Thermostat Change

[mrual]

hey all

I`m thinking of changing my silverados thermostat from GM 195 to 180 anyone know if this will help in cooler engine.. and does anyone out there knows why GM puts such a high thermostat in all there cars and trucks ?? thanks

[Mikeee]

Emissions and driveability are the 2 main reasons.

 

Unless you make a lot of other upgrades and custom 'puter programing, stay with the 195.

[C & A s Dad]

I cannot be sure because I am not at work where I can check on the OE stat temp on an 06, but I believe it is 185 not 195. The other reason they want the engine to run a specific temp is fuel mileage. If you get it running too cool, you will see a nice drop in your MPG.

[mrual]

I cannot be sure because I am not at work where I can check on the OE stat temp on an 06, but I believe it is 185 not 195. The other reason they want the engine to run a specific temp is fuel mileage. If you get it running too cool, you will see a nice drop in your MPG.

 

 

thanks if you can check that would be great.. just wondering have a friend who has a 06 5.3 just like mine he changed his and said he got better mpg .. he did nothing other then change from oe air filter too K&N and thermostat i had a beer and watched , i looked at his mpg before he was getting 18.7 and went to 19.5 with the changes . though i would see if anyone here would think its a bad idea.. let me know thanks and the real strange thing is the temp stayed the same where it normally run before he changed it he said the thremostat opens at a cooler temp but run at the same temp ..

[C & A s Dad]

Unless there is a custome tune involved, I have never heard of anyone gettting better MPG by getting a motor to run cooler. In fact, on rare occasion a stat will stick in the open position and you can easily see a drop in MPG. I am traveling tomorrow but will see what temp these trucks came with.

[redvett]

I cannot be sure because I am not at work where I can check on the OE stat temp on an 06, but I believe it is 185 not 195. The other reason they want the engine to run a specific temp is fuel mileage. If you get it running too cool, you will see a nice drop in your MPG.

 

 

thanks if you can check that would be great.. just wondering have a friend who has a 06 5.3 just like mine he changed his and said he got better mpg .. he did nothing other then change from oe air filter too K&N and thermostat i had a beer and watched , i looked at his mpg before he was getting 18.7 and went to 19.5 with the changes . though i would see if anyone here would think its a bad idea.. let me know thanks and the real strange thing is the temp stayed the same where it normally run before he changed it he said the thremostat opens at a cooler temp but run at the same temp ..

 

 

Dont believe your friend. In actually the closer to 210 you are the better for fuel economy & long engine life. NASCAR teams try to stay at 210+F. Leave it alone and enjoy your truck.

[mrual]

I cannot be sure because I am not at work where I can check on the OE stat temp on an 06, but I believe it is 185 not 195. The other reason they want the engine to run a specific temp is fuel mileage. If you get it running too cool, you will see a nice drop in your MPG.

 

 

thanks if you can check that would be great.. just wondering have a friend who has a 06 5.3 just like mine he changed his and said he got better mpg .. he did nothing other then change from oe air filter too K&N and thermostat i had a beer and watched , i looked at his mpg before he was getting 18.7 and went to 19.5 with the changes . though i would see if anyone here would think its a bad idea.. let me know thanks and the real strange thing is the temp stayed the same where it normally run before he changed it he said the thremostat opens at a cooler temp but run at the same temp ..

 

 

Dont believe your friend. In actually the closer to 210 you are the better for fuel economy & long engine life. NASCAR teams try to stay at 210+F. Leave it alone and enjoy your truck.

 

 

I`m not believing my friend...when he told me this i wanted too see it myself i drove his truck because i wanted too see it myself he was sitting right next too me.. it ran at the same temp i still dont understand it it ran 1 tick down from 210

[mrual]

Unless there is a custome tune involved, I have never heard of anyone gettting better MPG by getting a motor to run cooler. In fact, on rare occasion a stat will stick in the open position and you can easily see a drop in MPG. I am traveling tomorrow but will see what temp these trucks came with.

 

 

if you could check thanks.. and no i thought the same me and my friend grew up together he as well as my self are too scared to mess with the programming of our cars as i said before i`m confussed i watched all he did was change his OE air filter to K&N and changed his thremostat too a 180 .. before i looked at his mpg on the dash went from 18.7 to 19.5 .. and it still runs 1 tick down from 210 i drove it wanted too see it myself strange stuff .. i`m confussed as hell with the changed thremostat it still runs just below 210 i had too see it to beleve it but i guess its true

[2500ak]

The point of lowering the engines operating temperature is to allow for more timing advance without risking detonation. Thats where the computer tuning comes in.

[C & A s Dad]

The OE stat is 186 degrees. The part # changes after 03 but they are both still 186 F. Of course, this does not mean the engine runs at 186, this is simply the point at which the stat opens.

 

Mine has the oe stat in it and runs 192 to 194 unless I am at idle for an extended period after towing on a really hot day and it may creep up to 200. The hottest I have seen it was 202. I am using a Interceptor Scan Gauge to read the temp since it is really hard to tell where the regular gauge is reading.

[mrual]

The OE stat is 186 degrees. The part # changes after 03 but they are both still 186 F. Of course, this does not mean the engine runs at 186, this is simply the point at which the stat opens.

 

Mine has the oe stat in it and runs 192 to 194 unless I am at idle for an extended period after towing on a really hot day and it may creep up to 200. The hottest I have seen it was 202. I am using a Interceptor Scan Gauge to read the temp since it is really hard to tell where the regular gauge is reading.

 

 

okay thanks for checking. i guess then with his truck with the 180 stat guess it just opens quicker but still runs just under 210.. still cant figure out how he went from 18.7mpg to 19.5 with just a K&N filter and this lower stat guess the combination of both K&N and lower stat worked..

[Cadha13]

I would not trust the "instant" fuel economy gauge, run a tank and count miles is the only way. Found out my mom's Impala's one was off and wont trust those things. What I need is a fuel flow meter to actually see the real time fuel use. Saw that on Mythbusters, and I believe it. Also, a K&N Filter is not as efficient as a paper element in trapping dirt.

[redvett]

The only practical way without a fuel meter is to make trips at the exact same conditions, speed, weather, load in truck are some of the variables. The average fuel counter is quite accurate but the best way is to fill up and drive until its low and refill, doing this many times for a good average.

Lowering the coolant temp will increase fuel economy due to the PCM adding fuel for a colder engine.

[xsports33]

if you have basically a stock engine i would keep running the stock thermostat. Even with basic bolts on you should really keep the stock one. Unless you're running FI or NO2, running a cooler thermostat will help reduce detonation and allow some advance in timing. Obviously tuning is a must. For the LSX engines, ideally you want to have colder IATs and hotter engines to produce the most power, especially when N/A.

 

To get the most out of a lower tstat you need to be able to tune your e-fans to come on sooner. Otherwise, in the summer you'll be running the same operating temp because your fans won't turn on until the stock setting. Unless you live in really cold climates your MPG won't be affected "that" much. You need to tune for closed loop to enable sooner so you stay out of open loop and don't kill your MPG.

 

I would stick with the stock thermostat if you're staying N/A with basic bolt ons. If you can tune for it, it "could" be a worthwhile mod because you can advance timing and compensate MPGs.

[willysts]

if you could check thanks.. and no i thought the same me and my friend grew up together he as well as my self are too scared to mess with the programming of our cars as i said before i`m confussed i watched all he did was change his OE air filter to K&N and changed his thremostat too a 180 .. before i looked at his mpg on the dash went from 18.7 to 19.5 .. and it still runs 1 tick down from 210 i drove it wanted too see it myself strange stuff .. i`m confussed as hell with the changed thremostat it still runs just below 210 i had too see it to beleve it but i guess its true

 

Mine runs 1 click below 210 and it has the the stock 185 deg stat in it. My '02 Fireehawk I changed it to a 180 deg stat and programmed the fans to come on the augment that setup and IT ran 1 click below 210. My 454SS I installed a 180 deg stat(it really did have a 195 stat stock) and it ran...1 click below 210...and last but, certainly not least, my '07 Cadi STS-V has a 185 deg stat in it(stock) and it runs...1 click below 210. So, I think that about 195 -205 where the stat is fully open and is normal for our engines with a 185 deg stat.