Normal driving temps in Phoenix?
 

What do those of you in the valley see for temps on your information display during summer driving?

I drive freeway for most of the way to/from work & while mornings aren't too bad, the temps that I see in the afternoon are making me nervous.

If I keep it below 70mph, the temp sits right around 200 degrees, but if I take it up to 80mph for any extended period, the temp hits 210-215 & will keep creeping up from there - I looked down one day & it said 232...

This doesn't seem right to me, but since I am new to the Cobalt world and had read that they run somewhat hot, I wasn't sure what is considered normal.

Any information or suggestions would be appreciated.

FYI - it has a brand new radiator, both fans seem to be working & it is stock with the exception of a ZZP Stage 3 h/e & OTTP Stage one axles.

my car stays around 185 when i drive on the freeway and about the same when on normal roads. ive never hit 230 even if my car is just idling

Yah your temps are way too high. Mine sit at 185 or sometimes less no matter what MPH other than idle, that stays around 190. You need to make sure that your pump is working, fluid is full, thermostat (I have never seen it but guessing we have one) is good.

Thanks guys, I figured that it was way too high.

I've been reading up on the need to properly bleed the h/e & am thinking that this could be part of the problem, since I just filled it up when I put the car back together (details here: https://www.cobaltss.net/forums/south-mountain-61/bought-wrecked-balt-phoenix-213901/) so I plan on doing an option B on it to take that out of the equation.

Hopefully, it's just trapped air & once I do the option B it takes care of it.

If not, then I will change the thermostat, flush the system, fill it with fresh fluid & go from there...

HE and radiator are separate systems. One is not affected by the other.

Understanding that air will flow through all the same, I was thinking that, if the stock h/e isn't functioning properly & is therefore hotter, it would affect the rad.

I take it that this is not the case.

Correct, H/E just cools the intake charge, which won't significantly affect your coolant temps. In my ss/sc, the highest it would get is in the 220s before fans cooled it down. That's at idle with a/c off. Sounds like you either have air in the system or a restriction somewhere.

OK, got it. I've been a turbo Eclipse guy up until this car, so I'm new to the SC world...

Is there some kind of wind deflector behind the bumper cover that channels the air to the rad? I bought the car wrecked, so if there is supposed to be one, I could have easily missed it during the rebuild.

Yeah theres a black deflector looking thing that sits behind the cooling stack, my old car stayed around 180-185 cruising all year. New car, nahsomuch, bitch gets hot

There should be an air dam there.

This could be the problem then, I'm not getting proper airflow...

I evidently missed that when I put the car back together. I'd like to see what it's supposed to look like - anyone live in East Mesa or A.J. that wouldn't mind meeting up somewhere?

I'm in the Broadway & Ellsworth area.

Here is a pic from SunDevils gallery. Sorry Bret :lol: You can see what the air dam looks like at the bottom.

https://www.cobaltss.net/gallery/fil...008_762480.jpg

Cool, I can make it out a little bit at the bottom. I definitely don't have that.

Anyone know the part number by chance?

**EDIT**
I found the part number thanks to this thread:

https://www.cobaltss.net/forums/how-guide-43/how-install-lower-deflector-2-2l-178376/

The one in the thread is not the one I need, but it got me started on the right path & with a little Google action I came up with the one for the SS/SC - 22718757.

I'll get it ordered right away.

Thanks guys.

You can actually see it well in your sig. :lol:

The damn will help cruising but not sitting at a light. There is no reason for it to go in the 130's. When you get a tune you need to get the fans to run full at a lower temp too.

130's? Was that a typo bro?

Sitting at a light, or driving on city streets (as long as I'm not boosting it), the temp stays around 185-190 with the A/C going full blast.

I ordered the air dam & retainers from GM parts direct last night for $57 & some change. Hopefully this takes care of the problem.

As for a tune, I will definitely be looking for one later on.

For now, I am planning to keep it pretty much stock, as far as the motor goes, while I get familiar with the car. Plus, I want to be sure that it is completely solid & I have the supporting mods in place before I move forward on performance mods.

lol yes it was a typo, I was typing fast lol.

Ok I thought that your car was even warming up that much sitting at a light. Lets hope the dam helps.

If not then Bret knows a dealer that will take it in on trade :lol:

That would probably not work out as well for me as it did for him - mine has a salvage title.

Would be pretty cool to almost double my money on the car though...

Well, got the air dam installed last night. Did some good, but doesn't seem to have completely solved the problem - I still hit 210 degrees on the way home, with the cruise set at just under 80.

Looks like I'll be flushing the system & replacing the thermostat this weekend...

Getting there...cruising temps at speed on my ss/sc were low 190s, on my tc they're closer to 200.

same

mt tc is around 200 when cruising as well

I'm hoping that a flush n fill will help out some more - I'm sure that I'm off on the 50/50 mix...

Do you guys use any specific coolant or coolant additives?

You guys also notice that you can sit in a drive through for 5 minutes and the temp goes up like 4 degrees? :lol: I'm amazed at how little it fluctuates at idle when there's no airflow compared to other cars I've driven (including my old ss/sc).



As for additives, no. Never touched anything on either of my cars except to have the dealership top off when I got a low coolant light. Also, even if you're not dead on with a 50/50 mix it won't affect your cruising temps, only the temp at which your coolant turns to steam. At 50/50 and a 15psi cap it won't boil till at least 260+, but if the mix is way off it gets closer to 240.

Either way you should have nothing to worry about there. I think the flush and new t-stat will help a lot - if not I'd look at the water pump next.