Sorry for being a noob. What is the Ideal Temp to have my fans kick on? It was set at 201 but I dropped it down to 196.5 to help with cooling a little. Do you think this slight change makes a differents. I have a pwr rad but it still runs pretty hot here in Phoenix. I guess bigger fans and a re route would be the next option.

 

196.5 seems a bit low to me. I'd up it to somewhere in the range of 197.435 to 197.438 to be safe.

Welcome aboard.

For what its worth, the factory thermostat isn't even fully open until 195 degrees, and operating temps of 200-210 are considered normal for a stock engine. If a turbocharged engine is detonation-limited, it can sometimes be beneficial to lower the coolant temperature somewhat, however if detonation is not a limiting factor, then temps in the 200-210 range are perfectly acceptable.

 

my car runs about 187-195. fan comes on at 200.

 

Thanks for the input, my temps have been closer to the 230 range. It does make sense to bump it back up some with stat full open at 195.

 

Must have a pretty efficient cooling system. Or I just beat on the car a little to hard.

 

just an aluminum radiator and an OEM thermostat.

 

230 on track or 230 cruising around town?

 

cruising around town, but I've been driving it pretty hard. Plus it really hot here. About a105 avg last three weeks. Maybe driving it in boost a little to much? I just installed the turbo about month ago, been excited.

 

230F is awfully hot just for cruising temps...

 

does your dash gauge agree with the 230 thing? that would be close to 1 o clock. (assuming you dont have an NB)

 

This.
First things first, burp your cooling system. I bet you have air in it.

 

Not boosted, My f-prod with coolant reroute, 160 thermostat and good shrouding runs between 175 and 180. Engine is turned to 8k between shifts