Yes, but this is not the coolant temp. Cooler intake air generally makes more power.

Peter

 

I run one on my 01. It doesnt hurt anything and my fans have not been re programed and my temp doesnt go above 180-185 in CA and before it would go over 200. So take it for whats its worth......................

 

Go for Hypertech 160 Thermostat, I do always recommended that...

I have installed it into my 2001 C5...and the coolant temperature ranges from 84 to 98 C in performance driving.

If your concern is about that your vette's engine is overheating...Go for it..and its going to be money saving decesion....NOT A MONEY WASTE

Good luck...

 

wouldn't lower coolant temps have the same effect, although not significant??

 

I'd have to agree with Bill. See stock Vettes on the road course go all day without any signs of slowing. Waste of time and money on a stock engine. Even on a H/C engine it is most likely not needed. If you have knock, then it could help, if not then it would not help. Actually, on my H/C engine I found it to make it run worse (less power) and it made me fail an emissions test as well as lowered gas mileage. But, I'm at high altitude, that may lessen knock.

A highly modified engine or FI then its a different story.

 

Actually a good, informative thread w/o anyone getting his nose bend out of shape. It can be done!

 

By lowering the motor temps (& possibly the engine compartment) with the 160* setup I would think you could possibly have slightly lower IAT's (incoming air temps) as I posted earlier so I would agree with you its possible imo but like you said not signficant.

Just so I am clear on my previous posts above my understanding of how the 160* w/fan settings reprogrammed.


1.Evil Twin (from GM) with his knowledge recommends running a 160* w/fan settings in hot weather and ECS who have tuned thousands of cars though the years recommended going with the 160* with fan settings with their 93 octane tune I trust their recommendation with their knowledge and experience and is reason enough imo to run a 160* w/fan settings on my car imo.

2. The above is reason enough for me to go with it but IF the following is also true if my research is correct that on very hot days 95-100+ degree days if your running a stock stat w/coolant temp at around 230 or 230+ on some occasions (not all the time) going wot though the gears (on the street or ¼ track) car could pull some timing which would result in a little loss power. But with the 160* in with fan settings car can be at around 190* on the same day and you start off going wot though the gears and chances are less that timing could be pulled which would result in no loss of full power then this is another reason to go with it.


3. Also if its true on a 93 octane tune you can increase timing a little (or be a little more aggressive with tune settings/parameters) due to the 160* with fan settings and this will also produce a little more power then another positive and reason to go with it.




I rest my argument for the 160* setup.

 

Lowering the engine coolant temperature alone, will have very little effect on the incoming air temperature. At WOT, the high velocity of incoming air has too little time to be significantly affected by other sources of engine heat.

 

Yes I agree with what your saying above will have very little affect on IAT thats why I said possibly (not for fact) slighlty lower IATs.

 

 

I just installed a 160 deg thermostat after my car was tuned. I hated that in the summer it would run 198 down the freeway and get to 217 or more in stop & go Traffic. Now she runs 171 down the freeway and I have yet to get it over 180 in traffic. England Green set the high speed fans to come on earlier and before the change they ran a lot for the few weeks. They have yet to come on since the change.
I personally like the car running cooler.

 

I find it very hard to believe that a thermostat will stop the fans from operating. The engine still produces the same amount of waste heat and if the fans were required before to remove the heat then they will still be required.

I'd still like to see proof of a stock engine pulling timing. Otherwise, it's just another unproven theory that has been told so many times that it's taken as truth.

The difference in engine temp will have no significant effect on the intake air temps. Both ways, the air will pick up a little heat by passing through the hot intake tract and a 20 degree difference in the temps of the air intake tract will really have little effect in the amount the air is heated.

I do find it interesting that the NASCAR teams are now trying to run the engine about as hot as possible without boiling off the coolant. Typical seems to be around 240 degrees nowadays and goes completely against the old theory that anything over 180 degrees is bad for performance.

Peter

 

http://www.arrowheadradiator.com/14_...utomobiles.htm

 

if you understand that the internal engine clearances were setup for the engine to run at hotter temps, then the cooler temps will promote things like slight piston slap, improper ring sealing, loose lifters in the bore, excessive crankshaft clearances, excessive valve clearances, or changing where the lifter plungers ride in the lifters, etc.
If all you care about is getting the maximum Hp and torque from your engine every minute of every operating hour, disassemble the engine, and reset all the clearances for colder engine operation.
But as has been previously pointed out, the engine in WOT will generate more heat because you are extracting more energy from that engine in a shorter time frame, the clearances have to be opened up to allow for the increased dimensions in a WOT environment.
If your engine is designed to operate at 200* average, then you have what you get when you bought the car stock.
If you modify the parameters of operation, you have to modify the engine to operate in those perameters, not change the efficiency of the cooling system or it's designed-in operating baseline to make your mind rest easy when it reaches the expected design conditions.

 

According to my research the ls1 motor was designed to run 190*-235* so running a stat and knocking down the temp w/fan settings if your car sees 220-235+ degrees in summer months to 185 -195 degrees coolant in summer months is fiine according to my research (ET from GM) which would be up to a 45* degree cooler temp depending on what your car sees in the summer months.


Check quote below by ET from GM

 

I can only tell you from memory (haven’t driven since winter) in my case my fans come on more often imo since they are set to come on at around 190* to work with the 160* to keep temps lower. Soon as my car gets around or above 190 both my fans are on. When it drops below around 185* one or both fans go off. Cruising the temps are around 180-190 but when stopped in traffic temps start to climb both fans come on around 190 and keeps temps around that area still I start moving again. For the record since having it installed in around Sept -09 I have only been in weather temps of high 70's to low 80's.

Not saying there is timing being pulled for fact but did read that if the car runs hot on hot summer days its possibly wot this can happen on some occasions and more so with 91 octane. Not saying this is fact. Also in case you missed it if you read my post on previous page I posted a link to a guy who dyno his car 3 times two different tuners said timing was being pulled on his basically stock car. I am not saying due to running hot just shows timing can be pulled on a stock basically car and I don't think the driver could tell before hand imo from the sound of it.

Not disagreeing with this (some cars see a 30-40 degree drop in coolant temps) but with over all temps, motor, engine compartment, heads intake manifold being running slightly cooler could it be possible you might see slightly lower temps going into the combustion chamber? I can’t answer this as I don’t know for fact but would think its possible but not significant. I wonder why I see cars ice down their intakes at the track on hot days if the transfer rate of air coming is to quick to make a difference just a thought but do not want to debate this.



Side note/disclaimer
I am just debating this subject with you guys and just sharing info I have researched and I read so take for that only not as fact.

 

There is/was a forum member by the name of Evil-Twin who is retired from GM and did a lot of the work on the C5 cooling system. Do a search for the terms "sweet spot" and read his posts and the results of the GM testing on these motors. He has a recommended coolant and oil temperature that he deems ideal for both longevity of the motor and performance. I have attempted to set my car up to remain in his recommended zone and in doing so modified my own thermostat to open at a slightly lower temperature and also updated fan settings and went to a DeWitts radiator. This was all in an attempt to keep my coolant and oil in the range he recommends and also keep the temperature fluctuations reduced to a very narrow range. Since I don't drive the car in the winter it is easier to accomplish.

 

See my post #36 that is who I am quoting I also posted a link on the previous page to Evil Twin post about this

 

Yes, saw that. Unfortunately he has not posted in quite some time and I am not sure some know who he is at this point.

 

Oh got it ok sorry.