keeping your engine in the normal operating range.

[ChevelleSSLS6]

Originally posted by akabatman2
Ok. What is "Closed" and "Open" Loop? What does that mean?
I have a 2001 Grand Am and now I am worried because RocketFast321's picture post looks exactly where my engine likes to ride the temp. Always between 200-215 just like his photo. Does this mean I am having a gasket problem?
When I first bought it a little over a month ago there was some brown sludge in the coolant container. I was told that it wasn't a big deal and to have them flush it. The car seems to run ok. It has trouble starting sometimes though. But it scoots down the road, everyone is in my rear view. :)

I would like to be able to have the 180 thermostat installed and have the engine cut the fans on whenever it is supposed to to try to keep the engine cool automatically.

What is the best thing to do to prolong my engines life, I still need heat in the winter of course so I am sure 160 would be to cold to put some heat in the cabin.

Thanks. :spidey:

hey, that sounds just like my car. I flushed the coolant but the coolant cap came off in 2 pieces. I had to pry the inside out of the coolant tank. My car starts hard sometimes too. Cranks for 2-3 seconds sometimes. Most cars ususally start in 1. If anything, I'd go 180. 160 is on the cold side, and as someone said about the 02 sensor thing, and 200 is kinda hot. 180 is in the middle.