160, 180, or stock thermostat?
Thread Starter
On The Tree
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 113
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From: sykesville, md
160, 180, or stock thermostat? what is best for makin power, keepin engine at safe temp, and overall better? 160,180, or stock 210 thermostat? what about knock, advancing the timing, and all that? i was told by a dyno tuner at fbodycentral that ls1s make the most power when at 200-210 degrees (f). any input on which one i should get
When I asked this same question, the consensus was 190-200F. Was running the primary fan @ 170F while using a 180 stat & ran consistant 180-185. Now have primary on a @ 180F w/180 stat & run 190-200F.
160*
Big name shops that do H/C and forced induction set-ups always install a 160* stat as part of the package. I bet they know what they're doing.
It's got to be better for the life of the engine over 150k miles to operate at 170* with fan settings instead of operating at 215*.
Both my cars have 160's. My LT1 for one thing stumbled after flooring it from sitting in a drive through at 215*. The day I changed to a 160 and did the fans I could floor it without stumble as long as the coolant gauge never went above 190*. That's a fact.
Big name shops that do H/C and forced induction set-ups always install a 160* stat as part of the package. I bet they know what they're doing.
It's got to be better for the life of the engine over 150k miles to operate at 170* with fan settings instead of operating at 215*.
Both my cars have 160's. My LT1 for one thing stumbled after flooring it from sitting in a drive through at 215*. The day I changed to a 160 and did the fans I could floor it without stumble as long as the coolant gauge never went above 190*. That's a fact.
Originally Posted by RooRnZ28
i have a 160*, but my gauge always reads 210, so why is that
'99+ all have an "idiot" gauge. It will only go up if the car is about to overheat, otherwise it will rise up to 210 regardless. No way around it unless you have an aftermarket gauge hooked to a different hook-up than factory.
Now you know.
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The stock 'stat is like a 184 rating, not a 210; the stock
fan settings are your problem, not the thermostat. Base
coolant temp with the stocker will be about 194F if the
fans give it the authority. The lower-temp 'stat will be
hard to satisfy on hot pavement with the A/C on, since
the stock rad is not big enough. What you need for good
tuning is -consistency- of coolant temp, not just pushing
down the low end of the temperature swing ('stat) while
leaving the high end to bounce wherever (fans, rad).
fan settings are your problem, not the thermostat. Base
coolant temp with the stocker will be about 194F if the
fans give it the authority. The lower-temp 'stat will be
hard to satisfy on hot pavement with the A/C on, since
the stock rad is not big enough. What you need for good
tuning is -consistency- of coolant temp, not just pushing
down the low end of the temperature swing ('stat) while
leaving the high end to bounce wherever (fans, rad).
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You can definetly run a 160 stat. One thing that allot of people tend to forget is that it doesnt matter how low you go on the stat....becasue your cooling system can only remove so much heat.
On most cars that I've seen its the radiator that is keeping them from running below 180 water temps. Its the laws of thermodynamics that come into play.
I have a LS6 with a stock radiator and a 160 stat, but the water temps never drop below 172 degrees regardless of the temp outside.
So if youre having an issue with hotter temps it might be time to upgrade your cooling system.
On most cars that I've seen its the radiator that is keeping them from running below 180 water temps. Its the laws of thermodynamics that come into play.
I have a LS6 with a stock radiator and a 160 stat, but the water temps never drop below 172 degrees regardless of the temp outside.
So if youre having an issue with hotter temps it might be time to upgrade your cooling system.
Originally Posted by robsmith9798
what is best for makin power, keepin engine at safe temp, and overall better? 160,180, or stock 210 thermostat? what about knock, advancing the timing, and all that? i was told by a dyno tuner at fbodycentral that ls1s make the most power when at 200-210 degrees (f). any input on which one i should get
So, what was meant in my first post is that most agree that 190-200 is the optimum operating range. Being a conversion, my car has a huge radiator, & accurate aftermarket gauges. So, it can be set-up to run as cool as we wanted, basically. We were able to achieve the 190-200 preffered operating temp by installing a 180 stat & turning the primary fan on @ 180 degrees. I believe that the secondary fan comes on 15 degrees higher. The secondary fan is really an overheat safety fan. Anyway, the set up yields a constant 190-200 operating temlerature. Would think that a similar stat/fan setting would get you in the ballpark.
Thread Starter
On The Tree
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 113
Likes: 0
From: sykesville, md
thanks for the input. i dont have any heating/cooling problems. i just want the car to run cooler...in the 190-200 range. ill probly get the 180 stat and have the fans tuned, and also get the slp manual fan switch juss for fun. thanks again
On The Tree
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 127
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From: North of California
for grins and giggles i pulled my tstat out ... ran on the road a bit ... outside air temp ~55 ... coolant would warm to about 190ish while idling because fans don't turn on ... 5 miles on the highway @ 65MPH and the coolant temp was reading 145 solidly ... my best time @ the track were after letting the car cool for more then an hour between runs. ... imho .. cool (not cold) is better performance ... heat is for emmissions
