i bought a 160 drgree thermostate and installed it but the funny thing is that the temp of the car is still in the middle at around 200-210 y is that ?????is it defective ??? i got it from summit .....thanks

 

Thats because the stock setting for the fans don't turn them on until the temp is in the 200+ range. It needs to be programmed to turn the fans on at a lower temp or put in a manual switch.

 

don't go by the gauge in the car! check the temp with an infared non contact
thermometer and check the block, hoses, etc. Don't worry it is working! unless you install a secondary gauge (i.e. Autometer) the factory is not that accurate. The infared non contact thermometer is a handy little tool to have anyway, if you do not have one!

 

^^--What he said. You need to have the PCM reprogrammed to bring the fans on earlier. Without that, the T-Stat is only going to be of much help on the highway.

 

I put a 160 stat in mine too. You do need to program your fans to come on sooner, but not too soon. I think the 160 stats open fully around 185deg which is where I have both my fans coming on. I dunno how much drag racing you do, but I made some jumper wires with small male spades so when I'm sitting in the staging lanes, I can run my fans to cool down between runs. Just keep an eye on your battery! For me personally, doing this is good for about a tenth. This may or may not illuminate your MIL, I can't remember. Look at your relay and ONLY jump cavity 30 to 87 with the wire. Otherwise fuses will pop.

 

how do i get programmed ??

 

You can buy a hand held programmer. I have the HyperTech Max Performance tuner. It was about $375 but it lets you adjust all kinds of stuff. It has the option to set an aftermarket thermo too.

 

Yea that temp gauge is basicly a dummy. Mine always says the same thing, no matter if i'm in a blizzard or 100+ deg weather.