brandon9598

iTrader: (1)

I was looking into buying the 160 degree thermostat for my 99 ls1. If I got it would I have to get my car tuned again or is it a plug and play type thing? The one thing I'm trying to avoid is having engine codes thrown and I've done great so far with all my other mods.

Ls1N20

iTrader: (6)

You can have your car tuned to turn the fans on then, but no it's plug and play.

edit more like bolt and go.

Snake_Skinner

iTrader: (12)

^ Ya i agree more like bolt and go. Im 99% positive you ain't going to throw any codes, but you'll wanna get it tuned again to readjust the temp when your fan comes on like Ls1N20 said...

eseibel67

iTrader: (10)

Skip the stat. LS1 is designed to run at stock temp.

You will gets lots of opinions to the contrary, but there are lots of guys making good power with 195* stat.

teke184

iTrader: (5)

you could go half way...and do a 180 stat

but my car runs good with the 160stat, temps consistently hover ~173deg when running/moving (even in hot fl weather).

you DON'T NEED to have anything tuned even with the stat. car will run the same as stock when going slow or sitting still (traffic/staging lanes), but once the car is moving you'll take advantage of the cooler stat.

i've run stats untuned in 3 different cars for almost 10yrs

therealcreeper

iTrader: (37)

i see no point in cooler stats unless you're running a lot of boost

legendarysouls

my 99 z28 runs at 215 striaght up on gauage since i got it i thought that was normal do u think Thermostat is damaged or low coolant or something

what is the AVG temp for ls1's

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

Your stock stat is a 186 unit so a 180 is pretty much a waste of money.

I don't like the 160 stats either. Too cold for NA application, IMO. LS1s seem to make their best power running in the 190-205 degree range in my experiance. Best way to achieve that is with a stock stat and reprogrammed fans.

Jon@Texas-Speed

iTrader: (18)

You can bolt it right in. You can have it tuned later to have the fans come on earlier if you do a cam or something down the road. The car won't run at 160 so don't expect to see it on the gauge. You won't be able to tell a difference on the gauge.

Jon

teke184

iTrader: (5)

99 and up got the "dummy guage"

reads ~200 deg regardless of what the temp actually is...shy of overheating BAD.

my scanner reads 175 and the guage still shows 200

sscamaroburn02

iTrader: (14)

I'm always been a fan of the stock thermos unless your running boost. The car was made like that for a reason. If nothing else maybe a 180 would be just fine.

legendarysouls

THANK You exactly wht i was looking for

lss1six

one of the biggest reason ive put a lower stat in previous vehicles was for the life of the engine plus cooler air is denser which in turn means more power. i would rather have my engine warm up to 180 degrees 800 times then 195 800 times. its not a big difference but its a cheap mod

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

Cooler intake air charge is what makes more power, not a cold engine. You want the combustion chamber to be nice and hot for peak power, and incoming air to be nice and cold.

You'll actually get better engine life and better MPG with hotter coolant temps (to a point).

lss1six

that is what i meant, the air coming though the intake manifold will be less affected by heat with lower engine temp, its minimal but every little bit helps

brandon9598

iTrader: (1)

So basically don't do it until I turbo the car? Lol.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

LS1 intakes don't contain coolant passages, and being Nylon 66, are not as subject to heat soak from rising engine heat as aluminum intakes are.

fucter

iTrader: (5)

I was bored and reading a lot this weekend;
I learned (this isnt first hand knowledge, just info from the Internet) that the stock thermostat is 185
the gauge reads 210 when the engine is anywhere between 180 and 210
and something else too, but I forget
anyway, try looking through threads or googling, the 160 thermostat seems like a waste

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

The stock t-stat is stamped as an 86*C unit on the bottom of the stat (186*F), that is true.

The '98 engine temp gage will show more precise movement in coolant temp, as these use a different temp sender than the '99+. However it's still difficult to read an exact temp, as the gage has too few markings like most factory temp gages.

A '99+ will generally show just a hair under 210 for anything between 190 and 210, and just a hair over 210 for anything between 210 and 230. It's much less useful than the '98s.

01ssreda4

iTrader: (96)

Agree on the dummy 99+ gauges. Thats 100% correct. They arent even remotely accurate. I have an aftermarket one on my car so I can see actual temp. My car came with a 160 stat. It still ran in summer 225 bc the stock fan setting dont start till 225+. 160 stat makes no difference. With a tune I got my fan settings dropped about 30 degrees across the board now the car runs about 195-200. Still same stat, only fan settings changed.