Running a Bit Hotter Then I want it too

[DeMasi1990]

I know that These Engines are quite fussy...And They Like to run Hot Because the car has NO grill...So I bought a new Air dam ( that thing that goes Under the radiator to catch the air) from the dealer... I only got the middle one because I thought the 2 side ones were ok, But they are alittle beat too.. It made a Little difference with the new dam on ( before It had Nothing), But she still likes to run at a undesired temp ( inbetween 220 and 260), it likes to hang around that 3/4 mark before 260 when driving... when idling it will go below 220 mark and hang around the 1/4 mar which Im guessing is 195?..Anyways Ifound something from Hawks Third Generation and What I want to know is, is this something that goes over my existing piece or is this a replacement? they make it sound like an add on?...

also if there is anything else I could do to cool her down when In driving it, let me know, Because when I come home, the cooling fans make the thing sound like a airplane is pulling up to my house lol...

http://www.hawksthirdgenparts.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1063

[Red Devil]

efore you go blowing money, flush that system really good, get a good mix in there (50/50 or 60/40 water/anti) and add a bottle of red line water wetter or equiv. and a good balanced stat at ~180-195º. These cars typically run around 220º. If it bothers you that bad get a temp switch to turn the fan on earlier or cobble the fans together.

[DeMasi1990]

I did all that when we did the Engine... flushed etc, it was flithy Disgusting....I Put Dexcool In the car instead of the green stuff, its a 50/50 mix, But Im gonna try that water wetter stuff, your the second person to mentioned that to me.. also I have an Aftermarket Chip that turns the drivers side fan at 200 or 195.something like that.. What I was thinking of doing was getting that aftermarket fan switch that screws into the Cylinder head, hypertech makes it... But what about that thing from hawks third generation??

[OEM_TA]

The thing on Hawks looks like a replacement rather than an 'add-on' part.

[DeMasi1990]

Tonight was the First Night I have Taken her Out of my Hometown Since I started all this... So around Feb of this year was the last time i used her out of town...I went to my uncles house to show him why progress, the whole ride there she was good stayed in the 220 range, sometimes almost getting to the 3/4 mark. took my uncle for a ride, got on his hard, and it maintained a better temp doing that then babying it, lol.. Uncle said he was Proud of what i did ( he remmebers how it ran when I bought it in 2005) and ended it with " Its quick, But my 57' chevy was faster" hahaha... Anyway does anyone have that thing from hawks, and How good is it??

[usetaboost]

Yes my pile of crap 86 tpi z28 used to run hot like that too, even witha 160 tstat. Here's some options. Get a different chip. 220 isnt good for any engine except economy and emissions. 180-200 fan turn on should be about right. As far as I know the biggest "camaro" radiator there is is the 89 tpi 350 radiator. I'm sure a few other years use the same one. You can go with a bigger radiator but it will be trial and error. I snatched a big one out of my buddy's crap pile one time that had all the same stuff and "massaged" it in the car. Needless to say if that car was moving it wasn't getting hot:D If you have fog lights and don't care if they are there or not you can pull those also and let a ton of air in. THat's about all I got for reall world suggestions. This was one of my many hated things about 3rd gens, but I love the styling of the zs.

[94 Z28 w/issues]

220 is about right

[iwantmysanity]

I used to have a 3rd gen and I know what you're talking about. What I did was, installed a manual fan switch. It was easy to do.

[Greg Norris]

dexcool=deathcool

[Linson]

the thing in the picture in the link you provided is different style of air dam, a more common one actually. a three-piece. then there are the less common, sort of triangular shaped, one-piece air dams used more commonly on later model third gen firebirds. this is evidently what you have. i do not think that the two styles are interchangeable, and the one definitely doesnt snap on over the one you have.

one way to find out if the 3-pc air dam will fit is to see if there is a straight row of small bolt holes on the bottom of the radiator support bracket. the two side pieces attach with two bolts each, one at each end. the three peice system is bigger and therefore potentially can grab more air, but i cant guarantee that.

i have an 89 Formula 350 but it is in storage or else i would go look myself. i have a brand new 3-pc air dam that i bought for my Formula, (it's still in the box) but it's the wrong one. mine also uses the triangular shaped one piece air dam. i bought a three piece from the dealer for my '87 Firebird back in the day, and it fixed all my overheating problems.

with a proper functioning air dam and all other cooling systems functioning properly, you definitely should not have to do anything that is going to potentially be harmfull the the niceness of your car by creating sloppy wiring or unattractive toggle switches, like going with a manual fanswitch.

my best advise would be to go with go with the one piece airdam that you have, and install a 160 degree thermostat.