sothpaw2

I have to disagree with you, jfb, on several pts.

I have the 160 stat with a chip that turns the fans on. Coolant temp runs at 178, winter and summer. In summer, depending on the day and how hard I run the car, the oil temp may get to 195-200. With the stock set up, in winter, it used to take a decent drive to get it up to 190 oil, so I know that is ok.

In winter with this set up, maybe oil only ever gets to 170-180. So, I just change the stat for that.

I know running this engine cooler helps with ET's at the strip. It is a fact.

jfb, as for GM, they need the car to run hot for EMMISSIONS. I will definitely change the stock stat when I get mine state inspected for emmissions this winter.

kittmaster

here here

Darkness

:yesnod: :yesnod: :yesnod:

jfb

Thanks sothpaw2, you make my points!!! Your coolant runs at 178, so your 160 thermostat is wide open. Why did you pay money for a stat and do the labor to install something that doesn't do anything? Why didn't you just chuck the factory stat? Without a stat coolant flow would increase lowering your engine temp. Isn't that what you want?
There is so much variation in ET's at a drag strip from run to run, any increase in hp from a 160 stat will be hidden in the normal ET variations. A CF member changed to a 160 stat while he rented some dyno time and found no measureable increase in hp from his factory stat. An actual hp measurement tells the indisputable story!
160 stats are WORTHLESS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

K87ZZ4

While I can't say whether it's really worth it, or not, I have been surprised to notice that my coolant temp will run right at 160* when it's 60-65 degrees outside and I'm driving on the highway. In traffic, or in town, though... it will quickly get up above 190*, where it used to run before the t-stat change.

I only put one in because I'll be running a custom chip.

Sliding

I used to have 160 but now I went to 180.
If you are driving a lot on highway it'll be too cold.
It's better for performance but engine will wear faster when not on
operating temp.

Rifleman

Remember jfb, The T-stat is to maintain the minimum engine temp not the max. The 160 just insures the engine gets at least as hot as 160 deg. before opening. :flag

Dark-Knight

Familier wiht your climate, 160 should be fine year round. Would not recomend drilling holes, not needed.

jfb

Nowhere in the US is there a place where a 160 stat would maintain coolant at 160 year round, so a 160 stat is WORTHLESS. Most of the time if you drive more than 10 minutes, your coolant temp will be well over 160 degrees.
P T Barnum was right !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

vader86

Theres no point in yall arguing with jfb, he wont change his tune.

Run whatever thermostat you want.

GRX

Found this. Interesting... http://216.239.53.104/search?q=cache...hl=en&ie=UTF-8

65Z01

Don't worry about emissions checks with a 160deg stat; last Jan. my '88 Vette easily passed the dreaded E-check in Akron, OH and it was in full race trim with 160 deg stat, TB coolant bypass, etc. Of course I run cut-back spark plugs which provide a little more efficient charge bun which could have helped some.

Lone Ranger

Not completely. It is correct that very few cars will see coolant temps of actual 160 degrees by running a 160 tstat. But the aftermarket 160's made by Motorad have a slightly higher flow rate than the OEM 180's. This tends to shave about 5 to 8 degrees off around town driving coolant temps irregardless (I know its not a word but it works here) of fan programming.

jfb

And NO thermostat has even less of a restriction, so why not run without a thermostat at all if maximum coolant flow is what you are after? It's cheaper too !!!!!!!!!

Lone Ranger

That would not allow a long enough dwell-time for the coolant in the radiator, and could actually cause the temp to rise

Nathan Plemons

I'm not even gonna touch the performance argument, it's not worth getting into I've never seen any conclusive evidence one way or the other.

The fact is that the thermostat is there only to maintain the MINIMUM temperature that your engine will operate at. It has nothing to do with how quickly your engine will warm up or how hot it will get. Saying a 160 thermostat doesn't lower cruising coolant temps is complete BS.

Factory vettes run well over 200 degrees and stay there, they never get as low as 180 because the thermostat closes and they CAN'T cool off any more. Those who are saying to just run without a thermostat are also full of BS. Try it sometime and you will see that your engine will never warm up. Anybody who has ever had a thermostat stuck in the OPEN position can attest to that. The engine will heat up while idling but as soon as you move it will fall back down to VERY cold, well below 160.

Plain and simple, thermostat changes what temps your engine will operate at, for better or worse. At cruising speed an engine with a 160 thermostat WILL run cooler than a car with a 180 or 195. At idle if you don't reprogram the fans they will run the same! The reason is that without air moving through the radiator the engines will heat up the same. Thermostat is for MINIMUM temperature ONLY. It regulates how much heat can be removed by the radiator. Obviously the radiator is capable of removing more heat than it does when running with a 195 thermostat, so when you put in a 160 thermostat it DOES remove more heat.

Also remember that the cooling system is under pressure. If you have a thermostat that opens at 160 degrees in a pan of boiling water it will open at a higher temp when under pressure, the water pressure holds it closed until a higher temperature. So a 160 thermostat might only open at 170 but, it will maintain your car at that temp. Remove the thermostat altogether and under cruising speed it will settle at whatever temperature it can, IE it will allow the radiator to cool to it's entire capacity, which has the potential to be more than the engine puts out, thus your coolant could stabilize very close to ambient air temperature.

vader86

Now you know that it'll cause cavitation if you dont run a thermostat.

vette92_1

You talk as though this cost $100 and all day to do.

It's only $5 - $10 and maybe 20 mins. labor tops. If I can't afford that I don't need a vette. :rolleyes:

jfb

My point is why waste money and time no matter how much and get nothing you expected? I am bothered most by those that think a lower temperature thermostat absolutely will lower their coolant temperature.

vette92_1

Actually I got exactly what I expected. The car does run cooler when running down the hiway. I agree, the 160* TS alone will not lower coolant temps in stop and go traffic, atleast in mine it didn't, but with either manually turning on the fans or reprograming to turn the fans on earlier it will run cooler than the "stock" TS allowed it to, even in stop and go traffic, which means the C4 coolant system is capable of acheaving lower temps than that set from the factory. So I don't think it is a waist of money or time.