YodiBrodi

actually the thermostat is an emissions device. it aids in a speedy warm-up and maintains proper temp for most effective emissions control. since the inception of the M54 I-6 BMW engine family they have actually used electrically controlled and monitored MAP thermostats and they will set a CEL when they fail open. the thermostat, as somebody already mentioned, is for the comfort of the passengers as well so their heater works. last, i have not used a thermostat in the old 'hawk when it was a DD. fans came on at 180* and in traffic didn't exceed 200* indicated temp. at highway cruise it would drop to 170*. otherwise the cooling system was stock. for my weird car it was necessary until i replaced the WP, not a performance mod.

JL ws-6

iTrader: (50)

I wondered if this was gonna be a problem for me this year with the race pump and no t-stat in the car at all. Strait water, no watter wetter, nothing.

Guess what, the car doesn't run any hotter then it did, if anything it runs cooler, not by alot, but a little.

I am gonna toss a bottle of water wetter in the car and see what that gets me.

SILVERZZ28

iTrader: (3)

Also have you ever noticed our intlet is at the top of the rad?

twokrx7

iTrader: (3)

Good thread, nice to see that there are some educated folks on here that understand thermodynamics which clearly explains that slowing the water flowrate down reduces cooling. I will agree with many on this thread that achieving the target minimum water temp is important for engine clearances etc. but a t-stat is not the only way to achieve it.

The other function the t-stat can serve is to prevent pump cavitation, some pumps will cavitate at the unrestricted flowrates with no t-stat and this can cause overheating as the flow is essentially interrupted, hence the wives' tale that no t-stat will cause overheating.

dutinsss

iTrader: (2)

in colder areas, a thermostat would probably be beneficial to keep the engine at operating temp. but i live in south GA were i doubt my motor has any problems warming up. what all is involved in deleting it?

JL ws-6

iTrader: (50)

I can tell you, that a Meziere race pump does not have a cavitation issue. No t-stat is perfectly fine with that pump, at least the ls1 version.

twokrx7

iTrader: (3)

Agreed, I ran that pump on my LS1 with no t-stat. When running a belt driven pump it can be a very different situation with no t-stat.

spy2520

iTrader: (3)

what do you guys think about running no t-stat with an underdrive pulley? i figure the restricted flow of a slower pump with no t-stat would be closer to that of a pump at full speed with a t-stat.

boondiggys

iTrader: (165)

we did the same thing in a 55 ford drag truck...after the first season, the seals in the water pump were leaking and had to be replaced...this time around, we added a bottle of purple ice, and the seals stayed lubed up.