My 92 Vette operates at @ 186 F on the highway. If I get in stop and go traffic it would rise to 229 F (and it may rise even more) but I got on the highway again and temp dropped back to 186 F. How hot is too hot??? Don't want to damage engine. Thanks

My '85 runs 235 on a hot day with the A/C on...all day. That's not too hot for these cars at all. They are designed to run that hot, for emissions purposes. If it gets to 250, you may have a problem.

my 90 stays at about 195. only time it goes above that is if i let idle. just to be on the safe side i would check that the airways are clear of any leaves or debris.

Checked for debris. Everything looks clean. At highway speed it stays at 186 to 188 F. If I sit in traffic for a little while it starts to climb. Have not got a temp warning or anything. At what temp would it trigger a temp warning light?

245

My '86 does the same thing.  Talked to my local 'vette and he said it is totally normal so I wouldn't worry too much.

yes it runs that hot to meet EPA emissions for that vehicle. your electric fan should kick on somewhere around 228-230....it DOES take some getting used to seeing the guage climb that high when in traffic but it IS designed to function that way.

Thanks for the feedback guys! I do love that car!  

My '89 used to run around 190 degrees at highway speeds then jump to 225-230 during long stops or very hot days. I came across 2 articles that addressed this behavior and I performed both to my car. The result is the temp rarely goes over 215 even if it sits idling for 20 minutes. The 2 things I did were

My 94 seems to run hot in traffic, but my tec says its still normal and not to worry about it, but I still do. GPS parts makes a fan controller that turns the cooling fan on at lower temp. I plan on trying it.