My tuner told me 160 stat is a waste of money because on the c5 the computer can only tune fans to turn on at 185. Is this true?..

 

no but I just removed my 160 and installed a 180. I didn't like the big temp swings I was seeing in the cooler weather. Also I didn't like the oil temp not getting high enough. With a 160* my water would only get to about 178* and even if I set my fans to come on higher. If it sat idle the temp would maybe get to 190 but as soon as it got going down the road it would drop. With the 180* and my fans set to 195 on and 185 off it runs around 190-192. If you have tuning software like HPTuners you can see and do all this pretty easily.

 

I've been having issues with my tuners at SPEED INC( deff not recommended for tuning by the way very cocky atitudes and they don't back it up throught their work in my case. Gave them enough chances to fix what they created and they can't; they just blame it on other things instead of saying their not capable of fixing it. It's that simply)so i just wanted to know if it's possible to turn fans on sooner so your saying it is. They said it can't turn on any sooner than 185 degrees. This is why i will not do business with them. Just to clearifly i had a very bad experience with this shop not saying everyone does, but i diffenently did. Gave them #'s of chances and they think surging is ok by them. Then be my guess and use them by almeans. GL

 

From my experience, most tuners to include Chuck Cow & ECS,
like for you to have a 160 degree stat installed prior to tuning.
Then they adjust your fans accordingly.
Good luck.

 

I plan on tweaking mine in the spring as well. I run around 178 in cool weather but my oil gets to 200 (barely). Thinner shim should do it.

 

Your method worked for me but i changed to a 160 stat because i thaught i did it wrong but it ends up yur way does work with the shimes. So when i ask tuner i have 160 stat but my car runs at 180 to 185 he said 160 stat is wast of money because lowest temp setting is 185 to turn on fans???? I'm going to try and make a switch to turn the 2nd fan on and off at my pleasure. So when i turn a/c on i'll keep both fans on all time.

 

ECS and I both agree...

YES, when your tuner has done as many as we have...

You know the correct fan settings to make sure it works properly.

Additionally, temp swings are usually due to a bad stat or install.... Air pockets etc.

It's VERY SMART to use it and if your tuner says NO....

Get another tuner.
Chuck CoW

 

that's for mail order tunes so they can give you more spark advance without you getting KA which leads to spark retard. If you have tuning software you have much more contol and can tune much closer. The 160* just gives them a wider save zone to hit. Since I have fine tuned mine to the new 190* running temp I'm not seeing any KA and the car feels stronger like it has more torque. I may have to swap it back next summer but in this cooler weather it sure likes the warmer temp.

 

I can unstand if your driving your car in cool/cold weather.
Especially if your catless in those cold conditions.
In my instance, it's just driven in warm to hot to hotter weather, &
I didn't say catless did I?

 

Not true!

 

that's what i did got rid of speed inc and in the process of finding a competent tuner in the chicagoland area.

 

The 160 stat.....does make the car run cooler and does give you the safety margin

I'm looking for.


If the car runs 20 degrees cooler, you can usually add a few degrees timing which increases the

torque that the engine produces.

Tuning for spark with temp is a careful balance.

You can NEVER trust the fuel at the pump... It's usually NOT what the pump says....

"UP TO 15% ethanol..." or 93 octane.... Never trust it. I don't.

So, running your car 20 or so degrees cooler makes everything last longer......

and the biggie here is that octane, temperature, and ignition timing all

have to be balanced to achieve the best performance with the least potential for pre ignition or pinging.

Spark knock will destroy your engine.

Don't take a chance.... Insist on a 160 stat.... You have NO CONTROL over the fuel....

(even though you think you do ) You tuner controls the timing.....

SO, the EASIEST thing to control is the TEMPERATURE.

We don't ever want the car running warmed up at 160 deg... But , properly calibrated and installed,

a 160 should get you 190-200 degrees in the summer, slightly warmer on the hottest days....

and slightly cooler in the winter....

BUT, overall..... our target is 190-200. Not 220-235+ NO WAY!

There's much more to the story, but all you need to know is....

GET A 160 STAT!
Chuck CoW

 

Hi,
You can turn your fan on/off any time you like with one of these!

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-t...l-product.html

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuck CoW

The 160 stat.....does make the car run cooler and does give you the safety margin I'm looking for. GET A 160 STAT!
Chuck CoW

I don't know if I'm asking this in the right place, or if I'm hijacking the thread, but I'm interested in the concept of running the 160-stat. I live about 60 miles from Chuck and with similar weather patterns. Today was cool, rainy, a bit foggy. I believe I've heard pinging under mild acceleration for the almost 3 months I've owned my car. I took out the Z, and took a ride to Advance to get some Techron. On that ride, I noticed that the car seems 'smoother, stronger, and after a while I realized it was pinging less, if at all. I then made conscious efforts to hear pinging or anything else, and my observations seem correct. Made me think of the cooler t-stat. BTW, the coolant temp stayed around 190-200 while underway. As a bit of history, I've owned cars since 1965, and my first one would react markedly to weather changes. (hard to start in rain, but ran great)
I even looked into 'water injectors' to see about helping that ill-fated car run better!!
Could the engine be running 'better' because it was cooler? I know there are lots of worms in this can, but these were my observations.
Thanks!!

 

BINGO! You WIN!

Quote:

Could the engine be running 'better' because it was cooler?

YES, that's how it works.... Less pinging and misfire....Better, stronger, safer....

I'll be the first one to insult and belittle the people that disagree.

Call me any time if you need anything.

I'm always here.
Chuck CoW

 

To answer your question, the tuner is wrong for 2 reasons.

The fans can be set lower.

The stock thermostat is about 195 so even if you used 185 for the fans you'd need a thermostat <180 to work properly.


Really, you expect 190-200 degree operating temps with a 160 stat? I typically see 195 to 205 with the stock stat unless I'm city driving enough to get it up to around 210 when the high fans are set to kick in. I would have expected a 160 to keep the engine temps below about 175 all the time with the proper fan settings.

Peter

 

With the fans set properly......ie: with a proper tune.

 

With the fans properly set you expect 190-200?

Shouldn't the low fan come on about 170 and the high about 175 if you're using a 160 stat?

Also, why why not just use a 180 stat if you're bringing the fans on to hold around 190 to 200?

I often read about the 160 stats running at 190 and it just makes little sense...

Peter

 

Exactly...You can use a 180 stat with lowered fan settings and keep engine at 190-200 easily. You do not need a 160 stat to accomplish that...

 

Pete... I've done this thousands of times and it works great the way I do it.....

I use a 160 and fan settings I've used in every climate around the globe....

REMEMBER when you talk about operating temp that climates in North America

vary from VERY COLD to TROPICAL WARM.

Nobody will ever have a perfectly stable temp year round unless your climate never changes.

With the settings I've used for years, the temps usually stay 190-200 for most of the CORVETTE DRIVING SEASON.

Most people don't drive their vettes in the snow and winter months.

WITH MY SETTINGS in New York for instance.... In the SUMMER the car should run 190-200 durring the hat days....

Brutal days will be 10 deg up. In the winter, without changing anything, you might see

the 179 or so..... Without changing the fan settings seasonally, there will be a change between

warmer and colder months..... NOBODY wants to change their fan settings seasonally....

What I'm after is to NEVER get over 110 on the WORST DAYS if I can help it...

Try to stay in the 190-200 range, and if you're out on a cold night or winter drive....I would like the temps to

be in 179+ range when possible....

However, if the temp should dip below 179 on very cold day, I'll take that with a smile

cause it's a totally fair trade off so long as my summer temps stay under 210.

Thousands of cars and trucks for better than 20 years I've been doing this makes it good

for me....and I would imagine that it should be plenty good for you.

MAKE SURE YOU INSIST on a 160 stat and proper fan settings.
Chuck CoW