I don't know about any of you, but I prefer not to have my temp gauge running at the edge of the "normal" or safe range on a regular basis. Although it won't ruin your engine it can contribute to wearing out the engine faster. My Opinion (yeah I know everybody's got one) is that your gauge (if working correctly) should never pass the halfway or 'R' in normal IF your cooling system if functioning correctly. In my car I don't even have the word NORMAL, I just have a bracket and it moves about 1/3 the way up and stays there always. I have a 99 so I guess they changed it by then. An exception to the above is extreme driving at stop and go or low speeds. Your temp gauge should never move up at continuous highways speeds as this is when the radiator gets the most airflow. If that happens I would check the cooling system. One thing I can think of is that the cooling fans are waiting to come on until higher temperatures. We have a 96 Mustang Cobra Convertible and when not moving the temp gauge gets up to the M or sometimes the A in NORMAL before the darn fan kicks in. Even though we had the radiator replaced on a recall for overheating sometimes it will still run on the hot side. One day it was about 95 degrees out and even after driving 60 mph for 30 minutes (without stepping on the gas much) the temp gauge wouldn't go down past the M in NORMAL. I think that car just doesn't have adequate cooling. But I digress. Usually if the cooling system is in pretty much perfect health (are rare condition) most cars will run at the N in NORMAL except on hot days or in stop and go traffic. If I had the NORMAL on my gauge I would probably freak out if I passed the O, but thats just worry wart me. I guess I have said too much but when your bored, you might as well say what you have to say. Any other input here or opinions I would be delighted to read.
