I have a 160*F stat, and the car runs 172-174*F on the highway. and <187*F in the city. My oil temp runs 195*F - 212*F.

I always install a 160*F stat & lower the fan temps on vehicles that are not driven in the winter. The cooler operating temps allow more timing & less risk of detonation.

With a stock stat, your engine is at least 195*F at the start of a WOT run & will only get hotter by the end. Way too hot to make safe power.

Of coarse if the rad is full of debris, a cooler stat won't lower the operating temp.

Russ Kemp

 

And I sell ice in Alaska !

 

i know on the warmer days my car used to reach 230 or so at a stop light or in traffic..and would cool down to 195 to 210..that was not good enough for me..so i changed out the coolant fluid...and cleaned out my ac cond..and rad..after that i now i will maybe see 215 to 220..and at hwy speeds i will see 183 to 190 depending on temp out side.

 

Count me as another fan of lower t-stat. T stats are not an open closed switch either, a 160 will start to open and flow a bit at 160, most don't fully open for a bit more temp, say 172 or so. Same with a 180. It will not fully open at 180 degrees.

One issue with doing the t stat only is the diffrence in temps your engine sees. On the highway, the t stat will keep the temp down, in town it will not. The range then becomes to wide on the temperatures. Lets say you run at about 175 on the hwy, but run 220 in town. that is a big range. If you do both the t stat and the fan settings (mine come on much earlier, would have to look at the temps again to give you an actual spot) you can lower the temp, and also keep the range at an acceptable level. Like 175 to 195. Much better thatn 175 to 220.

Lower temps also help other areas. Lower temps in the engine, keep your oil cooler. You do want the oil to build a certain amount of heat to burn off water though, needs to get to about 200 on the gage so moisture will come out in the engine. 200-214 is a good spot for that I would say.

And better yet, if you have an auto you will lower your atf fluid temp. This will add life to theat 4l60e that Chevy blessed (yes, that is sarcasm) us with. Reason for this is, that the tranny fluid cooler is built into the radiator. Which means the fans help to cool that, and the surronding temps of the engine coolant will make a diffrence too. If you don't beleive this, watch your tranny temps and compare to someone who has done this. My tranny temps stock were not at a level that i am happy with,they were way too hot for my comfort. Just saying.

To the comments that if chevy wanted it that way, it would be that way. I don't keep my cars stock. And chevy made it in a way that fits its needs for EPA, fuel regulations, power at the time, etc. I promise my car makes more power than it did how chevy set it up. If you want to keep your car all stock, that is your deal. However, T-stats are not "selling ice in Alaska." Temps are set from the factory for the most efficent fuel use and lowest emissions to meet standards. I don't care about emissions, and want power. I also want tranny life, and heat kills tranny fluid and trannys.

 

Count me as another fan of lower t-stat. T stats are not an open
closed switch either, a 160 will start to open and flow a bit at
160, most don't fully open for a bit more temp, say 172 or so.
Same with a 180. It will not fully open at 180 degrees.

That may explain the temps I'm seeing.

Everything suffers from excess heat. Besides what you mentioned, there's belts, hoses, plastic connectors, heads, gaskets. The ac system works easier also

 

I watched my temps today, but it is a cool day. I run fans early (don't remember the exact temp, I think they are on full at 192 or something). On Highway, I ran about 174-176. In stop and go traffic it was around 184. It did hit a high of 187, but that was right after I had a little opening and let it open up a bit.

With this, oil got to 200 on gauge, and tranny temps pretty much stay really close to coolant.

 

Been debating on switching to a 160* or 180* thermostat. My Coolant temps are around 205 on the highway and get up to 225 in town. And my oil stays around 225.

 

Stock thermostat? Stock engine?

 

Start by cleaning your radiator & a/c condensor. A 180 stat won't run cooler than the stock stat, even on the highway.

Russ Kemp

 

A 180° stat will run 189° to 192° in 95° weather and never break the 200° mark.

 

A 180 will run 189-192 and never pass the 200 mark in the summerp

 

Cleaned them already.