CTHEUSA08

Would there be any benefit to installing a 160 stat in a stock 2008 motor? I have an A6 tranny.... Plan on Chuck Cow "improvements" later down the road..

Thanks-

LS1LT1

Yes, there will be at least some benefit to doing only the t-stat alone, but certainly not a lot.
But doing it now will have you ready for later on once you start modifying further.

johnebgoode

160* is a definite plus as my Temps for coolant and Trans fluid dropped considerably . However the fans have to be adjusted accordingly to see these benefits. Your tuner can do this for you. Whoever you choose for a tune, ask if the computer will be locked or not.
This way should you have an issue where computer needs to be accessed you wont have a problem.
Happened to me once when I owned my 05 GTO. Had to pull everything out and send it back to tuner that was out of state. Food for thought.

pahlbfishn

Put one in, drive down to Houston on the 22-25th and meet Chuck. He'll do his magic for you.

FloydSummerOf68

Just putting in a 160 thermostat won't really help you in any way.

REVAK

While it won't lower coolant temps at idle without a fan reprogram, it will lower coolant temps @ cruising speed which can put you in a better timing program.

johnebgoode

Correct..........fans need to be reprogrammed, then you can benefit from it.

0Chuck CoW

YUP, What he said.....

Chuck CoW

LS1LT1

Yes the true/full benefits come only after resetting the fans of course, but there is still some minute amount of gains to be had from doing just the t-stat alone, in my opinion.

GarrettDavid

What do you use to "reprogram the fans"?? Are you referring to those programmers like hyper tech and diablo etc...

0Chuck CoW

We're not looking to make big HP with a stat install...

It's more for safety, insurance, and longevity....

That's a good enough reason for me and MY customers!

Nope, we're referring to a "Chuck CoW TUNE"

Chuck CoW

TJay74

Just to expand on this some, there are only 2 main timing maps in the GM calibration. A High Octane table and Low Octane table. Most of the time the vehicle is in the H.O. unless there is some detonation that pulls it into the L.O table under the decay limits are meet then it goes back into the H.O table again.

You will see benefits just from the stat as once you are moving normal airflow will be passing thru the radiator and will lower the coolant temps below the stock 187° thermostat opening point. The lower the coolant temps the cooler the engine will be running and the less the chance of Detonation/Pre-ignition/Knock Retard (KR) happening.

Having the fans reprogrammed is icing on the cake and yes it take a more specified program like HP Tuners, EFI Live and some of the hand held tuners to do this.

Chuck at COW would be someone you could search out to do this as well.

AirBusPilot

Seriously, don't waste your money on this gimmick. What you need is a manual fan controller. Working with the stock 187*F thermostat, you can easily keep your temps in the low 190's, which is the sweet spot for power. Too cold and you lose efficiency. Too hot and you get into the timing retard tables (starts at 212*F). Below is a ECT table for an LS7:


Plug and play switch:

http://www.southerncarparts.com/corv...tch-p-721.html

TJay74

That switch might be good if you have no plans of tuning the ECM, a tune can accomplish everything that this controller does as well.

Plus the 187° stock thermostat is nothing more than an emmissions control device, this is info that I got years ago from a automotive engineer. The hotter a vehicle is allowed to run the more unburnt fuel is burned off thru the combustion process. Nothing more, nothing less.

Even with a 160° thermostat you will still see temps in the 170° range a vast majority of the time, you will need to have the code P0128 turned off to where it does not trigger a SES light. If the ECM does not see at least 167° temps with in soo many key cycles it will trigger this light and kill all of the gauges in the cluster until the ECM or code is cleared.

AirBusPilot

What your engineer friend was really telling you is that a warmer engine is more efficient, which results in less unburnt fuel and less emissions. That's a good thing for emissions AND power. The colder an engine runs, the more the combustion heat in the chamber is leeched from the combustion process, and that is less efficient. Heat = Power.

As you can see by the chart, the engine is not having any timing retard until it sees 212*F.

On the road, the stock thermo will keep the engine in the mid to low 190* range, which is perfectly safe and warm enough to run your heater.

What I like about the switch is that I can keep the engine running in the staging lanes with the fan going and coolant temps run about 192*, and the oil stays nice and warm for the next run.

jpee

That is EXACTLY the switch I have, & I run the fan & electric water pump in the staging lanes with the ENGINE OFF... It will go from 200 deg to 150 in 5 min..

I was sure to also get an Optima Yellow Top battery...

When I got the "original" switch shown here it went bad in 3 or 4 months, & Casper the vendor sent me a new one where the actual switching part now mounts INSIDE the cars cabin (behind the passengers side) .. I can flip it (the fan) on any time I want weather the engine is running or not...

Now I have to contact Casper or someone who knows how to wire in a small RED light that I'll mount on the center console so I don't forget the fan in the ON position...

0Chuck CoW

Absolute NONSENSE. It's foolish to think that your fans are NOT overworked leaving the stock stat.

It has been proven time and time again that leaving the stock stat and simply turning the fans on more

makes the fans run too much in summer and aside from being WAY TOO LOUD, they have a

tendency in the C6's to actually MELT THE FAN HARNESS CONNECTOR leaving you with an

unnecessary repair and NO FANS ON THE HOTTEST DAY OF THE YEAR.

Anyone that thinks that it's somehow "smart" to leave the stock stat and force the fans

to FIGHT FOR AN ADDITIONAL 27 degrees for no reason NEEDS THEIR HEAD EXAMINED.

NOBODY...And I STRESS NOBODY has installed nearly as many 160 stats as I have in

the last nearly 30 years of modding and tuning cars.

It's a waste of an argument to take it any futher than this....

It just FREEKIN' WORKS and you're "SMART"
if you use a 160.

Chuck CoW

AirBusPilot

I have the new version switch.

I did an experiment to see how well it worked. I let the car idle in the garage until I saw 217*F coolant temp. I switched the fan on Hi and it dropped the coolant temp down to 192*F in about 4 minutes.

I havent' been to the track yet with this, but in the past I always had to let the car sit and cool for an hour, then basically push it through the lanes so it wouldn't get hot. Then do a burnout and watch the temp guage climb, hoping I could launch before it got too hot. Now, I can let the car idle in the lanes with the fan on and not worry about heat soak or timing retard.

AirBusPilot

No, what you post is garbage and has no basis in science.

First, you don't have to run the fans on Hi for more than a couple of minutes to get the temp down, then you can run them on low all day and night without a problem and it'll keep the engine in the right temp range (low 190's).

And this is for the strip, it's not something you run on the street (unless you have to for that quick race). When the fan switch is OFF, the normal fan schedule resumes per the factory programming.

You've yet to counter the science behind this, just whine about how long you've run 160 thermostats for 30 years. So what?

jpee

In the summer on a 80-90 deg day if I flip it on high it will cool from 210 to 190 with engine idling, however I have an electric water pump (Mizair) and after a run if the temp is 200 on the return road, I flip the fan on HI and drive to my pit spot, shut the car off and turn on the electric water pump...

With the water pump & fan running and the engine OFF it will go as low as you want in less than 10 min...

Just don't walk away from the car and forget the WP & Fan on... at my age its very easy to do...