'04 C5: Any recommendations on changing the stock 192 degree to either a 180,170 or 160? Is there any program changes that need to be made other than the fan program such as ECM? I'm afraid that changing the operating temperature could affect other specs on mixture, timing etc. Is it a good idea in the first place? I think lowering temps will extend life under the hood in general as well as boosting performance.

 

Look through the threads or do a search this topic has been done to death. Better yet ask Evil-Twin or 6Speeder.

 

You will get both sides of the argument and a bit more

 

If you talk to either Evil-Twin or 6Speeder, you will get two very divergent opinions. Me personally? I tend to agree with Evil-Twin. He definitely has the credentials and experience. 6Speeder also is quite knowledgeable, but I disagree with him on this one. What ever you do, don’t ask about which header or air intake is best.

Thanks,

Clayton from Las Vegas

 

if you have a cooling problem, buy a REAL radiator
leave the t-stat alone

 

This has been a HOT topic lately. Flame suits are recommended.

 

cooler engines make more power and that is a fact! They can run too cool, but a thermostat is not going to make a huge difference.

 

I can speak with some authority on this subject, but they are MY experiences, in MY car, in the conditions I experienced. I went with the 160 degree 'stat. I was a little concerned about it being too cool. But I usually ran at around 170 degrees and the oil temp was around 175-180, or so. With this 'stat in place, a 3.15 rear gear, a Blackwing air filter on an LS6 intake with the stock throttle body, and through the stock exhaust manifolds with a stock A4 trans, I ran a best of 12.89@ 109.97 m.p.h., and backed it up with very consistent high 12's at over 109 m.p.h.,which I thought was damn good for a stock motor through manifolds and an auto trans in a convertible. I did install a pair of Flowmaster mufflers and ran an LS1 edit tune, but I never even changed the plugs or runflat tires. I put 40,000 + miles on the car with the motor running so "cold", and I have not had ANY problems what so ever. Keep in mind that even if you could buy a 120 degree 'stat, if the fans don't kick on until it is at 220 degrees or so, it won't matter anyway!!

 

I will also add more controversy, I am sure, with this statement: It is a commonly accepted fact that cooler engines make more power. This is true in most cases, but maybe not this time, as we have had, up until the GEN III motors, aluminum intake manifolds, or EEK, cast iron, both of which ran coolant through them, warming up the intake charge far above ambient temps for emissions and for a faster warm up, which port F.I. have improved upon dramatically without resorting to hot water running through the intakes. I have a handheld tuner, a Predator, which allows me to see the ECM readouts in "real time". I ALWAYS saw the intake air charge temp drop as I revved the motor, and rise when at idle.The GEN III motors have no coolant running through them to warm up the intake charge, therefore the "cooler engine" power increase is not as valid on the GEN III's as it was on the traditional small block Chevy. I installed my 160 'stat to #1: make the ECM "think" the engine was still not up to operating temp., thereby increasing the fuel mixture (i.e., richer). Most any physics book you read will tell you that the hotter metal is, the less friction there is, up to a point. Obviously, you can't run it so hot it melts, but you get my point. I was shocked when I saw my cars fans remain off as the temps climbed over 220 degrees!! I thought they were not working. You can run the risk of running too cool though, and if the oil is not getting hot enough, it can't burn off the acids which form at cooler temps while it warms up when first started. And to exaggerate it, if your oil is only at 100 degrees, it is invariably thicker and will suck up power. Indeed, I actually lost power when I let my car cool off between runs. It ran best and most consistent when I made all my runs within 5 or 10 minutes of each other, the transmission and coolant temps were at their normal operating temps, and, believe it or not, the oil level was down about 1 quart! The earlier C5 cars had 6.5 quart capacity motors, and I figured 5.5 quarts should still be enough. FWIW!

 

Here again ,buy a bottle of water wetter at advance auto
it will bring temp
down to about 20 deg ,without changing anything,around 8 bucks
and no dirty hands,also good for engine,it worked for me!

 

I have heard different opinions on this, as far as it doesn't work with anti-freeze, etc. But I tend to listen when someone who is on this forum and has personal experience with a product, like you have said. That is why I said what I did in my posts, as "it worked for me" too. Do you know if this wetter works with the Evans coolant, which I am running in my car? Evans is a non-glycol based anti-freeze. I am considering trying it out, but may call Evans directly to see if they have had any hands on experience as far as compatibility with their coolant. If this water wetter works with regular anti-freeze based coolants, I am going to try it in my Jeep, which doesn't run hot, but spark knocks occasionally unless I run premium, which is above $300.00 a gallon here.

 

Hey, Good Idea!

Just don't ask them at the same time

 

I appreciate your reply. Thanks! I'm aware that the fans do need to be reprogramed to to keep the temp down to allow the 'stat to do its thing. From what I'm hearing, cooler temps won't affect any other variables such as timing, mixture, etc. On the other hand, it doesn't sound like a lot of improvement either. My C5 is a weekend driver w/13,000 on it now, bone stock. What do you recommend on exhaust? I'm looking for good sound and looks with no idle burble.

 

Stay away from that WW, it can cause the fluid level sensor in purge tank not to work correctly as it did in my '01 Z06.
If GM found WW during warranty work they can void it and this stuff over a few months no longer works well and alumnium does not transfer heat out as well as with steal blocks so that product does not work as well as with older engines.
The kicker is with WW is they want you to reduce the amount of antifreeze when really by doing that makes WW look like its doing the work when its because of less antifreeze and using more water.