More in depth discussion of lower temperature thermostats....

[nikon]

ok now many of us including me have put 160 or 180 degree thermostats in our cars for more power...the better power is coming from a cooler intake manifold....anyways, this is good, however speaking to some relatives who are into racing, rebuilding engines and such...there theory on this is with an engine not running hot enough it will not burn up oil, gas or anythign left in the cylinders and such which could lead to damaging seals gaskets, and such...I was told for superior performance I put the 195 stat back in, which is waht the minumum temperature should be then cool off the fuel, a cool-can for example....I have noticed better gas mileage form installing a 160 stat but its not the entire block I want cool just the intake manifold....just a little discussion topic, I wanna hear what some of you more "intelligent" guys think about this....

[OneQuickV6]

This one's been beat to death at least 20 times on this board. yes, ask any mechanic and they'll tell you that without enough heat your car will not last as long. However, even with a 160* thermostat, your car can, and does, reach over 200* still. That's enough heat. The lower temp thermostat like you said controls the minumum temperture it operates at, but it still heats up well past that 160* just like the 190*.

Moral of story, if I was a mod I'd lock this one and let people find the answer using the search button.

[Dominic]

Alright well I don't know how much more I can kick the dead horse... I'll make this short and sweet, if you need explanation IM me because I can and will explain anything I say to back it up.

Your cyl temps are going to be 3000°F or more, that WILL by god burn anything in there, I assure you. Your oil temps will run about 20°F higher than the coolant temps, and thats plenty hot to get condensation out of the oil. The only reason to run a 195°F stat is if you need to lower NOx production and want the car's heater to be hotter when its cold outside. If its trully cold as all hell outside, your car probably won't go over 160°F since the radiator will finally be able to keep the engine's temps under control... and thats a good thing, and hell in that case I might just run a 180°F stat to keep my footsies warm.

Perhaps I need to send you some pdf's relating engine coolant temps and power? I got mine from NASA btw. ;)

*kicks the dead horse*

Cooler is better to a point, the idea is to keep the engine's temps under control. The hotter she runs the more chance you have for engine failure, head gasket failure, oil sheering, and other many bad things. Do what you like, but I'll keep my 160°F thermostat. [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img]

[ June 01, 2003: Message edited by: Dominic ]</p>

[Slow-N-ugly]

Smokey (unik?) found long ago that the coolant temp should be around 210 for optimum racing temp.

He wrote the temp should be taken from the return line just before it gets to the radiator.

Yes your motor can run too cool when total performance is considered

[merlinsrealm]

And he kicks....and he kicks....and he kicks the horse somemore...... :D

[y87inside]

I just installed my 160 stat and manual fan switch today as a matter of fact. Definatly runs cooler. Havent got a chance to see gas mileage results or track/dyno results. Got my switch mounted in an unobvious place too, on the left side of my lower console....where it isnt visable to anyone but the driver...theres a pic or two on my cardomain siteon page 8

[imported_admin]

http://reviews.firebirdv6.com/hypertech160thermo.html

Read paragraph 4 regarding the dyno tests. Those numbers do not lie.

Hotter is better? Bah!

*kick*

[navyblue2000]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by OneQuickV6:
This one's been beat to death at least 20 times on this board. Moral of story, if I was a mod I'd lock this one and let people find the answer using the search button.<hr></blockquote>

and so I shall.

people, the search button takes less effort and keystrokes. please facilitate it, it's there for a purpose.