acceptable coolant temperatures

Beefy_Heafy

Toyota Love
Nov 9, 2009
356
0
0
South East Qld
hey guys wondering what your opinions are on acceptable coolant temps for boosted 7m's
when im slamming it in the mountains boosting up 10+ degree inclines and whatnot i start to see temps of 100+ degrees (Celcius) within minutes. coolant usually sits between 85 and 88 degrees as the thermostat opens and closes during regular driving.
I start to go easy on her once it creeps over 100 and it takes a while to scrub the temp off also.
oil temps sit around 90-95 when the water temp is up super high

i have a big "mspec" brand alloy radiator and 19row earls oil cooler
new hi flow cat (the old one was blocked and causing massive overheating issues)
15psi through gt35

am tempted to swap factory radiator back in just to see what happens.
otherwise ill get a hold of a decent brand (probably PWR) mk3 specific alloy radiator
 

radiod

Supramania Contributor
Dec 13, 2007
1,342
0
0
38
Abbotsford, BC
Stock temperature "acceptable" range is up to 212F (or 100C). After that the ECU starts doing it's thing and starts pulling timing to try and get the engine temps down. The stock temp gauge still reads normal at this temperature though. Stock gauge doesn't really start moving until your well over 225F. If your cooling system is working properly it shouldn't boil the coolant at that level even because of the pressure in the system. I wouldn't want to run the car every day at temps that high, but I've had it get up there on a hot summer drive before. Mind you I do have a stock rad that needs replacing and I do want to get the temps lower. Ideally I personally like to see temps under 200F (93C), which is what my car will typically run at unless I push it harder for an extended period of time (ie, 15 minutes or more of running 3k+ rpm and boosting).