Just installed 170 stat(from Ecklers) temp on road dropped from 195-200and town from 200-220 to 190. I have read posts that say you only lose a little coolant on the change. This was on an o4 and I caught 1and 1/2 gallons in a clean tray to put back in. Change took 15 min. Brought the temp down where I am comfortable with it.

 

Nice! I put a 180 in my 97 and dropped 25 to 30 degrees in stop and go traffic Living here in Florida, I got scared more then once when my baby got up to 240!!!

 

I've have an 04 that I have been thinking about doing that to also, but I thought you had to reprogram the fan settings to get any benefit. What gives?

 

I didn't change my fan settings for my stat install...then I only went to a 180 Stat...I guess if you go to a lower one - say a 160 you should to get the full affect by programming the fans...

What I can tell you is, I was running a lot hotter then I was comfortable with...at a stop in traffic, I would climb well into the 235-240 range...it even started to run 220 to 225 on the highway...I did the radiator check for garbage stuck in the shroud and found very minimal debris. I changed to a 180 Stat and did a coolant swap with a bottle of water wetter and now the car stays in the 190's while driving and the occasional 210 to 215 in stop and go traffic. That's a major step down in temps for an all aluminum motor...

 

you guys don't have a clue about heat exchange.... using a lower stat will not lower your coolant temp one degree... a thermostat is designed to insure that your car temp wont go below the advertised setting...eg, when its 30 degrees outside cold air will cool the coolant to a point where is will get down to 100 degrees, the stat will close to insure the coolant will not go below the prescribed temp... running a 160 stat in the winter ( 20/30 degrees F ) is a big no no... having a lower thermostat means the stat will open sooner... it has nothing to do with heat exchange... that is a product of cold air transferring the heat from their cooling fins by convection. the colder or fast the air flows through the fins determines the heat exchange.. having lower fan setting will in deed help lowering the temps, but only around town... you can't lower fan setting to 170 if the stat is set at 190... the fans will never shut off, the fans are designed to cycle.,..using a 160 stat will allow lower fan settings.

 

Changing the fluid helps alot too, 5 years 100000 miles

 

While I agree with what you are saying- something made my temps drop 25 degrees or better...it wasn't fairy dust....

furthermore- would one not be correct in saying that a lower temp t-stat would cause the heat transfer to start earlier? If I lower my t-stat temps at opening by some 10 degrees the cars engine would quickly get up to my desired t-stat setting thus allowing the coolant to flow to the radiator and begin the heat transfer process earlier then if the car got to its old t-stat setting? I may only look dumb, but if my coolant starts flowing at a lower starting point, it only makes sense that the car would be cooler...

 

ttt

 

Hey! It's mister "I know everything automotive" again. And still giving out wrong info! You know a lot less about heat exchange than you think you do. The part you keep missing is that for the engine to cool you have to have coolant flowing. If the stat is closed the engine won't cool. So, if it opens at a lower temp, then coolig can occur through heat exchange in the radiator and the cooler water flowing into the engine. That is why, even without lowering the fan turn on temps an engine with a lower temp stat will run cooler. Now about running a 160 in the winter time, wrong again. If you would ever test a thermostat, you'd see the temp listed is when it STARTS to open. (At least a good trustworthy one) I have run a 160 year round since 2000 in my current Vette, and it doesn't run too cold. Consider, I'm running the heater to stay toasty, and the temp is 20 to 30 outside (happens alot in the desert at 5,000 ft) my coolant temp stays in the 170's (open road) to 180's (stop and go city). That's because the stat is only open enough for a trickle of coolant to flow through the radiator to cool. Most of the heat the engine wants to lose is going into the cabin through the heater (just another small ratiator). And, no, running in the 170's isn't so cold that it hurts the engine.

 

See what you started Tio J ames!

 

That is, as long as the car is moving, creating airflow through the radiator. When the car stops, that airflow also stops. Since a late model Corvette doesn't have an engine driven fan, the water temp will then rise until it hits the programmed turn-on for the fans, which is around 220-30 degrees.

 

 

I believe the evil one has forgotten more than you ever knew