Replacing thermostat?
06-08-2020, 07:43 PM
#1
Racer
Thread Starter
Replacing thermostat?
Hi Gang,
this is number 352nd stupid question of the month. I’m going to replace all my stock coolant hoses in a few days with brandy new silicone ones. The 2008 C6 engine is completely stock. the question is should I replace the thermo with a lower temp one or replace it with the stock temp one.
Thanks once again for the help
Mike
this is number 352nd stupid question of the month. I’m going to replace all my stock coolant hoses in a few days with brandy new silicone ones. The 2008 C6 engine is completely stock. the question is should I replace the thermo with a lower temp one or replace it with the stock temp one.
Thanks once again for the help
Mike
06-08-2020, 08:01 PM
#2
Safety Car
Member Since: Aug 2017
Location: Etobicoke (Toronto) Ontario
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Your engine is designed to run at the temperature resulting from the stock thermostat. A lower set point thermostat won't help you for long when you are stuck in traffic on a hot day, so why mess with what's designed and apparently working well? On a cool day, it will just lengthen the time take for your engine to come up to operating temps. If you want to change the thermostat as a preventative maintenance measure, then replace it with another stock thermostat. If you are doing this yourself, you can test the operation of the replacement before you install it by placing it in a pan full of water, and see at what temperature it opens. Of course you need a thermometer to do this. And don't install it upside down!
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06-09-2020, 07:27 AM
#3
Race Director
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2023 C6 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2022 C6 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2021 C6 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
The factory thermostat temperature setting helps with emission control, a stock car really won't get any benefits from lowering the set point
06-11-2020, 09:33 PM
#4
Safety Car
Had to help a friend who decided to change a working thermostat. He snapped one of the housing bolts when he slightly over tightened it. Was down for a day trying to get the broken bolt extracted. I did tell him to leave it alone.
06-12-2020, 07:25 AM
#5
Race Car Tech
Since you are replacing all the hoses, you should replace the thermostat with a new one. I replaced all my hoses to silicone years ago, and replaced the thermostat with the OEM temp. Unless you get the radiator fan operation curve changed, there is litle benefit to going with a lower temp thermostat.
Last edited by 4SUMERZ; 06-12-2020 at 07:26 AM.
06-12-2020, 03:19 PM
#7
Race Director
Since you are replacing all the hoses, you should replace the thermostat with a new one. I replaced all my hoses to silicone years ago, and replaced the thermostat with the OEM temp. Unless you get the radiator fan operation curve changed, there is litle benefit to going with a lower temp thermostat.
Agreed. The LS engines are designed to operate at over 200+ degrees. Lowering the operating temp would impact efficiency and emissions.
Unless you live in an area where ambient is consistently in the 90’s + the OEM stat and fan curve are fine.