stang99x said:
I knew someone would scoff at the no stat comment, but, lower operating temperatures lead to less wear in the long run. Running without the tstat during the summer only makes it run "cold" for a few minutes. Mine would run between (depending on day, temp, and traffic) 160 and 190 without the stat. Now ponder this; if you run cooler than average all the time, and the oil doesn't get as hot as it usually does, then the oil doesn't break down like it normally would and the lubricity (I know lubricity isn't a word, but it works) factor stays higher causing less wear and tear on internals, less buildup in the pan, and cooler engine bay temps for cooler air intake temps. Now, how can you dispute all those benefactory points?
More is not always better. Or less when discussing heat. First remember that hp is created by heat that makes the air in the combustion chamber expand. When the air has expanded, it forces the piston down on its power stroke. The more heat that is put into the air, the more power you will make. If the coolant is constantly taking away more heat than is necessarry, you will never make your hp potential. The coolant is meant to prevent damage to components at excessive temps (over 230 or so), and preventing detonation. If it does more than this efficiency (and thus power) is hurt.
For oil temps, ideal is between 200-230F. You should not consider your engine oil "warmed up" until 160F. That means no hard driving until 160F. You will not lose power until the oil reaches 240F. Oil will not break down until 265F. All of these numbers came from
Four Stroke Performance Tuning by A. Graham Bell.
While I cannot find the source right now I do remember seeing a table in the last couple of days that showed the steep rise in cyl wear as engine temps dropped. This means that running at 160F will dramatically decrease the life of your piston ring to bore seal. You will start to lose compression and thus power. Running at 180 would be better, 195 best (arguably).
Actually lubricity is a word
(although benefactory is not
).
Cooler intake air temps will produce more power, to a point. The problem is that anything in the combustion chamber must be heated before it will combust. This is the same concept as having to heat all the ice in a pan to melt it to water, before any of the water will boil. Using heat to bring things up to combustion temps is going to hurt your power and efficiency. Extremely cool temps will also weaken the atomization of fuel, which leads to incomplete combustion.
What I would recommend for your set up is to run a 180 stat and check your oil and coolant temps. If you really are having problems (based upon the temps listed above), make sure the coolant system is in good shape (flushed and a good mix). Try running syn. oil. This alone can lower oil temps, but is most likely not absolutely necessarry for a mild street car.
Your thinking is not that far off, you just need to keep in mind that when dealing with any automotive modification there will be a compromise.
