DANSLS1GTO

I see a whole lot of people running 160° and 180° t-stats, along with varying temperatures for the fan(s) to come on at. Has anybody ever taken a stock or bolt-on only LS1 motor and run dynos varying only the operating temperatures of the motor to actually find out what the ideal operating temperature actually is (on premium fuel, of course)? If it's around I haven't been able to find it.
Thanks,
Dan

rushman

warm temp does 2 things, there are probably more:
1) increases air temp, which decreases air densit, aka less air = less power
2) increases temps which lead to pre-detination (aka knock) = knock retard = less power.

The lower temperature tstats are meant to help reduce the amount and chance of knock.

DANSLS1GTO

I understand what you are saying. And heat is power. You want to run as close to where you may have knock as possible to achieve ultimate performance - but setting it up so you don't actually ever knock. So if I can run at say 200° and have no knock - and run at 180° and also have no knock - I would be better off running at 200° - right? Therefore it may not be the best setup just to drop a 160° t-stat in depending on other factors.
Dan

jimmyblue

iTrader: (11)

Lower head temps may let you run more timing, less
fuel, more compression, and get more power that
way. But lowering the temps also removes more
heat from the burn that should go to expansion and
pushing pistons down the bore, reducing mechanical
efficiency. Secondary concerns are less eveporation
of condensates from the oil, where they can get up to
acidic mischief, and stuff like that.

I haven't realized any remarkable improvement from
mine, and I think the best bet is just to make the
fan settings sensible enough to make good use of
the stock 194F 'stat. Which, on a stock setup car,
is nohow in charge of engine temp except on the
highway because the fans don't kick in until 220F.