Preferred Coolant Temps

My GTS has a 160 deg Mr. Gasket high flow thermostat. EMP also sells the Robert Shaw version which could be the same idk. Both (last time I ordered stock) have high flow bypass valves. I used an aluminum 22" e body radiator (KkS brand) off of ebay with two 10" fans switched off of a coolant temp sensor (Summit brand) that grounds out the fan relay at 185 and opens the circuit at 165 deg F.

Typically I roll into the burn out with the oil temp up at about 140-150 and stage around 160ish. It has never gone over 190 on the return road (single pass). Last t'nt I made four hot lap runs and never saw over 195 on the return road.

If it was me I would drill/tap the w/p housing and install a bypass. I'd think -8 would be more than enough. You could bend the line out of aluminum if you choose.

I don't like the idea of water not circulating and also would avoid deadheading the pump.

Popping the w/p manifold off and milling out a hole + tapping sounds like a relatively simple solution. The most painful aspect of the job is prcing out AN fittings. Aeroquip push-lok fitting are compact in comparison to the conventional style unless you are talking XRP or one of the upper echelon brands.

Dumb q:

Did we verify the temp with an infrared temp gun or other means of independent comparison? What was the ambient temp?

While I do think water temp is important I'd be more concerned about oil temperature in a drag car. In my experience takes quite a while for the oil to reach operating temperature after the coolant has done so. You can usually tell once the pressure stabilizes. As an example my 511" has 40psi idle at cold startup and 20ish at 1000 rpm or so when fully warm. Aluminum main caps and studs on this one, for reference.