hey guys. i have a 160 degree thermo in my car. i live in st. louis. the gauge has never got above the 185 mark. would it be smart to put the stock thermo in or like a 180 degree one? will it run better? thanks

 

Are you having a running issue now? Heat is one of the leading killers of engines and at 185 i would say she is right around the perfect running temp for a aluminum engine car.

 

Are you having issues with it? Theoretically running a little cooler is better since it allows you to push more timing advance. What sort of issues are you having?

 

lt1's arent aluminum engines,just heads in the fbodies.160 is perfect.

 

no im not having any problems at all. i was just wondering if it would help or hurt the engine in the long run to run a certain thermo. and out here, it gets pretty cold in the winter and i may drive my car on the cold days.

 

It's not going to cause any problems, you're more likely to run into drivability problems with your TB coolant bypass than with the 160 thermo. That said, driving the car in the winter with a lower temperature means your heater doesn't work as well, but it's not going to hurt the car.

 

These engine were designed to run hot by the factory, and can run safely up to around 240 degrees, assuming the cooling system is good an there is enough antfreeze in the sytem. The fans are programmed to come on at around 220 degrees, and a 160 deg. thermostat will not make the engine any cooler in traffic, as the temperature will continue to rise until the fans kick in. Using no thermostat allows the coolant to circulate too fast to remove heath properly and will make the engine get hot in summer and cold in winter. Put the stock thermostat back in and you will have no temp problems.

 

the only problem I can see is in the winter someone said less heat I did a 160 thermostat in my s-10 years back and i had no heat in the winter I acually put a piece of cardboard over a quarter of the radiator just so the defrost would work.

 

What made you use a cold air intake instead of the ram air?