I am thinking about changing to the 160 thermostat. What would happen if i dont reprogram the fan?. I wanted to do the cam swap in the near future and have them tune it then....so i dont want to waste money on a tune just for the thermostat. Where exactly is the thermostat located on the LS2...is it obvious by looking for the upper radiator hose?

 

The thermostat housing is located about mid-height on the front of the engine, passenger side.

I suspect that you will not see much difference in the water temperature when you are not moving (i.e. stop and go traffic). The new thermostat will open sooner, but unless you have air moving through the radiator via the fans then you will not see any lower temperatures because the coolant temperature will continue to rise until it reaches what the fans are programmed to operate at.

When you are moving and air is circulating through the radiator, the coolant should show a lower temperature with the new thermostat.

 

Changing t- stat will not do much for you. The LS2 engine works well in heat. A 160 stat won't give you hp per se. A tune will give you more and can adjust for the lower temps.

Avalon

 

Do what I'm doing, wait until the tune to install the thermostat, that way there's only one tuning charge and the car will be fine until the tune.

 

Yes hotter is always better, that's why we all run SO MUCH faster in July than we do in December too. Kidding of course.
But true, thermostat alone will do little, you need to adjust the fan settings as well to achieve the full benefits of a lower temp t-stat.

 

Some people say that in hotter climates (ie south Texas) a 160 t-stat is the way to go. Any thoughts for or against that recommendation?

 

For (along with the requisite fan settings).
Forget TX, it was 98 degrees and humid here in NJ yesterday (will be even hotter/stickier today ), I'm so glad that I have that 160 degree thermostat in my LS1 Z28 (the Vette is next).

 

I never changed the therm in my 2000 T/A, but did get the Hypertech to turn the fans on earlier. That is far better than a lower temp therm, imo, anyway. In hot weather, track or bumper to bumper, a 160 therm is not going to cool down any better than a 190, that is to say, the coolant temp will be over 190-195 so full open at 160 or 190 makes zero difference. But the fans on at 185-188 keep it at 185-190. At least that was my experience. The Hypertech was worth it just for that feature alone.

 

just R+R stat wont do much ya have to change the fan on + offs dont look for any power jump but alot of things will last a few thousand miles longer . heat is one of the big auto tranny killers . my opine wait till youre ' broke in' and dont drop temps too much

 

I have always changed the therms in my cars to 160/170 from factoryhigh temps..... including 4 vettes

there is a faction on the forum that insists the car runs more HP on higher temps but i never saw anyone measure it,,,,, being an engineer and one for minimum tolerance for high temps in the passenger compartment, I have seen longer lives in engine compartment components including air conditioning life and no hose failures...

i have always tuned for the fan turn on or jumped the fan to on with a jumper.

I just sold my 1991 and it blows ice cold in the August Miami heat. I have never added r-12 or replaced any hoses due to failure........always ran at 170 degrees and heat worked fine on the 3 days a year I needed it.

I would say it is the single most important thing i did to my cars longevity second only to changing the oil....

Cool !
RN

 

I was told by my tuner to forget about replacing the stat as it will not do what you want to accomplish, i;e lower the temp.

The Ls2 runs a little hot, best mod is the bigger aluminum radiator. This is my next mod to be sure.

You can call Sean at orange county corvettes for more info. Best techa and dyno guy around.

 

For drag racing I guarantee with a 160 and reset fans it will help you launch at a cooler temp. If the LS2 acts like the LS1 then anything above around 195 and you will see you ET's starting to slow up a little.

Not trying to start an argument here but I have done this on many runs, and 180-190 is where you will get your best performance.

 

Without the fans being turned on earlier with a tune most of the time you'll see no difference. You may see it a bit cooler (more so in the winter) at highway speeds, but the engine will still get just as hot at stop lights.

 

I did the 160 thermo and well what a difference. Never gets above 180f even with Florida heat at 98f and the Ac on. Best simple mod I did and please do it yourself because it's far too easy to pay.

 

I have the 160 t'stat without reprograming the fans and I'm very pleased. Yesterday, the outside air temp was 106 on an interstate cruise and my coolant temp was 183 and the oil temp was 210. Before, with the stock t'stat, the coolant temp would push 225 on hot days and the oil temp would hit 250, so the 160 made a big difference in my car. Of course, sitting in traffic, the coolant and oil temps will rise to the stock settings, but that's not really a bad thing. A short trip into high oil temps will boil out any condensation inside the engine.

 

I drive to and from work in heavy traffic...so the mods would be just to get the coolant temp down....not worried to much about HP. The vette is my daily driver. I have been hitting at 210-220 in stop and go traffic here in Dallas....outside temp have been in the 100's...5 days straight

 

Temperature won't drop unless you have enough air flow to get rid of the heat. Turning the fan on earlier and harder is a must in stop and go traffic. Even at highway speed, if you're reading over the mid-190s now, a lower thermostat won't help. The stock stat starts opening at 187 degrees, and regulates the equilibrium temperature in the mid-190s. If you're running hotter than that now, a colder thermostat won't help, you need more air or a bigger radiator.

If you want to hold engine coolant temperature below the mid-190s, a colder thermostat and sufficient airflow to support the lower temperature are required. The main argument about thermostat set points is whether you want the thermostat to have any control authority at the desired engine coolant temperature or not. If you don't care that temperature will swing wildly with varying engine load and air flow, then a very cold stat will be fine. But if you want the temperature to remain tightly controlled so that you can tune most aggressively, then you need to select a thermostat which has control authority in the target temperature range.

Thermostats have a control range from the marked set point where they are just beginning to open, to 15 degrees higher where they are fully open. Once you choose a target operating temperature, you want to select a thermostat such that the target temperature falls reasonably near the middle of its control range. Then, given sufficient airflow, the stat will hold coolant temperature reasonably constant over widely varying engine load.

 

more inform to help your cooling.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1431370

 

Good info, as usual from Shopdog, and why I leave the stock therm alone.

 

Bet gas mileage drops after the change