How hot is to hot?

[merkyworks]

Trying to figure out if I should be concerned or not. Daily drive my 12' in Houston and it is HOT, average temps are 97-100F easy every day right now. Sitting at stop lights engine temp is 203-208F but if in stop and go traffic (0-5mph start and stop) I have seen it climb as high as 217F. Once it's at 217F and I start going 40+mph or if I park the car the temp will slowly drop back down to 203-208F.

Should the engine be getting that hot? I had planned to do a 170 thermostat and run 70% distilled water/30% coolant mix to help, is this a good plan or is there something different/better I should do.

 

[deepblue13]

I run a 170* thermostat and I am south of Houston. Temps stay around 171-173 during normal driving and climb up to 190 on occasion during traffic.

 

[Pribilof]

Do you have an aftermarket heat exchanger? That plus a 170 Tstat should help drastically.

 

[merkyworks]

No aftermarket H/E yet, that was next on the list of things to get before I start adding more power to the engine.

 

[heatsoaked12]

203f is still within factory spec, 217f I wouldn't be happy with. I would put a 170 thermostat in there and have the tune adjusted to make the fans come on and off at the proper temps, otherwise you'll still be in the same boat temp wise. another nice less expensive upgrade is the 13/14 cooling fan upgrade.

 

[Fang]

I usually run around 198-203, I think a would benefit from the 170* thermostat

 

[Black Cobra '99]

lol, no its not hot. 120 is though.

If I remember correctly, the 07-09 high speed fan comes on at 226, so your still ok. But, its a good idea to get a 170 thermostat.

 

[merkyworks]

Didn't know the 13' had a better fan, makes since though. So I assume the 13' fan is better because its more powerful and pulls more air through the radiator?

2013 Fan Module


Also the only way to change when the fans kick on and off is with a customer tune? Plan was to upgrade H/E and thermostat, then in the following month or two get a VMP 2.5 pulley/tune and at that point I would have the fan speeds changed.

 

[Catmonkey]

I can see it getting that hot in traffic in 90* temps over hot pavement with the stock PCM settings. The fan settings on a '12 are at 20% at 218* and increases to 70% at 223*. So for each degree over 218, your fan steps up another 10%. Some programming could lower that theshold without resorting to a lower thermostat.

 

[sflrainmaker01]

In the hot summer, will a 170 degree t-stat really keep the car at 170-180 degrees? Other than possibly keeping the engine cooler, what are the benefits? I remember in the old Foxbody days, adding a lower t-stat some thought would raise the performance by tricking the computer and having it run richer. But, the engine wasn't running at optimum temperatures though.

 

[Black Cobra '99]

In the hot summer, will a 170 degree t-stat really keep the car at 170-180 degrees? Other than possibly keeping the engine cooler, what are the benefits? I remember in the old Foxbody days, adding a lower t-stat some thought would raise the performance by tricking the computer and having it run richer. But, the engine wasn't running at optimum temperatures though.

I have the low speed fans set at 190 and high at 206, in a 114-120 weather. Cruising around, the low speed fan can control the engine temp, sometimes it'll climb to 206 but quickly comes back down.

 

[SCGallo2]

...if in stop and go traffic (0-5mph start and stop) I have seen it climb as high as 217F.

I never datalogged my stock tune, so I am not sure if mine ran that hot prior to running custom tunes. Not really concerning, but I would not want to see my temps get that hot.

Also the only way to change when the fans kick on and off is with a customer tune?

Yes.

Some programming could lower that theshold without resorting to a lower thermostat.

^^^ +1

Other than possibly keeping the engine cooler, what are the benefits?

Lower cylinder head temps (CHT) reducing the potential for detonation. Here is a thread that I started documenting real-world results with a 180* t-stat. I assume you could just subtract 10* from my results if running a 170* t-stat.

http://www.svtperformance.com/forums/showthread.php?1061516-180-Degree-Thermostat-option

 

[Catmonkey]

I have the low speed fans set at 190 and high at 206, in a 114-120 weather. Cruising around, the low speed fan can control the engine temp, sometimes it'll climb to 206 but quickly comes back down.

The fan strategies on 2011+ are much different and more complex than earlier models. They also can't be set with a hand held.