Andy H

Is there any advantage in choosing one over the other?

I know that the engine produces more usable power when it's cooler but heard that 160 degree thermostats don't close all the way.

Which one is better for street use?

Sandra Bigwoode

If the engine produces more power running cooler, try removing the t-stat altogether, at 140 F. you should be making *tons* of horsepower...

Geneus

Maybe you should tell him to put ice water in his radiator. Wait a minute, maybe you should just let him tap into your veins for some. :p:

Andy H

I never thought of that. Come to think of it, I could move out of FL up to the great white north and save myself the cost of a H?C upgrade

Sandra Bigwoode

You are a funny man with comments like that; but the reality is that I have normal human blood at ~98.6 F. running in my veins and arteries...

Evil-Twin

OK I now have a Big Woodie in my pants...So many people post their suggestions on this forum with no basis to comment..Some people should stick to network consulting. Because your comments could do some serious damage to someones engine...
Running an engine too cold, that is: coolant temps and oil temps will do considerable damage to your motor... eg cabonization of the cylinders, increased compression, engine knock , loss of power etc..
Having colder ( denser air ) entering the intake, is way different than running a cold engine..
These engines run well around 180/190 coolant temp, with oil temps in the 210 220 RANGE.
Now to answer your question about a 160 over 180 stat.:
first of all a 160 stat is closes below 160, that why it is called a 160 stat...its there to make sure your car does not run to cold... thats why ist designed into the cooling sytem... it also helps with geting the car to operating temp... and also to get heat to the HVAC sytem in the winter. A 160 never stays open alittle unless it is defective.
the difference between a 160 and a 180 is you can program your fan setting to come on sooner which is an advantage on a sweltering summer day in Florida when the road surface temps can get to 160 F on a black top road... this is the air that is used to transfer heat from your cooling sytem.. you do not get much cooling at 160F.
A stat is there to make sure your car runs no cooler than is designed temperature.. inother words it closes when the temp gets too cold..
once the stat is open, it has no effect on how Hot your coolant gets..
if its hot enough and your not moving.. the heat transfer will be minimal, thus making your coolant temp go up... with a change to a 160 stat and some editing (LS1 preditor ect) or a Fan controller, you can get a head start on keeping the coolant cool buy starint the fans earlier.. many people with a 160 can still see temps in the 210/220 range under the right condidtion.. Arizona, 110 in the shade.. road surface temps 160/180... I hope this makes more sense than removing your stat all together..

TomT

WOW! What an explanation! I agree. Now, go buy the 160.

TopCat

Well said, Evil. You and I basically agree on this one, however, we all hear about different optimum temps. I've heard @ 176 on coolant and 200 on the oil. The oil temp came from a friend that used to race modifieds on dirt tracks locally. They didn't even worry about coolant temps, just oil. I remember this info when driving and don't stomp on it until the oil temp is around 180F. Coolant heats up much quicker.

Question: I haven't tested an LS-1/6 t-stat on the stove. Does it pop all the way open at the rated temperature (some are made that way) or does it, as I suspect, open partially at the rated temperature and doesn't open fully until 10-15 degrees above its rating? This will explain a lot about why a 160 t-stat, with a stock radiator, will typically result in 175-185F coolant.

By the way, the answer to your question is 160F t-stat with optional 180F in the winter if you're coolant consistently falls below 170F. I don't remember the trigger temperature exactly, maybe Evil can help, but if you go too low, the PCM triggers a number of things to prevent driveability/economy/emission problems and you will drop the amount of power. Remember, the gas needs to vaporize completely and it has to have the right amount of heat to accomplish this....too cold an engine will prevent a good combustion mixture. Too hot an engine will increase risk of pre-ignition/detonation and wears out the lubricants quicker, including the trans fluid if you have an automatic since the fluid is cooled through the radiator also. There's more to it, e.g. the PCM and fan settings, so I'd search the forum and the net and get more familiar with it.


TC

6Speeder

You know Sandra, just by reading a sterile post, it's hard to tell if a person is joking or being a dick. I'll assume you were joking. As for choosing between the two, get the 160. That's the temp that it JUST STARTS to open (or closes completly if you wish to look at it that way), so it's not the temp your car will stay at when running. Using a 160 Vs a 180 will give you more tuning "headspace" for additional HP. Because it keeps the engine a little cooler it cuts down on combustion chamber hotspots which cause detonation, so you can run more spark advance without KR kicking in. This is assuming you reprogram your fans to come on sooner. Just as a data point, here in NM it does get HOT and with a 160 in my 11.4:1 CR engine I run 31 degrees of WOT timing on 91 octane gas, and get no KR. I have run this setup for 4 years, summer and winter, and it works great. In the summer my coolant temps stay in the 175 to 185 range, winter is 170 to 185.

The only downside is the computer algorythm sez I should change my oil at 5,000 mile intervals because of the slightly cooler running temps. Works for me!

TXSTICK

Just about every post she has made on the forum is negative.

BHP

To give you an example, I just tested the new SLP 160* t-stat for the 2004 cars. In a pot of 50/50 glycol using a calibrated digital thermometer:

Opens at 168*
Fully open at 182*

Evil-Twin

First of all IM not even sure Sandra is a female...maybe just a troll here to make trouble... and not even a C5 owner.
Secondly if this isn't true, I apologise, but your "Jokes" could cause some people some serious and costly damage...many newbies come here for help and expect to get good information here... so cut it the *** out

Mr. Jones

i run the 160 stat, factory rad. and lower fan temps not sure exactly where they are set I think the first fan temp is on at 185.
with some extra hp in the motor my summer results are 178 to 182 highway temps (coolant). 207 to 217 oil temps.
sitting or very slow speeds show 190 to 195. i think the 195 is the typical high temp I have seen.

with a 180 stat 190 to 195 was the low temps read. this is basically the same as the stock 195 stat for the low side temp. I don't remember much else about the 180 stat only kept it for about 200 miles. No winter info to pass on

90 droptop

Maybe IT will go away.

sxeC7

Hey! Doesn't anyone enjoy sarcasam anymore? As for people getting wrong idea,this temp thing has been beaten to death. Need to post a sticky in big bold letters advising newbies to check before they ask the same old questions.

vettethret

I just took my 180 out because my car was running a little to warm after the L.A.P.D. TUNE. As soon as I put the 160 in it was great. Its been 90 degrees plus and I never run over 194. With the 180 I was going to 215. This was with the seconfary fans set at 195. The 160 is great with tuning

Evil-Twin

It isn't an old question to a newbie....
part of the fun of the forum is to help people, some interaction.. and trying to walk people through their first corvette repair experiences... sosome of these "Newbies" are getting life lessons here about brake repair etc... they ask because they dont know... some can become great back yard mechanics.. with alittle help from us who have some experience... so be tollerant of the newbies... we all were new once..

RWE 427

100%

sxeC7

Hey! Didn't mean that we shouldn't be of help to anyone who needs it. Just thought that advising people to review past posts for answers would save time and server space.

TXSTICK

A little fun is not a problem, but I am following a few other posts that sandra is doing the same thing in, full of negative stuff. Flaming the new guy. Maybe the new guy/gal needs to be told about searchs. They might not have been on a forum before.