Different thermostat ?
Thread Starter
Race Director
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From: SE Pennsylvania
St. Jude Donor '03 thru '26
Oldtimer
Different thermostat ?
Is there any real benefit to running a lower temperature thermostat over the stock unit on a otherwise basically stock C5 ? 
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From: Reno is so close to Hell you can see Sparks , State Of Confusion
St. Jude Donor '12-'13-'14
In my opinion a lower stat will start to cool the engine sooner, With that said you should also have your fans reprogramed to come on sooner.
Mr.Bill
Mr.Bill
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From: Winfield IN
I'm curious about lower temp thermostats as well and if the pros outweigh the cons. If you drive in cold weather, 20-30 degrees ambient temperature, is it stupid to put in a 160 degree thermostat? With a lower temp thermostat, arent you essentially decreasing the life of your water pump as well since it will kick on earlier and run more frequently?
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From: Reno is so close to Hell you can see Sparks , State Of Confusion
St. Jude Donor '12-'13-'14
I'm curious about lower temp thermostats as well and if the pros outweigh the cons. If you drive in cold weather, 20-30 degrees ambient temperature, is it stupid to put in a 160 degree thermostat? With a lower temp thermostat, arent you essentially decreasing the life of your water pump as well since it will kick on earlier and run more frequently?
Hmmmm, Hate to tell you, But as soon as you start your car the water pump is working, It is belt driven. If you only drive in 20-30 temps I would leave it alone.
Mr.Bill
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From: Winfield IN
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Without having the fan settings reprogramed, the 160 stat isn't going to do you any good.
Running a 160 stat in cooler climates will also cause your car to throw codes for low temp conditions
I suggest you do alot of research before changing your stat. I did and came to the conclusion in my case the factory 187 works well when all other parts of your cooling system are working properly.
Running a 160 stat in cooler climates will also cause your car to throw codes for low temp conditions
I suggest you do alot of research before changing your stat. I did and came to the conclusion in my case the factory 187 works well when all other parts of your cooling system are working properly.
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The lower thermostat simply allows radiator water into the block sooner. Changing only the thermostat will not (necessarily) lower the operating temperature. It could actually make it worse because it does not spend enough time in the radiator to allow the fans to cool it. If it really made a difference for the good, we would just take them out completely (until winter).
Basically "open" is "open" regardless of what temp it is. Once it gets there, it's just opened.The radiator and fans are doing the real work.
Basically "open" is "open" regardless of what temp it is. Once it gets there, it's just opened.The radiator and fans are doing the real work.
Thread Starter
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From: SE Pennsylvania
St. Jude Donor '03 thru '26
Oldtimer
Cool thremostat ?
I was under the impression that the lower thermostat also causes the EPCM to run richer and leaner after getting a signal from the temperature sensor which would read cooler with the 160 degree thermostat ? maybe not ? 