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Which thermostat to run?

679 Views 6 Replies 5 Participants Last post by  BRYAN_93LX
About 4 or 5 months ago i pulled my thermostat housing off to put on a new gasket and while it was all off i noticed i had a 160 thermostat. Recently iv been seeing that im getting some weird temps so im gonna replace it. My question is if i should put in a 180 degree stat instead of another 160? My cars an everyday driver in the 90+ degree florida heat.

Thanks.
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Personally, I'd go with a 180.
you can run either one it really isn't going to matter, what matters is how efficient the rest of the cooling system is, water pump, fans, and circulation. Once the engine is up to temp the t-stat pretty much remains open anyway, unless you're in sub temperatures. On older and or high mileage cars I like running the 160 but it's one of those never-ending arguements.
Look to make sure your radiator is not clogged up or full of crud. Also I would probably slap a 180 in there also.
Dynobrat, I have to disagree with your statement. With a 160 degree thermostat either 2 things are going to happen. First, if his cooling setup is good enough to keep the temp down that low his engine won't hit 170*, which is the point where the computer shifts from open to closed loop. The engine will ignore his 02 sensors and instead use it's lookup tables. Second scenario is that his cooling setup can't efficiently keep the temp down that low. The tstat eventually stays wide open due to temp which doesn't allow the coolant to stay in the rad long enough to dispel enough heat. Temp goes up and he possibly overheats.


At the same time, @ 190* the computer pulls 2* of timing. This is why tmoss has stated that 180* tstat is best for performance applications.

BTW, These figures are for the A9L. He's done the MAF conversion so I assume this is what he's got.
Look to make sure your radiator is not clogged up or full of crud. Also I would probably slap a 180 in there also.
My water pump is just fine but my rad is not. Its got a leak were the plastic tank goins the side of the rad so its getting replaced this week. And as long as iv owned the car its ran some-what hot, around 210+ on the hot days before the Taurus fan, now it still floats around the lower 200s, hotter then id like it to be. So im thinking the 160 is flowing the coolant out of the radiator faster then it can cool, hopefully that's my problem. Ill probably switch it out when i get the new radiator

BTW, These figures are for the A9L. He's done the MAF conversion so I assume this is what he's got.
And a correction, i dont have the MAF conversion done yet. Sorry that's my bad, my sig kinda makes it sound like im saying i have it done already
Dynobrat, I have to disagree with your statement. With a 160 degree thermostat either 2 things are going to happen. First, if his cooling setup is good enough to keep the temp down that low his engine won't hit 170*, which is the point where the computer shifts from open to closed loop. The engine will ignore his 02 sensors and instead use it's lookup tables. Second scenario is that his cooling setup can't efficiently keep the temp down that low. The tstat eventually stays wide open due to temp which doesn't allow the coolant to stay in the rad long enough to dispel enough heat. Temp goes up and he possibly overheats.


At the same time, @ 190* the computer pulls 2* of timing. This is why tmoss has stated that 180* tstat is best for performance applications.

BTW, These figures are for the A9L. He's done the MAF conversion so I assume this is what he's got.
+1
Go with a 180. However I have heard if you have aluminum heads then go with a 190.
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