Well, pulled the rad out today. went to get it rodded at natrad, when i went to pick it up they had found some leaks..

so ended up with a new radiator.. the guy gave me trade price so it onyl set me back $181

next step, in with a new 2 stage 77 degree thermostat.

gave the block a good flush out and reassemble.

add distilled water and redline water wetter.. and..

only been on a 5-10 min drive. but the diagnostics reports temperature over that period found its way only between 77-85 degrees

Why do you want it that low? With such a low temp thermostat the ECU will run the engine rich.

it seems to be alright to me, cruzing on the freeway it sits on about 83 degrees. thrashing it around local streets i managed to get it to 95 degrees.

ill see how it goes, normal driving it appears to sit around the 85 degree range.. about on the L in normal.

ive kept my other thermostat, so if it causes trouble in winter i will swap back or if i have economy issues, ive been told the warmup mode ends about 75 degrees or something