RE: Thermostats

[Chris Coracini <Coracin@usdl.com>]

>
>
>A lower temp. thermostat simply opens/closes at a lower temperature, yes?

yes.

> This
>wouldn't seem like it would matter when the car is warmed up - it seems like
>it would only make the car warm up slower, but the end point would be the
>same. Or am I missing something?

it would warm up the same...  the thermostat will open sooner, however,
so the "stabilized" operating temp will be lower.  putting a lower temp
thermostat in an over heating car will NOT keep it from over heating,
unless you are replacing a faulty thermostat.  running without a
thermostat to solve overheating is also a bad idea, because when the
thermostat opens, it sends ALL water to the radiator, whereas no
thermostat will always send some of the hot water back into the engine.
>
>I ask because my '86 8v, in summer months, typcially runs with the temp gauge
>needle pointing right about where the red starts. The car has never
>overheated, but it makes me uneasy. In cool/cold weather, the needle hangs
>right in the middle of the gauge. Am I trying to read the gauge too
>literally?
>In the course of replacing the radiator, all hoses, and thermostat (don't
>remember what temp),

get a 180....

> nothing has changed. Opinions are much appreciated here.

mine did the same.  first check to see if your fan is turning on.  i
THOUGHT mine was, but it would only turn on the low speed, not the high
setting.  even with the fan spinning away on the low setting, it would
still get very hot (almost touching the hot part of the water temp
gauge).  i "fixed" this problem by running a wire from the relay on the
radiator (this turns the high speed on) to a switch in the dash.  when
she starts to get hot, i flip the switch and the temp will slowly go
down to normal (about halfway up) in about 5 minutes.  of course this
didn't really fix the real problem (bad connection somewhere), but i
never have to worry about my car over heating anymore.  the real fix
would be to get a lower temp fan switch and replacing the bad wires on
the fan connector.

another thing that has helped a lot is redline waterwetter and a 20%
antifreeze 80% water mix.  my oil temp used to run around 110 to 120C,
now it's a steady 100C all the time, sometimes hitting 110 in heavy
traffic.  water is a much better conductor of heat than
antifreeze/coolant, and the waterwetter acts as an extra heat conductor.
 i have noticed a bit more power because of lower combustion chamber
temps and less "hotspots", thus preventing pre-detonation...  since i
live in south florida, i could run 100% water and waterwetter which
would be ideal, but sometimes i travel to NC to visit the folks, so 20%
ought to protect me up to 20 deg F or so....

chris
86 16V scirocco

>

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