Hey I was wondering what is the normal temp for an LS1 in the south. Mine warms up to about 195-200 or so and stays there is this normal??

Thanks

 

yes...but dont trust your stock temp gauge...your stock thermo is like 190 which means after warmup if your driving on the highway youll be around 190 but once you get into traffic itll go up to around 225 or so till the fans kick in...even theough your gauge may not tell you that...i fyou hook up a scanner you can see it

lata
Bill

 

Thanks!!! Time for that new 160 thermostat

 

160 stat wont do much unless you get your fan temps altered using HPP, predator or ls1 edit...youll be cruisning at 16-180 but once you hit traffic again it will go right on up to 225ish.

lata
Bill

 

i hooked up my fans so that they come on at 180. simple little mod. spent bout 20 bucks. took an hour to hook up. put the scanner on it and motor stays at 170 all day in Texas. Freeway, the fans shut off.......the air from the freeway keeps the temp at 170-175. only way my temp will rise if Im high revving or burnin out. I got that 160 powerstat of course. but u dont need a computer device to reprogram the fans. U can do it yourself with a little rewiring. 170 is sweet.......at stock temp(215) my car runs like ***. major HP in a cooler engine.

 

i thought i had heard of a code being set by doing it yourself...of course you have the option of the slp thing too...whatever

lata
Bill

 

My 99 Z28 runs consistently at 210 on the temp gauge. I do have the manual fan(s) switch but rarely mess with it. I've noticed at the track my car runs as fast (mph) with 210 on the gauge as it does at 160-180. I'm not sure why but it's true. Now on my 94Z it was whole different story. That sucker ran alot better mph when it was cold. I understand the whole theory about a cooler intake allowing cooler denser air into the cylinders, but I don't see any difference in performance at the track on my LS1. Fred

 

I have heard more than one ls1 owner say this. I am debating wether to throw the 160* stat in my 02 z28 or not. I know it made a huge difference on my 96 TA

 

The stock gauge is a POS dont belive a thing it says. With stock stat<195> it always read above 210. With 160 and HPP it reads under 210 all the time but its really 180ish

 

Hmmm.... well the problem I'm having is I bought the car used and don't know all the mods done to it. I know it had a HPP3 used on it and the temp stays just below the 210 mark. So does it have the new stat in it?? I'd hate to sink the $$ in it and not need to .

thanks.

 

This may or maynot be helpful. Original GM stat has GM part number on it. Aftermarket stats made in Germany and has no part number on it

 

Bingo, You are right on the money. If you keep an LS1 under 210 (normal operating temp) by not letting it idle in the staging lanes, it will run the same all day long. How do I know? Over 500 passes with my 00 Formula in the last 4 years. Go out after a long cool down and run the same numbers again. A 160° stat is a total waste of money unless you have a lot of mods and are running higher compression or forced induction.

 

I probably had over 500 passes on my 94Z, but it only took me two times at the track to figure the temperature thing out on my LS1. Did I say the LS1 engine rules!
Now I need some headers, cam and heads. The LS1 engines have such awesome potential, Fred

 

i disagree with the 160 stat being a waste of money.

I have a 160 stat in my LS1 and I know it works.

The scanner temp was at 215 on the street the other day and I was driving around and I immediately felt the performance loss. (normal driving) I wasnt smashing the throttle or nothin, just driving. So then I kick the fans on high and the temp went back to my normal range of 170. The engine woke back up......didnt feel sluggish like it does with 200+ degrees. I think the whole world knows, a colder engine runs faster than a hotter one.

Tell me this. what temp do you want your car to be at when you're doing a pre-stage burn-out? 170 or 210? cuz u know that temp shoots up after high revving. I dont know about yall, but I feel more better knowin my engine is cool before I race.

160 stat - thumbs-up
stock stat - hell NO

 

O.K. Well if my temp gauge stays less than 210 is it the 160 or the stock??