160° vs 180° Thermostat?

the98stang said:

That's nice. The fact of the matter is Ford designed the car to run with a 192^ T-stat. When you change that, the car is not running to its optimum performance level. Old carb'd engines might benefit from colder T-stats because there is no computer controlling the fuel maps or engine operating temperature. It has been proven on the dyno that EFI cars make more power with stock operating temperature T-stats.

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fine, lets see the dyno sheets, prove it!

Ford also designed the car to run with stock restrictive manifolds, restrictive throttle bodys, plenums, lower intakes with plastic crossovers that bust...the list goes on...my point is that just because it came with a 192 degree thermostat does not mean that it won't perform better with a colder t-stat...

back up your facts!

deftsound said:

fine, lets see the dyno sheets, prove it!

Ford also designed the car to run with stock restrictive manifolds, restrictive throttle bodys, plenums, lower intakes with plastic crossovers that bust...the list goes on...my point is that just because it came with a 192 degree thermostat does not mean that it won't perform better with a colder t-stat...

back up your facts!

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There are charts showing that most power is made in the high 190's 200 range, which he would be right. For a car that sees those temps with a 192 t-stat, if you drive your car hard at the track you might near those temps with a 180 instead - while the stock t-stat might bring you 8-10 degrees over optimal, and the 180 similar for under in other scenarios. Personally i'd rather be under than over in a hot lap setting. He likes his blanket logic, so there's no sense reasoning with him.
And there's nothing wrong with my car thank you, either is there with the thousands of other people have have chosen to use a 180.

There are charts showing that an engine running consistently below design temperature wears faster that normal. The behaviour is exponential. Right clearances are at normal running temperature. I used to have these charts but I gave away a lot of Ford literature to the guy that bought my '68. regarding, perfornce, I would vote for there are none or are negligible...

Cheers, Ric...

T-stats were allegedly the "first performance" mod people were doing to the 5.0's back in the late 80's. They were trying to trick the computers into thinking they were running hotter than they really were to dump more fuel. For a DD, or any car without serious work (compressions, cams, timing, fpr/injectors, etc.) There is truly no benefit. My car runs all day long @209 degrees, and that's with a pillar pod racing gauge. I thought about changing it out to run somewhat cooler since I'm here in Albuquerque, but my 5.0L isn't stock, either.

Leave the stock t-stat

Hardtop68 said:

There are charts showing that an engine running consistently below design temperature wears faster that normal. The behaviour is exponential. Right clearances are at normal running temperature. I used to have these charts but I gave away a lot of Ford literature to the guy that bought my '68. regarding, perfornce, I would vote for there are none or are negligible...

Cheers, Ric...

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Agreed. Not only is wear accelerated, fuel dilution of the engine oil can be a problem as well. I have seen thermostats fail on large diesel engines and the used-oil-analysis that followed: iron, copper, and lead levels were all elevated and plenty of fuel in the oil. Of course this is an extreme example, but it gives you an idea of what happens when an engine is run at too low a temperature.

I have read similar articles on engine temperature vs. wear, the general consensus was that a 180 degree coolant temperature was the best compromise between performance and engine wear. In any case, I think there would be little to no gain by using a 180 degree thermostat on a stock modular engine with programming based on 192-195F. I briefly ran a 180 degree thermostat in my 1997 Crown Vic in an effort to eliminate pinging, the only difference I observed was slightly lower fuel economy. Cleaning the MAF sensor cured the pinging, so I switched it back to the stock t-stat.

If you get a custom tune with aggressive timing, discuss the t-stat options with the tuner. Some recommend a 180 degree, others recommend the stock temperature. My 2001 Grand Marquis has an SCT tune, the tuner said the stock t-stat was fine but recommended I switch the spark plugs to 1-heat range colder.

In the end different people will all tell you to do something different, my recommendation is that a stock t-stat is a good choice for an unmodified car. If you chose to go with a custom tune, follow the advice of the tuner .

All solid advice above!

It is good info. But it's a misnomer to assume an engine with a 180-tstat will run at 180 degrees. The stock is 192 and the engine is built for around 200 degree coolant (with stock parts). So i venture to say with a 180 you're closer 188 - which is closer to the region you should be for proper wear. And if you're really on the throttle a lot and you have aftermarket engine parts or power adders that temp climbs up to where the optimal temp for the engine is. Which is much better than it climbing with a stock 192 tstat because hot wear is certainly worse than cold wear.

not only our cars but all newer vehicles run at higher temperatures than in the past and are more efficient that way! keep the stock Thermostat

I run a 160 but Im also running high compression in my engine. For a stock compression vehicle, dont go under 180.

CobraRed_96_GT said:

It is good info. But it's a misnomer to assume an engine with a 180-tstat will run at 180 degrees. The stock is 192 and the engine is built for around 200 degree coolant (with stock parts). So i venture to say with a 180 you're closer 188 - which is closer to the region you should be for proper wear. And if you're really on the throttle a lot and you have aftermarket engine parts or power adders that temp climbs up to where the optimal temp for the engine is. Which is much better than it climbing with a stock 192 tstat because hot wear is certainly worse than cold wear.

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So are you saying its kind of better to run a 180?