question and help with water temp gauge

[silviakid2790]

hey guys just had a quick question about a water temp gauge. my sr has been running a little on the warmer side lately cause of this dumb heat wave in NC so i invested in a koyo rad, dual fal fans, s14 waterneck, and silicon hoses. i also want to get a aftermarket temp gauge cause i know how the stock ones can act up. what would be the avg temp i should look for after the install and where is the best place to hook the gauge up to to get the proper reading? thanks guys!!

[Mister.E]

the best place is in place of the shitty stock dummy gauge that way you are taking the direct engine temp, but if you have to you can tap it out of the upper hose.

im not sure what an average temp for your setup should be, but i run a mishimoto aluminum radiator with two 12" fans, a nismo thermostat, and a 50/50 coolant mix right now (this will be changed soon) and my water temp for daily driving stays around 70~72*C. i expect this to change when i change my mix to 30 coolant/70 distilled water w/water wetter. my gauge is tapped into the upper hose

[silviakid2790]

anyone else got anything?

[g6civcx]

The best place to read coolant temp is in the cylinder head. If not, the upper rad hose is acceptable.

Operating temp is highly dependent on your individual setup. I generally don't like to see more than 200* F at the head. Anything above 220 would be unacceptable.

[GSXRJJordan]

Ideally, you want the temp at the head to be right at 180*F... that's right about where our engines make the most power/are the most efficient. Naturally, if you're out AutoX'n or doing anything like that with high load and low speeds, your temps will be very dependent on your fan setup.

You need to get worried if your temps stay above 200* during no load, or get above 220* during load. Most coolant mixes don't boil until about 240* under pressure, but you never want to see the engine get that hot.

[silviakid2790]

does anyone have a pic of their set up so i can see how you tapped it in? sorry for the n00b questions,never done one of these before and i dont wanna mess it up seeing how im supposed to be driving the 240 to the beach next week :hs:

[khilgers]

http://www.khilgers.com/forumpics/240swap/109.jpg
http://www.khilgers.com/forumpics/240swap/110.jpg

[SoguRacing]

normal operating temp on my car which has a stock cooling system is 78 to 83 degrees Celsius. roughly 175 F to 185 F