I've always wondered what people think they'll gain by running without one. 
Thermostat
Le Mans Master
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 7,353
Likes: 72
From: Graceland in a Not Correctly Restored Stingray
BTDT. For anything other than a fairly well developed system tailored to a given set of conditions (even then you'd likely end up regulating temp with racer's tape), better IMCO to run a lower temp stat than without.
Team Owner
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 37,637
Likes: 3,118
From: Crossville TN
Not having a stat will keep the engine low on temp for a significant amount of time. The engine "likes" to be at a good running temp....140F-200F....so that it will run efficiently and with less drag from thicker oil. With no stat, the engine will use more fuel and have more wear (until warmed up) than if it had one. The difference between a 160F stat and a 180F stat is miniscule, so take your pick. You could go with a 195F stat, but that was installed specifically to create a hotter engine and burn off more hydrocarbons; otherwise, it is not beneficial for the engine.
Race Director
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 15,892
Likes: 42
Racer
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 393
Likes: 3
The only thing that you will gain with no thermostat, is that you will not have a themostat stick closed 50 miles from home. But you have to have something in the housing to control flow. I've done this with absolutly no problems. A proper cooling system is going to run at 180-190 degrees regardless,but you need something to regulate the flow. My engine "warm up" time is still within minutes of running with 160 or 180 thermostat 
Last edited by 77C34SPD; Mar 19, 2013 at 03:23 PM.
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Instructor
Joined: Sep 2010
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I think you said that you wouldn't be driving your car when it was cold but I wanted to share a story. Back in college (many years ago) my friend had an old Saab and he took the thermostat out (can't remember why). We were driving from Colorado to Kansas in December at night. Sometime around daybreak the car quit running about 50 miles from Salina. Ultimately we found out that because the engine didn't ever heat up, the carburetor (flows air right?) had frozen into a solid block of ice, the linkage wouldn't work, so car dies. The ice block had to be chipped away with an ice pick. Lesson learned.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 2,023
Likes: 6
From: Austin Tx
There is some argument as to whether or not a 160 thermostat is hot enough, but running with an open or no thermostat is simply crazy in my opinion.
- from this article - http://performanceunlimited.com/illu...ermostats.html
Cylinder wear occurs when the engine is not up to operating temperature, that is the main purpose of a thermostat, to get the engine up to operating temperature as soon as possible, and to keep it there, thus reducing cylinder wear as much as possible.
Running without a thermostat will increase the time that the engine is running with increased cylinder wear.
- from this article - http://performanceunlimited.com/illu...ermostats.htmlCylinder wear occurs when the engine is not up to operating temperature, that is the main purpose of a thermostat, to get the engine up to operating temperature as soon as possible, and to keep it there, thus reducing cylinder wear as much as possible.
Running without a thermostat will increase the time that the engine is running with increased cylinder wear.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 2,023
Likes: 6
From: Austin Tx
Here's a link to a 2004 Clemson report on the creation of a model representation of engine cylinder bore wear.
http://www.clemson.edu/ces/camsil/pu...ns/jpaper4.pdf - Modeling of Abrasive Wear in a Piston Ring and Engine Cylinder Bore System
http://www.clemson.edu/ces/camsil/pu...ns/jpaper4.pdf - Modeling of Abrasive Wear in a Piston Ring and Engine Cylinder Bore System
Like any other complicated physical system, several wear
mechanisms contribute to the wear progression for the piston
ring/cylinder bore system. As reviewed by Becker, et al. (1), the
three important wear mechanisms mentioned over the years are:
corrosion, abrasion, and adhesion. Corrosion is the dominant
mechanism when the engine runs either very cold or very hot.
Abrasion results from the cutting and plowing action of hard particles.
Adhesion is usually described as occurring when the oil film
between the ring and the bore is so thin that metal-to-metal contact
occurs. Other wear mechanisms, such as oxidation and splat
delamination (Becker and Ludema (2)), have been reported also.
Generally, corrosion has been successfully reduced by the use
of thermostats and by the addition of corrosion inhibitors to engine
oils (1);
mechanisms contribute to the wear progression for the piston
ring/cylinder bore system. As reviewed by Becker, et al. (1), the
three important wear mechanisms mentioned over the years are:
corrosion, abrasion, and adhesion. Corrosion is the dominant
mechanism when the engine runs either very cold or very hot.
Abrasion results from the cutting and plowing action of hard particles.
Adhesion is usually described as occurring when the oil film
between the ring and the bore is so thin that metal-to-metal contact
occurs. Other wear mechanisms, such as oxidation and splat
delamination (Becker and Ludema (2)), have been reported also.
Generally, corrosion has been successfully reduced by the use
of thermostats and by the addition of corrosion inhibitors to engine
oils (1);