Is my cooling system to hot ? 224-227 ?

[SuperCoupeSC91]

i put a lower 180 thermostat, have newer water pump/coolant/hoses/short block, and i put a electrical auto meter pro comp ultra-lite coolant temp gauge says when it gets hot it goes up to ranges from i think 215-225ish ??? i read on i think dr fred's page said if i put a 180 thermostat it will overheat ? is this true ? should i get a eec tuner to set my fan to kick on earlier ? or put a switch on it and run it whenever i want (mostly all the time)? i dont know if maybe my problem could be my radiator ? 180 thermostat ? 373's rear gears ? I listed all my mods below so you can see what i have done and maybe see what i'm missing below ? (My goal is to run about 200 at my high point no higher) i hope if i just buy a cool-fan selectable temp switch/ or hard wire it /or buy a eec tuner my temp will drop, because i'm afraid when my temp goes around i think 224-227....seems a little dam high..i have alot invested alot more of stock oem parts to just waste my motor...Please anyone else have a temp gauge and see what temp they run when it gets hot ? i'd liek to hear what temp peoples SC's run at...Any suggestions ?? Thanks Alex LaChance



Engine Mods:

Super Coupe Performance 10% Supercharger Pulley
Super Coupe Performance/Holley High Flow Fuel Pump 255lph
Super Coupe Performance/Motorcraft/Autolite Spark Plugs
Removed Air Silencer
Magnecor Competition 8.5mm wires
Rebuilt Short Block
Optima Yellow Top Dual Post Battery
MAC Cold Air Intake + MAC 9" Cone Filter
180 Degree Thermostat
Stinger “4” Gauge Alternator Wire
A lot Of Stock Parts Replaced

Have Waiting to install:

Super Coupe Performance Solid Rubber Motor Mounts
Stinger Hyper Series "0" Gauge Amp Kit For Battery Relocation
Ford Coil Pack
Ford Starter

Exterior Mods:

New Stock Dark Metallic Blue Paint
Cobra R 4" hood
New Quick Release Hood Pins
Saleen Double Stack Wing
Xenon Front Ground Effex
Ford New Headlights
Lazer Blue Light Bulbs High/Low
Super Coupe Performance Clear Corners
Super Coupe Performance Solid Rubber Transmission mount
Super Coupe Performance Poly Urethane Rear knuckle Kits
Super Coupe Performance Poly Urethane Differential Kit
Super Coupe Performance High Flow 2.5” Down Tubes
Super Coupe Performance High Flow Cat-Back Exhaust System
2.5” to 3” to 2.5” with Magnaflow Resonator / DynoMax mufflers
Air Ride Coil Spring Air Bags (Driver’s + Passenger)
Ford Motor Sport Aluminum Differential 3.73 Trac-Lock Posi
Door Trim Removed
Driver/Passenger Window Side Black Tape/Stripped And Painted The Same As The Car
Removed Ford Trunk Emblem/Welded Plate To Delete Holes Where The Ford Logo Was

Have Waiting to install:

Transmission Getting Rebuilt @ Western Transmission Center
Ford Slave Cylinder
Super Coupe Performance Poly Urethane Front End Bushing Kit
Inland Empire Aluminum Driveshaft
Cobra R 17 X 9 Silver Rims

Interior mods:

Auto Meter Pro-Comp Ultra Lite 5" Tach With Shift Light
Auto Meter Pro-Comp Ultra Lite (Electrical) Water Temp Gauge
Auto Meter Pro-Comp Ultra Lite (Electrical) Oil Pressure Gauge
Auto Meter Pro-Comp Ultra Lite (Electrical) Fuel Pressure Gauge
Auto Meter Pro-Comp Ultra Lite (Mechanical) Boost Pressure Gauge
Auto Meter Custom Ordered Tri-Pod
Ford 145 MPH Speedometer
RPM White Face Gauges
Custom Painted yellow trim
B & M Ripper Shifter
Pro 5.0 Shifter Arm
Mustangs Unlimited Aluminum Shifter knob
Racing Aluminum Pedal Covers
Kenwood 817 Excellon CD Player
JBL Power 5 X 7's all around

Future Mods:

Auto Meter Pro-Comp Ultra Lite (Electrical) Air/Fuel Mixture Gauge
Auto Meter Pro-Comp Ultra Lite (Electrical) Volt Gauge
Auto Meter Pro-Comp Ultra Lite (Electrical) Boost Gauge
Auto Meter Pro-Comp Ultra Lite (Electrical) Nitrous Gauge
Auto Meter Pro-Comp Ultra Lite (Electrical) Fuel Level
Auto Meter Pro-Comp Ultra Lite In Dash Speedometer
Custom Dash Cluster (Removing stock Gauges/ Adding sheet metal/Making my own panel with cut outs for my gauges then paint it)
New Trim/Paint Mine Same Color As Car
BFGoodRich Comp T/A G-Force KD 255/40/17’s Front Tires
BFGoodRich Comp T/A Drag Radials 275/40/17’s Rear Tires
Super Coupe Performance/Spec Aluminum Flywheel
Super Coupe Performance/Spec Stage III Clutch Kit
Super Coupe Performance/Pro-M 87 MM Mass Air
Super Coupe Performance/Magnum Powers MagnaPort II Polished Supercharger
Super Coupe Performance/B-H-J Billet Steel Harmonic Balancer
Super Coupe Performance/Magnum Powers 85 MM Throttle Body
Super Coupe Performance/3 Piece Under Drive Pulley Set
Super Coupe Performance/Kooks Custom Long Tube Ceramic Coated Headers
Super Coupe Performance/Header Installation Kit (smaller bolts)
Super Coupe Performance/Koni Infinitely Adjustable Shocks
Super Coupe Performance/Eibach Pro-Kit 1.5” Lowering Springs
Super Coupe Performance/Addco Sway Bars Front + Rear 1 3/8’s
FSR Racing Front Mount Intercooler Kit (aluminum radiator/intake/supercharger top/Big Package)
Coy Miller Race Engine/Marona V6 Racing Engine
MSD 50 LB Injectors
MSD DIS 4
EEC Tuner W/Laptop On Dash
Upgraded Front/Rear Brake Kits
Jeggs 8-10 Point Roll Cage
Zex Nitrous System/2 Bottles/Rear Seat Delete/Setup like the Eclipse in Fast and Furious
Aluminum Battery Box in Trunk
Fuel Cell in Trunk 16-18 GL
Sparco Racing Seats

[93 Mark VIII]

you can either get a tuner or I can burn you a chip. That would be the easy fix.

Mine runs quite warm with a 180degree and no chip. As soon as I put the chip in temps dropped greatly.

Brian
bjherron@apten-us.com

[Aaron Pedroza]

Well I just put a 180 in mine and it runs right in the middle all the time, much better than my 195. I have a question for you, do you have a pic of your dash? I looked into putting good gauges into my car, even bought and extra panel but the wiring and fit just didn't seem like it was going to work. Also ran into the prob of the idiot light coming on all the time.

[vancouverBC]

Alex: either of the Defroster setting s on the heater controls will instantly turn your rad fan on and thereby bring the temp down right away. You should also get a new rad pressure cap (16psi). When was the last time you had a back pressure flush and new 50/50 coolant put in? Good luck

[XR7 Dave]

Agreed, a proper chip helps, but otherwise mine all run cooler with a 180 degree thermostat. Stock is over 200, but I found mine tend to run under that with a 180 thermostat. Maybe you got the wrong thermostat? There are themostats which flow differently.

Another problem is air in the system. If you have an air bubble in the system it will run hotter than normal. What temperature does it run on the highway? The fans don't normally come on on the highway. It should cool down to 185-190 on the highway.

As for the idiot light, just splice a T fitting into the heater hose and put the stock sending unit in there. Then both gauges will work. I also used a T fitting for the oil gauge so that I have both working and no idiot lights.

[SuperCoupeSC91]

i have had my coolant changed withing 5k miles the last time i had a shop do it, did anyone see on the dr fred site it says "180 °F thermostat – it WILL overheat without a cool fan switch or EEC Tuner " ?? i thought maybe that was my problem, but u guys say your doin it without that ? i dont know ...on the highway its not to bad, it used to go down alot before i put my gears in now my temp doesnt go as low as it used to on the highway..anyone know the best cool fan selectable switch to get ? and where ?

Thanks Alex LaChance


(I'm going to rip out my stock gauges as soon as i sell my new autometer speedo mechanical to get a electrical one, and need a fuel level gauge then i'll make a custom gause cluster, it kills my view a little now where my gauges are..need still electrical air/fuel, nitrous, volt, fuel level, speedo ..... )
pics can be seen of my car


http://community.webshots.com/user/supercoupe

[XR7 Dave]

I just realized that you have 3.73's in a 5spd. That means that you are going to be rvving pretty good on the highway. This is contributing to your overheating problems. I have 3.55's and it'll get warm on the highway. I NEVER allow mine to hit 220 though. The hottest it has ever gotten was 210 in the high desert of Nevada at 110 degrees outside. On the highway it should still be able to maintain under 200. You may have some other problems. But as I can see you have many plans for your car, do yourself a favor and get a chip for it.

The fan can be rewired, but you need to start it in low speed, then switch it to high speed or you will burn up the motor. It can't handle starting in high speed too many times. There is no kit out there to do this for you. You will need to wire it yourself with a couple of relays.

[Thrty5thSC]

cut wire 14 on the fan control module. this will turn low speed on when you start your engine, and it will stay on. you can run a switch between the two wires to turn the fan off for proper warm up. you shouldn't ever need high speed, if you do than you have another problem to fix. high comes on at 229 deg. i got a robert shaw 180 and my factory temp gauge never leaves the "n", even when i beat on it. no chip or tuner. just a hi-flo exaust and a 94-95 s-port blower and matching inlet plenum. my fan has been like this for years and hasn't burnt up. it used to run hot till i put the r shaw in, it sat on the"r-m" with my fan on high. get a r shaw 180, you'll thank yourself.
joe

[ThunderRoad]

I GOT TIRED OF THE PROBLEM..............SO I CUT OUT THE COOPER PLUG IN THE CENTER ........PUT A WASHER WITH A 9/16 HOLE IN ...BENT THE TABS OVER TO HOLD IT IN PLACE............RUN 130-140 NO MATTER HOW HARD YOU RUN IT...............IN THE OLD DAYS..........50,S & 60,S FOR YOU YOUNG KIDS.............. WE USED TO REMOVE THE THEMOESTAT COMPLETELY BUT SOMETIMES IT COULD GET HOTTER ......DUE TO THE FACT IT WASN,T GETTING COOLED IN THE RADIATOR................AS IT FLOWED RIGHT ON THRU..............FYI ......FAST FREDDIE

[Thrty5thSC]

i used to pull the t-stat out in my mustangs. they ran purfect like that. i tried it in my sc and it did get hotter. those robert shaw t-stats are the cure for heat problems. a regular 185 t-start actually opens at 195.5 deg. the r shaw opens only 2 deg. hotter than the rated temp. and they flow more coolant than a stock one.
joe

[motorhead72767]

Originally Posted by Thrty5thSC

i used to pull the t-stat out in my mustangs. they ran purfect like that. i tried it in my sc and it did get hotter. those robert shaw t-stats are the cure for heat problems. a regular 185 t-start actually opens at 195.5 deg. the r shaw opens only 2 deg. hotter than the rated temp. and they flow more coolant than a stock one.
joe

WHERE CAN I GET A ROBERT SHAW THERMOSTAT?

[Mack92SC]

Originally Posted by Thrty5thSC

i used to pull the t-stat out in my mustangs. they ran purfect like that. i tried it in my sc and it did get hotter. those robert shaw t-stats are the cure for heat problems. a regular 185 t-start actually opens at 195.5 deg. the r shaw opens only 2 deg. hotter than the rated temp. and they flow more coolant than a stock one.
joe

So where do I get a Robert Shaw 180 thermostat??? Sounds like that's what I need!

Mack

[KarDoktor]

If U cut #14 the low speed fan will come on any time the engine is running. However if the high speed fan comes on the low speed coils are still powered, this causes the fan to run at a reduced high speed. To fix this just connect the relay side of #14 to #17. Then when the high speed fan comes on it will turn off the low speed fan coils and the fan will run at full high speed (and cooler too). Now if u want to control when the high speed comes on just groung #17 when ever U want the high speed fan to come on.

[Thrty5thSC]

i just cut #14 and hooked a togle switch to it so i can turn the fan off when it's cold for normal engine warm up. my temp guage never goes past the "n", so i don't need high speed.
joe

[Mike8675309]

A 180 thermostat isn't going to cause your engine to overheat. I'm sure Dr. Fred would never say that. But what he would point out is that going from a 195 to a 180 isn't going to do **** for your coolant temp if you don't also reduce the temperature at which the cooling fan kicks in.

If you put a 180 in , yet the cooling fan doesn't kick in until 205, then your engine is still going to run at 205 until the fan kicks in, and with our small radiator, there isn't enough natural cooling from the flow of the coolant to keep things cool without the fan running.