97 Z28....

Shouldn't the temp run around 210. Mine runs way low. Doesn't the temp need to be up around 210 for the oil to be productive in protecting engine internals..... I'm am fixing to put a 195 back in my Camaro. Think that the exhaust is maybe not running hot enough to keep the catalytic converters clear. Only has 88k

 

mine runs at the first mark, about 185-190. stock thermostat is 180 on mine

 

Stock temp thermostat is 195°F.
Temp needle should be just to the left of 210° mark.

 

here's a little high-level youtube video of oil flow within an engine (OHC is illustrated here, 4th gens have OHV's so it's different)



thermostat has nothing to do with oil and lubrication because when those people who are silly enough to live where it gets cold start their engines, the engine needs lubrication at 10 below zero.

For those of us who are smart enough to understand that man should not live where temps dip below freezing, our engines also need lubrication at 70 degrees and shudder, those cold nights when it dips to 40 degrees.

About temp, mine runs solid at 180 degrees while on the highway and I don't pay much attention but think Solomon has it tuned to kick on the fans at 195. I have a 180 thermo in the car. Closed loop kicks in well before 180 but I'm not sure of the exact temp.

Oh, and your coolant temp is NOT the engine temp.

 

Mine is below the 2nd mark... 180 * ?...... I mean in between. I don't think it's running as hot as it should be

 

I find this to be an issue for me as well. On my 93, my temp gage goes from 100 at the bottom to 260 at the top. Simple arithmetic would dictate that each of the 4 lines indicates 40 degrees. The first being 140, second 180, third 220, and the top 260. It also has a few smaller ones running in between the bigger ones. Mine runs in between the first and second of the bigger lines.. just ever so slightly under the smaller line in between these two bigger lines.. indicating a temperature between 150-160 degrees at the cylinder head.

I have on very rare occasion seen it climb maybe 10-30 degrees higher but only very briefly, only in traffic, and only on very hot Florida days. Once I get moving it obviously drops back to that 150-160 degree area.

Anyways.. this confuses me as I am to understand the car should be running hotter. The numbers would perfectly add up if it was the 160-260 temp gage from the later models(mines a 93).. but it isnt. Ive tried googling around about this and havent found much about having temps too cold. The overheating questions are usually the ones I find. I havent had a chance yet to check out the thermostat.. and Im a little apprehensive considering the propensity for damaging the opti when this car is the only one out of the two camaros I have currently on the road.

I asked the previous owner if he had ever changed the thermostat or if he knew if the previous owner before him had and that didnt turn up any answers to my questions. I was thinking maybe it was removed or stuck open.. but until I get my 2002 back on the road I dont really want to mess with it and potentially screw up my only dependable vehicle right now lol.

 

these gages are not that good as far as numbers. they are pretty consistent with the level, of that makes sense. check the temp with a mechanical gage and see what it really is.

 

thanks for the response craby. you and a few others on here are an ENORMOUS wealth of info. i wish i knew you in person so i could keep you on speed dial for all my questions about things haha. yeah i saw on shbox website that you can use some type of electrical test meter thingy and compare it to this chart showing what voltages equal what temperatures but its comforting to know that my temps are *probably* good and not as low as i thought.

 

don't run a 160 ,I did it in mine thinking I did not want the old engine to run to hot ,then about a year later had engine overheating only slight not boiling over just warm , ,I may have been comeing from age ,an reving the engine lt1 engines are tough ,but the saying about bullet proof just not the case ,my thought is the seals get worn,running low keep an eye on it ,mine was running low then high ,then the fans did not come on at the right time ,I had blown head gasket for over a year till we figured it out ,so there tough but not bullet proof ,then I was told the move was not good for 160 ,just some food for thought,though I know there was no talk about the 160 ,just that yours is low,temp gauge mine was to ,an I wondered why then it got hight after about 6 months

 

if you run a 160 the ecm/main computer has to be tuned/reprogramed to account for the change. the thought behind the 160 is to lower the temp of the engine therefore lowering the temp of the fuel and air going to the cylinder. i think the thought is now its not worth it as you/406 say the results are shaky at best.