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180 thermostat

LMCOOK87

New member
yo guys. i see alot of ppl with this thermostat. whats the benefits? im thinkin about gettin one because i live in florida and its hot a lot of the time.
 


It'll keep your engine about 15* cooler. Cooler means more HP. Not much, but every little bit helps.

Unless you have your fan turn on settings adjusted, it'll only really help when you're moving. Otherwise your car will heat up until the factory turn on settings which is about 200*.
 
benefits are negligible as an internal combustion engine is most efficient (aka makes it's most power) above 190* (to about 200* if memory serves) the reason people use the colder t stats is to fool the computer into staying in cold start mode (bypassing o2 sensors) making it dump more gas. I am in south Alabama and my car never gets over 210* and it's hot here too (I'm on the Gulf)
 
yeah i live in florida and it gets balls hot. my temp always stays pretty low. only time it even gets close to 210 is when i have ac off sittin in traffic
 
That's what a 160* tstat does. 180* tstat will let it warm up enough.

but your statement a cooler engine makes more power is what I am referring to, when my car had a 180 in it (when I bought it) it would not get to 200* and ran poorly (gas mileage was at about 18 mpg) replace the t stat with a 190 and get better acceleration, and currently am seeing just under 25mpg. The internal combustion engine needs heat to work properly
 


I'm confused then. What's the point of a 180* tstat if the computer is no longer in warm up mode but it doesn't get hot enough to make power?
 
but your statement a cooler engine makes more power is what I am referring to, when my car had a 180 in it (when I bought it) it would not get to 200* and ran poorly (gas mileage was at about 18 mpg) replace the t stat with a 190 and get better acceleration, and currently am seeing just under 25mpg. The internal combustion engine needs heat to work properly

More specifically it aids in fuel vaporization. Liquid fuel does not burn, so the more you vaporize it the better burn you get. There is a point, however, as we all know that you can get too much heat, so you have to balance it out.
 
I'm confused then. What's the point of a 180* tstat if the computer is no longer in warm up mode but it doesn't get hot enough to make power?

exactly my point, the 180* t stat is intended to band aid a poor cooling system, not performance (I know that the NHRA pro stock cars set their cars to leave the line with a water temp of about 195* so they hit just above 210* at the end of the run) parts are made and sold for 1 reason people buy them, that doesn't mean they help (or else the tornado never would have made it out of a box)
 
If they were harder to change out I'd be ticked off. Oh well, only reason I changed it was because my old one was bad. Guess I'll go buy a stocker 'cause MPGs matter.
 


but if theres no benefits why u put it in?

I thought there were other benefits. Cooler engine for more HP and less knock or something along those lines. I took it with a grain of salt, and needed a new tstat anyway and it's cheap. So, it won't be any trouble to go back.
 


The main reason that many people started using a cooler t-stat was to combat KR. A cooler engine will not have as much knock as a hot engine. So people started using cooler t-stats as a bandaid. Now, with the tuners and custom PCM available, there is not much need to run a cooler t-stat. If you are getting knock, mod more, go smaller pulley, or take away timing.

You will get more power and fuel efficiency with a stock t-stat and a proper tune, than you will with a cold t-stat and proper tune. End of story.
 
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