Thermostat

[huntinfishn]

i recently purchased this truck, so i am going through it, doing pm and upgrading what i can. the guy that owned it ran a thermostat with the center out, so i installed a 160. just wondering if there are any downsides to running a colder stat. thanks

 

stan

[takethebounce]

i recently purchased this truck, so i am going through it, doing pm and upgrading what i can. the guy that owned it ran a thermostat with the center out, so i installed a 160. just wondering if there are any downsides to running a colder stat. thanks

 

stan

 

 

I don't know about the pre' 2000's but newer engines are designed to run at higher temps, 180 and above, I believe the gas trucks come with 190's? Could be wrong. Some people run colder stats to gain a little HP, the computer is tricked into thinking the engine is cold and runs a little richer, you can really hurt your fuel economy doing this as well. If there is actually any gain at all, I would be surpised if it is much. I live in a colder climate during the winter months so I prefer to stick to the higher rated stats so I get lots of heat!

 

In my last truck I went from a 195 to a 180 and it did run colder, but I ended going back to a 195 out of preferance.

 

If any of this sounds totally like BS, it is information I have picked up over the years, never really confirmed it with anyone.

[Zembonez]

I don't know about the pre' 2000's but newer engines are designed to run at higher temps, 180 and above, I believe the gas trucks come with 190's? Could be wrong. Some people run colder stats to gain a little HP, the computer is tricked into thinking the engine is cold and runs a little richer, you can really hurt your fuel economy doing this as well. If there is actually any gain at all, I would be surpised if it is much. I live in a colder climate during the winter months so I prefer to stick to the higher rated stats so I get lots of heat!

 

In my last truck I went from a 195 to a 180 and it did run colder, but I ended going back to a 195 out of preferance.

 

If any of this sounds totally like BS, it is information I have picked up over the years, never really confirmed it with anyone.

 

Someone please correct me if I am wrong here, but I believe anything newer than 96 (maybe older?) will run in "warmup mode" unless the temp is above 180. The computer basically never "sees" the engine as warmed up and enrichens the mixture. Not sure if this is enough to foul plugs but it surely has an impact on your fuel economy and could cause damage to catalytic converters if left unchecked. I know some programmers have a setting for running a cooler thermostat. I've used them on my vehicles and had the option but I left the high temp thermo alone.

[huntinfishn]

thanks for the replies, i feel you are both right, but i also have heard of running the cold stat to gain performance, so i may run this for a while, then switch to a hotter or oem stat to compare. i am convinced the more i think about it that the comp. would keep the truck in warm up, maybe even choke, i dunno, thanks again

 

btw, fuel milage and performance both kinda stink right now, lol

[dewfpo]

thanks for the replies, i feel you are both right, but i also have heard of running the cold stat to gain performance, so i may run this for a while, then switch to a hotter or oem stat to compare. i am convinced the more i think about it that the comp. would keep the truck in warm up, maybe even choke, i dunno, thanks again

 

btw, fuel milage and performance both kinda stink right now, lol

 

Running an engine at 160 temp when it's not designed or programmed to run efficiently at that temp will cause more harm than good.

 

DEWFPO