engine temps in Southern Cal?

[pgjkc]

Hi Guys,
I bought my y2K 5sp std just before summer, and we've had a scorcher here. One thing I notice is that the engine does run quite hot compared to other discussions I've read.

For example, under normal running, the temp is somewhat >180, and in traffic, the temp gets >225 (>the 2nd-to-last-tick).

One point, if I've been running on the freeway and then get into traffic, the temp goes up, probably because the forced air cooling disappears.

I'm not a particularly aggressive driver, and usually let the temp get to 180 before I take the car much beyond 3k revs. Taking the car to 4-5k revs for gearchanges also drives the temp up - is this normal beyond the obvious?

Anyone have any ideas to share?

thx!