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~ " Drill or not to Drill? " ~

ActionJackson1985

ActionJackson1985

New member
So, I was about to get a new T-Stat for my car. I plan on having a basic 3.4 setup running on it, but it is also my daily driver. So I am wondering, should i get a drilled 180? or a none drilled? An what is the difference? I obviously am shooting for lower KR, so I presume a drilled would work better then a none drilled, but does that mean I am always going to have cold air blowing in my car?
 


drilled just means slower warm up, and perhaps a little more flow when its open. not really going to help you much.
 
drilling a thermostat is not really for performance. its so when the thermostat fails and it locks in the closed position that your car doesnt overheat crazy fast.

for performance applications its good to have though because it will bleed some coolant by keeping the coolant in the motor that much cooler and saving your heads from warping since the heads get very hot, especially the rear head if you have the TB coolant ports blocked off and the coolant flow passage on the side of the LIM is still stock.
 
What mods do you have?

Both the 180° stat and a drilled stat are more modded cars. If you are stock or mostly stock, then you don't need either. Stick with the stock temp, non-drilled t-stat.
 


I don't agree with some of the posts, In my humble opinion, a full 3.4 setup is on the extreme edge of "mild".

If you have a 3.4 with the correct supporting mods, I personally feel that you do warrant a cooler thermostat.
 
copgtp said:
I don't agree with some of the posts, In my humble opinion, a full 3.4 setup is on the extreme edge of "mild".

If you have a 3.4 with the correct supporting mods, I personally feel that you do warrant a cooler thermostat.
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only if you do long highway WOT runs. the car will never have a chance to overheat if you drive like a normal person. also, 210* isnt that hot for a car.
 
I would stick with 180 as long as your car is SC'ed....helps keep the air temp lower internally if only by a little bit as long as the fans are programmed to compensate for the new, lower thermo temp, but 160 is too cold. Most people drill them so that the motor isnt as shocked by being dumped on by the coolant when the thermo opens for the first time. If you drill it it will have a small trickle of coolant to compensate somewhat for this....IMO it is up to you, I personally do not have mine drilled.
 


Bio248 said:
only if you do long highway WOT runs. the car will never have a chance to overheat if you drive like a normal person. also, 210* isnt that hot for a car.
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Agreed.

For driving or even racing the car on the street, you are not going to need a cooler t-stat. The only way a cooler t-stat will help you is if you totally didn't mod correctly and have tons of KR. Then, a cooler t-stat might help eliminate some of the knock, and thus feel faster.

But if you mod correctly and have little KR, like you should, then a colder t-stat will just decrease performance and rob fuel economy.

Now, if you are hot lapping at the track and trying to get the best time, a cooler t-stat is beneficial. But for 99% of the driving that 99% of the GP owners do, a 180° stat is not necessary.
 
Zef_66 said:
Agreed.

For driving or even racing the car on the street, you are not going to need a cooler t-stat. The only way a cooler t-stat will help you is if you totally didn't mod correctly and have tons of KR. Then, a cooler t-stat might help eliminate some of the knock, and thus feel faster.

But if you mod correctly and have little KR, like you should, then a colder t-stat will just decrease performance and rob fuel economy.

Now, if you are hot lapping at the track and trying to get the best time, a cooler t-stat is beneficial. But for 99% of the driving that 99% of the GP owners do, a 180° stat is not necessary.
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this is mostly true, however this is why people mod, to get the most out of their cars when they need it. lowering the temps does more than decrease KR...but most people mod their car for performance, and it is true that it could effect your mpg's by going lower, but it could also help you at any time in the power department.
 
Liquifire said:
this is mostly true, however this is why people mod, to get the most out of their cars when they need it. lowering the temps does more than decrease KR...but most people mod their car for performance, and it is true that it could effect your mpg's by going lower, but it could also help you at any time in the power department.
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Please explain how lower the coolant temp of the engine will increase performance.
 
My .02... a lower temp in the radiator helps the trans run a little cooler if using the stock rad with built-in trans cooler... so 180 stat + a tweaked fan cut-in in the tune is a good thing, especially on a stock 4t65e. Cause they Suck :-P
 


i run the stock thermo (195) with a few fan adjustments, i never see over 200* even dogin on my car. motor is more efficent at higher temps. oil is full warmed and working properly, gas burns more efficent. the motor likes the warmer temps. ive ran my fastest times at the track when the car has been warmed up.

as far as drilled/not drilled. thats up to you.
 
Well I honestly am unsure what to do now. I have based everything from the "Safely Modding your 3800" thread, an also on the ZZP site says if your going to a 3.4 set-up it says to go for a colder t-stat. (Mind you I know i've heard their info is not the greatest from time to time) Before this thread really took off, when it only had a few posts, it looked like I should order the cooler t-stat an I did. But I dont wanna use it, if its @ the cost of damaging my engine. Keeping my engine healthy is the most important thing, in my opinion anyways.
 
Zef_66 said:
Please explain how lower the coolant temp of the engine will increase performance.
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As I said before, this application isfor the sc cars only( I would see no point in lowering it on an NA car)....it will lower internal air temps just a tad...lower air temps equal the gains(think intercooler at a very small fraction of the gains) The actual lower cooling temps will do nothing for a motor power wise from a pure cooling standpoint of cooling the motor.
 
if your going for colder air temps do so buy putting colder air in the motor. the block it self likes to be warmer. like said, oil works better then, fuel is burned more effictivly then also with warmer coolent flowing thru the system, my heating and air are stronger. now that i have my fan settings adjusted and the coolent does not get as hot, my heat does not get as hot :/ its still hot but i could get hotter.

i have no issuies with running my stock thremo, there is other ways of getting rid of knock
 
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