operating temp / gauge question...

[Arryn Milne]

At 06:34 AM 12/2/00 -0800, james accordino wrote:
>--- Arryn Milne <enzeder at home.com> wrote:
> > I put a brand new Audi thermostat in last year, and
> > when I'm on the
> > highway, my gauge reads maybe a few millimeters over
> > ¼ (I'll call it
> > 30-35%), much closer to the ¼ than ½ mark.
> >
> > I guess a good question would be what is the coolant
> > temp when the gauge
> > reads "0".  Either way, I'm with Jim, better a
> > little cool than a little hot.
>
>I believe the gauges are not true divided scale.  When
>I turn on the ign., the pointer is well below the "0"
>line.  It seems Audi (and others) put the optimum
>range from about 10 o'clock to 2 o'clock on the gauge
>face.  Most people never bother to interpret raw
>numbers from their gauges.  That is the ones who even
>bother to look at them in the first place. (IDIOT
>light?)
>
>Jim Accordino


I know, that's what I was getting at.  The thing is, I/we don't know if 
that "0" mark is 100°F, or 120°F.  Well, the 5000's I've seen don't have 
any numbers on the scale and I don't recall any on our 4000.  However, 
Dad's V8 is marked in centigrade.