I have one sitting on my shelf and was wondering if I should throw it in my car or not? What are some benifits, also are there any negative sides to running it cooler, because I have heard that a 160 is bad to use. So all input is good... Thanx
Well, I put the 180 on because the old one broke and took my heater with it (hense my sig). You're gonna get arguments both ways on this one too but as long as you already have it, why not throw it on?
one of those things that are subjective. theoretically, one should not need a colder stat than stock. however, our cars are older and not so efficient. so if you are running hotter than you would like (radiator and other cooling system stuff not workin as well as it once did), a 180 is sort of a band aid or crutch to help it out.
the best thing to do is replace/renew parts to get the system back up to par, but most of us cant afford to do that...........
IIRC the puter hits closed loop at 178*, so that is a magic number to look for.
i know of some whom run 160's and have decent milage. i think their system is not up to par, and they still run 180-ish or more.
one can also use a 170* stat from an infiniti if desired (i know you have a 180 already).
as for bad sides - i cant think of any. i live where it is very very hot, so i dont care much. i do whatever i can to keep the motor cool. if you are running too cool, that is bad. oil and the motor itself needs to be decently hot (for efficiency and performance), but in the real world, i dont want to be on the outer limits of that realm. plus you guys run hot and have detonation issues anyhow.... as long as you are makin it into closed loop, you should be running fine with no ill effects.
I dont know what my temperature was before I got it (installed gauge recently), but now the car runs at MAX. 190* at all time with a 1/2hour drive. I also changed my settings with my EEC Tuner to make it run cooler a little. It gets pretty dam hot and humid around here sometimes..
I too have a 180* thermostat that I have been meaning to put in for six months but haven't found the time. I still have the stock thermostat. I just got rid of my pinging and detonation problem so switching to a 180* won't bring it back will it?
I'd say toss it in! The benefits from using a colder temp'd thermostat is that it's SUPPOSED to begin cooling the block before it gets so hot. With a stock 195* stat, the blocks gotta get to 195* (or so) before the stat opens to cool it to the radiator. With the cooler stat, it opens at 180* and begins cooling from there. Going on the age old recipe, you want cooler air for a denser charge and that equals more HP. By not letting the block get so hot - it'll keep the transferred heat from the block from getting to the intake, creating the denser air. However, you need the engine to get relatively hot to be able to make an efficient burn. Too cold and it won't run right either - kinda like when you first start driving you car in the AM and it takes a bit for it to run "normal". Too hot, and it runs like poo too, pinging and all.
Another thing to keep in mind, seeing you are from Canada ... you don't wanna run anything lower than 180* because you will want heat sometimes. 180* is a good median temp for a stat. You may not get as hot of heat from your heater (why the OEM stat is 195*) but it (in theory) will help ya out on performance.
if you are where it is hotyou might want ot try this ,in the summers on the ol 390's in the Mercs we used to take the thermostat right out to allow better flow...lets face it when its hot its hot..and I always am running my manual switch on top of my 180 thermo..and it always runs alot better that way
I am not gonna say always ... but a lot of the time, removing the thermostat makes the coolant flow too quickly and doesn't allow the radiator to do its job. The stat slows the flow down a little so that the coolant stays in the radiator longer, allowing it to cool itself off. Just a little side-note.
I recently installed a 180* t-stat to replace the 192* stock one. I also installed 2 of 3 U/D pullies. My mileage has gone up about 1-2mpg on average AND I can run 87 octane w/o pinging, before I had to run at least 89.
Something to keep in mind is that your stock electric fan will still NOT switch on until it's over 200* IIRC(208* pops to mind, but not sure if that's right.) On my car, for now, since the A/C isn't working, I just switch it to A/C when idling so the fan will come on. That may only be an issue because I have the U/D pullies.