I have always been concerned with the adequacy of the Fiero engine cooling system, but not any more......
Last Monday, I returned from WestFest by running south down the PCH to Santa Cruz in cool weather, then to Salinas, also cool weather, then on to the 101 south where it got warmer .
Turned the A/C on. At Paso Robless, I cut over to I-5 and it was really hot! About 100 degrees, climbing up the pass (guess a 2,000 foot climb). A/C on and working well; the guage never broke 200 degrees.
Down the 46, past the site of James Dean's death and it is getting hotter outside, but not inside. It is well over 100 degrees, no cooling problems.
Stopped for gas at Wasco and it must have been 125 degrees outside, although, officially, it never got over 106 degrees. It was the hottest, I have experienced in th U.S. Stilll not above 200 degrees on the guage, on through Bakersfield!
Then the 40 mile , 4,000 foot climb out of the Central Valley on the 58. The last 20 miles has about 3,000 feet of the climb and big rigs are creeping instead of wide open, many are cooling off on the side of the road. I am running steady at about 65 MPH, A/C on and over 105 degrees outside. Temp guage peaks out at about 210 degrees and I turn off the A/C to see if it makes a difference and the guage drops a few degrees. At the peak, about 4,400 feet and 100, degrees or so, the guage is back at 200 degrees and the A/C is cold.
O yeah, the car is a hopped up 3800 Series III that we recently completed at West Coast Fiero. The cooling system is virtually new, has a stock fan, and is clean. Running 100% Sierra antifreze. No water or water wetter needed. We do have a B&M 13,000 btu trans cooler in front of the radiator and about 16 feet of stainless tubing between it and the transnission.
I averaged 28 MPG over 656 miles, too.
Regards,
David
[This message has been edited by MountainHiBlue87GT (edited 07-26-2009).]
