FM2 Kit and Water Temp sensor location
 

So I have a '95 with an FM2 kit, FM radiator/fans/shroud and some decent ducting, undertray included. Having moved down to Texas a year ago I've been slowly working to make the car run cooler, for peace of mind mainly (it's a street car).

My question relates to coolant temps at various points in the system, my current setup it the M tuned coolant reroute with an autometer temp sensor in the front blockoff plate feeding a gauge. 180 degree thermostat and about 70/30 water to coolant. The car doesn't overheat or anything, but one little pull and it goes from an indicated 180 to around 205 or so. I got to thinking, and realized that appears to be the exact location the turbo water lines connect back into the system, and maybe that is causing a slightly elevated reading vs the rest of the system. Aka it's getting a constant flow of coolant fresh from the turbo...

The car will remain at 180 on the freeway if I baby it, but once I see some boost it goes up to the 195-200 range and then tends to hover there, lowering back down to 185 or so (first fan kicks on at 197) if I idle for a bit.

Should I have the sensor elsewhere for a more consistent reading? I haven't done any comparison of what the ECU is reading vs my gauge, but I just thought I'd post up to see if others have noticed similar behavior. Thoughts?

The temps you're seeing, i.e. 200-205, are totally fine...

What I'd ask you and the others is the following: Is this a good way to get a conservative read on the temperature? I.e. if this is the hottest the coolant will be, you're just monitoring with things reading higher right? Have you compared it to what your ECU sees from the temp sensor?

Yeah not overly worried about the temperature reading itself, as you noted they are safe. I'm just more curious if others have seen a similar effect. I'll get some data as to the ECU's value vs the gauge over the weekend if I have some time.