Should I replace Thermo?

[Marty85]

I have a 3.4l V6 in my 95" maro and have a stock 195 degree thermo. I want to change this to a cooler one in hopes of gaining a few extra hp. The only question I have is should I go with a 160 or a 180? Will the 160 cause problems with the PCM? I know the 180 degree wont cause problems but im a little skeptical about a 160. It just seems to me like it might could cause a few problems in a fuel injected car. Also could anyone with knowledge about the 3.4 tell me if the PCM operates in much the same way as the 3.8 does in the engine tech section? Sorry for alot of questions but im new here and ive been reading alot and just want to squeeze the most out of my little 3.4.

[Amphilophus]

i woul go with the 160* thermo. I have one in my 3.8 and it is a good cheap mod. it doesnt give you more hp really but it just gives you that cold power all the time. try searching and I am sure you can find more info to help with your decision. good luck.

[viper98885]

The 160 thermo doesn't cause problems with the 3.4L

[FunkZ]

Should be no problems going with a 160° thermostat since you're down south. For the northern climates I'd stick with the 180° thermo for the winters.

[DARK SDE '02]

The 160* thermo is pretty worhtless unless you have some way of changing your fan settings so they come on at a lower temperature. And you don't gain any power with a stat swap, you just don't lose as much when your engine is hot.

[crasher]

I'v got a 170 in my 3.4 right now and no problems so far I'm gonna keep running it until I want to replace this thermostate with a new one then i'm going down to a 160 and see what happenes when I put that one in.

[93camaro_zzz]

Originally posted by DARK SDE '02:
The 160* thermo is pretty worhtless unless you have some way of changing your fan settings so they come on at a lower temperature.

Thats not true. It stays low temp, unless you sit in traffic, and then it might climb (Not any differnet from the stock one) and then your fans turn on like they are designed to.

And you don't gain any power with a stat swap, you just don't lose as much when your engine is hot.

Now explain to me how that is not gaining power. Sounds like gaining power to me?

[pontiac nino]

Get the 160*, it works damn well on our cars, you should have no problems.

[DARK SDE '02]

When your car is actually moving its probably not close to overheating anyways unless you have some other problem. So getting your engine temperature down while it's sitting still is the purpose of cooling system modifications am I wrong? It's not going to hurt adding the stat without tuning, I'm just saying it would be lots more beneficial if you had both.

And by not gaining any power I meant you won't actually increase your maximum potential with a stat swap, but it could help you stay closer to that max by keeping your temperature down.