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30 Posts
All,
Like most of you, I think these cars run hot. In an earlier post, I discussed a thermostat failure I experienced when the car was new(ish). I was at the local drag strip on a blistering Georgia summer night, running consistent high 12's at about 114 mph. (I baby the car off the line, and it will run faster with a harder launch, but I struggle with the thought of abusing my own car in that way.) Just before my last run of the night, I noticed the car was running cooler than before. Much cooler. Instead of 210 -215 degree oil temps, it was barely over 190 (which is the temp at which the ECU opens up the full rpm range). The car was noticeably stronger, and I spun the rear wheels all the way through 1st and 2nd gears, even getting slippage and a little sidestep in third. The elapsed time was lousy, but the trap speed was almost 119 mph. Very strong. On the way home, running at highway speeds, cylinder head temp dropped to 170, and oil temp to about 180. I hadn't had the car long, and though the temps looked low, I wasn't sure if that meant something was wrong. The next day I got a check engine light, and found a blurb in the owner's manual saying that particular light was related to emissions. I know that one of the reasons OEM's raise operating temps is to improve emissions, so the low temp and the check engine light seemed to make sense. The dealership replaced the thermostat and the temp sensor (to be safe), and temps went back to where they were before, or higher. I commonly see oil temps in the 225 degree range under normal driving conditions.
On line tonight I saw an ad for a 170 degree thermostat for the GT350 on the VMP Performance website. It's $70 (which is looney for a thermostat) but based on my experience at the drag strip, I'm tempted. Anyone else have any experience, or thoughts? I'm also tempted by a new GT350 engine tune from the same group, claiming about 25HP and 20ft-lbs of torque over the entire rev range. (The gains are from the engine tune only, no physical mods required.) Since this is the first GT350 tune I've seen, I wonder if anyone else has taken the opportunity to try it? Thanks,
Hawkeye
Like most of you, I think these cars run hot. In an earlier post, I discussed a thermostat failure I experienced when the car was new(ish). I was at the local drag strip on a blistering Georgia summer night, running consistent high 12's at about 114 mph. (I baby the car off the line, and it will run faster with a harder launch, but I struggle with the thought of abusing my own car in that way.) Just before my last run of the night, I noticed the car was running cooler than before. Much cooler. Instead of 210 -215 degree oil temps, it was barely over 190 (which is the temp at which the ECU opens up the full rpm range). The car was noticeably stronger, and I spun the rear wheels all the way through 1st and 2nd gears, even getting slippage and a little sidestep in third. The elapsed time was lousy, but the trap speed was almost 119 mph. Very strong. On the way home, running at highway speeds, cylinder head temp dropped to 170, and oil temp to about 180. I hadn't had the car long, and though the temps looked low, I wasn't sure if that meant something was wrong. The next day I got a check engine light, and found a blurb in the owner's manual saying that particular light was related to emissions. I know that one of the reasons OEM's raise operating temps is to improve emissions, so the low temp and the check engine light seemed to make sense. The dealership replaced the thermostat and the temp sensor (to be safe), and temps went back to where they were before, or higher. I commonly see oil temps in the 225 degree range under normal driving conditions.
On line tonight I saw an ad for a 170 degree thermostat for the GT350 on the VMP Performance website. It's $70 (which is looney for a thermostat) but based on my experience at the drag strip, I'm tempted. Anyone else have any experience, or thoughts? I'm also tempted by a new GT350 engine tune from the same group, claiming about 25HP and 20ft-lbs of torque over the entire rev range. (The gains are from the engine tune only, no physical mods required.) Since this is the first GT350 tune I've seen, I wonder if anyone else has taken the opportunity to try it? Thanks,
Hawkeye
