Cody Brooks

iTrader: (2)

one benefit of the 160* t-stat your heater will get warm alot quicker which is worth the cost in my opinion. even if you tune the fans to come on and run in order to keep ECT at 170* or so, the oil temp and coolant temp are 2 different things the oil temp is nearly always higher than coolant temp. The reason oil temp is higher is because it goes through the valvetrain, most people who remember why the LT-1 had a reverse coolant system, know that the combustion chamber and valves are where a the largest amount of heat is made. You can run coolant temps around 180*(what many try to run is between 180-190) and still get your oil temp high enough to burn off water in the oil. You don't want the engine to run too hot because once you get an engine to just alittle over operating temp you can start to run into detionation problems because the gas mix will nearly ignite itself if you compress into a cylinder that is too warm, which is thesame principle a diesel works off of.

ShevrolayZ28

iTrader: (4)

But Ray, is the crank case and the rest of the oiling system subject to athmospheric pressure? I don't think so.

BigDaddyBry

iTrader: (15)

Okay, maybe I'm wrong, but Vinci seems to think so, ironically it is quoted from your original post. Did you happen to read it or did I miss something?:
We are talking about water in motor oil and the boiling-off of said water by the heat generated in the engine. Are you assuming that the oil is stagnant or that we are working with a closed system?

Think logically, it will come to you and it will make sense.

DrivenWS6

iTrader: (1)

The colder an engine runs the more wear is done. So I wouldnt expect cars running 160 stats will last as long as engines with the factory stats. As metal heats up it expands therefore allowing greater oil clearences. Im guessing the factory put the thermostat in there for a reason. There are certain tolerances that are met when warmed up completely hence less wear on the engine. And usually when there is more wear it means there is more friction somewhere which means you are losing power. Whenever you can reduce friction in an engine your are making more power. So to me i dont see any gains or pluses to running a colder stat. And I would venture to guess you will see more sludge and carbon build up on an angine with a 160 stat compared to a 195. But if you change your oil very religiously you may not see that either i guess it just depends.

BULLET99Z28

iTrader: (9)

carbon shouldn't build up just due to operating temps, usually if the engine is rich, or not running properly. If u want proof, and this should end this thread, I dynoed the car today with the mods in the sig, fans programmed at 175 and 185, my car's air fuel ratio on the dyno was almost dead flat at around 12.5 to 13.0, from what I can tell. The shop running dyno(RPM) said not to even touch the car, tuning wise. and as long as the engine is burning clean, u will not get excess carbon build up, unless there are other problems, vacum leak, etc to throw offf the computer. Matter of fact, they said the only thing they could really do is throw a little bit more timing at it since i don't hav cats. Cooler temps is fine, these guys Know what they're doing

BULLET99Z28

iTrader: (9)

THE factory has the cars running warm for emissions purposes. The warmer an efi engine, the leaner the computer runs, a cooler water temp allows more spark advance, more fuel enrichment, and less chance of detonation. u can't get my car to =knock, ping etc with my setup, according to the live data from hptuner. Gm has beeen running cars in the 200 -210 range since the days of tune port, thats part of the reason the cars lean out and run really clean and lean.

ShevrolayZ28

iTrader: (4)

I see that, and I guess you're correct. And when the engine is not running I would certainly consider it an open system. Where it becomes confusing to me is once the engine is running, I would expect gas pressure within the oiling system to be primarily a product engine operation, piston stroke etc. But I guess the athmosphere would still have some effect.

BTW, I did a google and found that elevation and barometric pressure do have a significant effect on the boiling point of water. For example, at sea level (760 mmHg or 1 ATM pressure) water boils at 100*C, whereas at 3,000 meters above sea level (Big mountain, almost 10,000 feet!) the boiling point of water drops by around 10*C.

ref: http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasc.../chem99508.htm

So if you're around a mile above sea level (Denver) your car will need to suck a little harder to fulfill the engine's combustion needs, but on a positive note, the water in your oil will depart at a lower temp lol.

I think I'm getting a little carried away with this topic

BigDaddyBry

iTrader: (15)

Aren't we all.

jimmyblue

iTrader: (11)

Sustained high power output would want an oil
cooler, a stop-and-start daily driver probably
not. One needs no help boiling off stuff as it
arrives but the other spends a lot of time cold
and soggy.

"160" (175F) thermostats are warm enough to
get you up over closed loop enable temp and
into normal fueling. That bit about the "choke
cycle" is not right, on these cars.

You will not be as efficient.

If you can run locally plentiful fuel, at a normal
well tuned mixture (say 12.8:1 NA) and 20+
degrees of WOT timing, and not ping under full
load, under all conditions, you do not need any
lower thermostat.

If you are stock and can't say this, first be sure
your coolant heat dump is as capable as it needs
to be. If it isn't a lower temp 'stat will only lower
the bottom of the operating temp swing, let you
down when you need it and cost you when you
don't. Running a low temp 'stat with stock fan
settings is as pointless as can be.

So far I have yet to see anyone provide before &
after, tuned-in-to-best performance data of any
kind. My personal bias and my climate say, "go
cooler". I believe these cars have sub-par cooling
as set up and it's simple to improve the important
stuff (fans, radiator larger-core) that will net you
consistency of performance, which in the stock
setup is more likely the problem - all of the ECT
and IAT based adders & multipliers telling your
athsma to kick in every stinkin' sunny day.

BlackHawk T/A

iTrader: (3)

Really the only advantage I see is to get your heater coming on sooner...

ShevrolayZ28

iTrader: (4)

Some of you might be interested in the lifter damage poll. Here's a link:

https://ls1tech.com/forums/generation-iii-internal-engine/420882-lifter-damage-poll-please-chime-even-if-you-ve-never-busted-em-up.html

Camaro99SS

iTrader: (4)

I see no reason to believe that a colder t-stat is detrimental for an engine. Oil temps will stay the same once the engine is warmed up as a stock t-stat. Don't believe me, just pay attention to the oil pressure guage when cold and hot. With a 160 and the stocker, the oil pressure falls when it's warmed up just as much with the 160 as the stock t-stat. All this stuff about how colder t-stats are bad for an engine is complete hogwash.

Now, the difference in an LS1 vs a gen I smallblock is the iron vs aluminum. LS1's do run better at higher temps because aluminum dissipates heat better than iron. But it's also been established that LS1's tend to run best running around 180 degrees.

Jason

Var

iTrader: (1)

I changed over to a 160º t-stat and i wish i never did. It takes forever for my oil temp to get up to 180º so i can barely ever get on the throttle. When i'm on the freeway my coolant temp is @ 172º all day long, and the fans kick in @ 188º(which means never). I'm going to switch to a 180º t-stat. It's probably the best all around opening point for a t-stat in my climate which is mostly 60ºF or less 9 months out of the year.

I could program the fans to come on really late, which is what i should do.. But then my coolant temp will be at 200-ish, and will drop 30º as soon as i hit the freeway, which can't be too good for the engine. I heard you want coolant so stay in a 10-15º range once the car is warm.

NOBR8KSS

iTrader: (12)

My car had it's best dyno pull with the coolant temp at 205 degrees. I use the stock thermostat and the Hypertech recommended fan settings.