My 94 Z28 LT1's water temp is running about 190 degrees while driving but if I sit in traffic idling it creeps up past 225 degrees. I called the dealership and they say this is normal for the LT1's as they run hot. The advisor said he has an LT1 that he races and he put a 160 degree thermostat in it to keep it cooler. Does anyone have an opinion on whether or not changing from the factory recommended 194 t-stat to a 160 t-stat is a good idea for a daily driver? Also does anyone else have an LT1 that gets this hot while idling? The car hasn't red lined on the temp gauge and the cooling fans are running when it runs this high a temp. Thanks in advance.

 

Changing the stat won't do much while in traffic, unless you also change the the turn on tempfor the fans which are set to turn on at 225.The 160stat will open sooner, but there won't be much air going through the radiator until the fans go ON, so the temp will still rise to 225. However, the car will run much cooler on the highway.

 

My 93 runs the same way.....however in cold weather I get no heat...heater core is plugged so that may be the problem...not enough heat transfer surface area to cool the anti freeze. Gonna change the heater core and install the temp switch which turns the fans on earlier.

 

Try flushing the heater core out with a garden hose. Much easier than replacing it.
Also check sticky in LT1 section about LT1 cooling specs & stop the temperature anxiety.

 

Pete how would someone go about changing the turn on temperature of the fans would I have to have a computer programmer? Or would I have to take it to the dealership?

 

Computer has to be reprogrammed, or you can put in a manual switch. Most dealers won't do it because the engine is designed to run hot for pollution purposes, and it is not derimental to the engine.