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I havet an early style 160* thermostat I bought for my build only to find that the previous owner had an 04 water pump installed with the separate housing/thermostat design. So I’ve got a brand new, never used, 160* thermostat. This is the one piece housing/element design for all c5 years except 04. 40$ shipped.

So first question is will this fit my stock c5 5.7L and second question is why do people opt for a 165 vets stock 180 or 190? Is it primarily used on built motors that generate so much more heat. I mean in theory your car should run close to what the thermostat is rated at?

To answer your first question, yes, it will fit all c5 LS1 motors EXCEPT a 2004. Or if your car happens to have a new water pump that is from an 04. During the last year of building c5s, Chevy changed to a different water pump design that had a 2 piece thermostat versus a one piece.

Second question, I am not really able to answer your question accurately. But I can say you are correct when saying these are added to higher performance builds. Most/all big name performance companies will change out to a 160 degree thermostat and tune the electric fans to turn on earlier in an attempt to keep the temperature of the motor lower for better performance. It won’t bring the operating temperature down to 160, but it will usually lower a fully warmed up motor 10-15 degrees, which many will say aids in performance.

This topic tends to upset some folks if you really get into it if you jump on the search tool, you’ll find several of threads that answer both your questions in more detail from folks much more knowledgeable then me.

But anyway, if you’re interested in purchasing, let me know!

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