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When I supercharged my car (procharger + vertical intercooler) I also changed my t/stat to an AMP Billet thermostat housing with a Motorad 160f stat. Ever since then I've been fighting to keep the temps down. The car would run as hot as 250f and this was without even racing it hard. I thought it was just because the procharger intercooler completely blocks any fresh air from getting direct to the radiator, and as I'm spinning the procharger hard it was probably dumping a lot of heat.
After replacing my radiator with an aluminium one, and even cutting a slot in my crash bar to get more air to the radiator, I was still only able to get my temps down to 230f.
Then I decided to look at the thermostat. The rubber seal around it had perished, but aside from that it felt like it was still operating fine. Regardless, I removed it.
I took the car on a VERY hard drive with no stat installed...it didn't go above 200f the entire time. In fact most of the time it was running at 190!
So what's the deal? Is the thermostat bum? I feel like not running one at all as my car gets up to 160f within about 10 minutes of driving without it.
I should also add that when I installed my AMP hosuing and thermostat I noticed that the thermostat appeared to be a bit big and had to be compressed to get it to bolt down. I asked AMP about this, and they said that it was totally fine and normal. Maybe unrelated...but I always thought this was weird:
The t-stats in these cars are trash. I have every cooling mod possible on my car (LG kit, CSF radiator, CPR tank, DSX manifolds, etc) and I changed to a 160 tstat and it failed within 8 months. CR started running warmer and temp would fluctuate a lot. Changed it again to a lingenfelter one and it’s fine for now. I saw a thread somewhere where somebody on the forum somehow modified it which was supposed to make it more reliable.
I wouldn't say removing the thermostat is the proper thing to do especially on these newer model vehicles, but I personally have done it in the old muscle cars that I drove for years, big blocks and small blocks. They were not driven in the winter when I needed heat but in the summer they would tend to run hotter than I wanted them to especially in traffic, so I would remove the thermostat and the engines would run between 160 and 180 consistently and never overheat. I personally don't see any problem with removing it as long as the engine is not running extremely cool and is getting up to a normal temperature.
The ONLY aftermarket T-stat that isn't trash is the Katech. You're better off sticking with the stock 194 degree unit if you can't get a Katech. I've tuned multiple cars that had this issue with aftermarket trash t-stats. Put the stock one or Katech one back in, problem solved.
The ONLY aftermarket T-stat that isn't trash is the Katech. You're better off sticking with the stock 194 degree unit if you can't get a Katech. I've tuned multiple cars that had this issue with aftermarket trash t-stats. Put the stock one or Katech one back in, problem solved.
I agree with that. Been there and done it. I like my stock T stat and its back in after I've tried after market T Stats and even with the aftermarket housing/t stat.
Last edited by 99vetteran; Apr 19, 2021 at 03:04 PM.
I'm beginning to wonder why I should even bother with a t'stat tbh. Today it was 60f outside (the coldest I would take the vette out) and I went out on a long drive with no spirited driving. Within 15 minutes the oil temp was at 200f and the coolant was 170f. After about 30 mins the oil temp hadn't gone any higher and the coolant was at 180f. I personally feel like these are ideal temps? Hot oil, but cold(er) coolant? Even with the stock tstat my coolant temps havent been that good. I would always see 210f.
I agree, main job of the thermostat is to get the engine up to normal operating temperature quicker and to get the heater and defroster working in cold weather. I don't drive my car in cold weather so I don't need a heater, it has been my experience that thermostat's stick closed more often than they stick open which overheats the engine, very seldom do the stick open, if they did the car won't overheat but your heater won't work. A lot of times the engine overheating is because the cooling fans are not working, if that is not the case, I have never seen a problem in running without a thermostat and letting the engine gradually get up to 160 to 180 degrees and stay there.
NEVER run without a thermostat! If the coolant isn't in contact with hot metal long enough to transfer sufficient heat (flowing passed it too quickly), guess what, the sensor, in the coolant shows artificially low.
The ONLY aftermarket T-stat that isn't trash is the Katech. You're better off sticking with the stock 194 degree unit if you can't get a Katech. I've tuned multiple cars that had this issue with aftermarket trash t-stats. Put the stock one or Katech one back in, problem solved.
Actually, the stock thermostat is 86 deg C/186 deg F. Not 194. On a 90 degree day with the air on and the cruise set at 70 mph the engine in my Z06 will run right about 190 degree coolant temp and 188 degree oil temp. Coolant temp will vary about plus or minus 2 degrees from that value while I am driving.
Under the same circumstances, the OP's car should be running close to that even without the thermostat. There is obviously something wrong with his 170-degree thermostat but even running without a thermostat he is getting some unusual readings.
If he is getting 190 deg coolant temp when driving hard he has a different understanding of driving hard than I do. When I am running hard on track with lots of wide open throttle conditions the coolant temp in my car is in the 220 degree range with oil temp about 50 degrees higher. If I took out the thermostat I would expect it to still run in the same range. The only thing a fully open thermostat does Vs no thermostat is restrict coolant flow due to its structure reducing the cross-sectional area of the plumbing.
Actually, the stock thermostat is 86 deg C/186 deg F. Not 194. On a 90 degree day with the air on and the cruise set at 70 mph the engine in my Z06 will run right about 190 degree coolant temp and 188 degree oil temp. Coolant temp will vary about plus or minus 2 degrees from that value while I am driving.
Under the same circumstances, the OP's car should be running close to that even without the thermostat. There is obviously something wrong with his 170-degree thermostat but even running without a thermostat he is getting some unusual readings.
If he is getting 190 deg coolant temp when driving hard he has a different understanding of driving hard than I do. When I am running hard on track with lots of wide open throttle conditions the coolant temp in my car is in the 220 degree range with oil temp about 50 degrees higher. If I took out the thermostat I would expect it to still run in the same range. The only thing a fully open thermostat does Vs no thermostat is restrict coolant flow due to its structure reducing the cross-sectional area of the plumbing.
Bill
194 is full open which is what it is rated at. The OEM tune also reflects this.
NEVER run without a thermostat! If the coolant isn't in contact with hot metal long enough to transfer sufficient heat (flowing passed it too quickly), guess what, the sensor, in the coolant shows artificially low.
Say what now? Sorry I dont buy this.
High cooling water flow rates increase heat transfer coefficients (by promoting turbulence), as well as keeping the cooling water at lower temperature, which further promotes cooling, as the heat carried off per unit of time is directly proportional to the temperature difference between the cooling water and the object to be cooled (see Newton's law of cooling).
So in short, the faster you can move the coolant around the engine block, the better it cools and therefore by removing the restriction of the thermostat, you increase your cooling ability.
As for the sensor, its going to read whatever the temperature is at that moment in time. It doesnt care if the water if flowing past it slowly or quickly. So long as it is submersed in water, its going to read its temperature.
If he is getting 190 deg coolant temp when driving hard he has a different understanding of driving hard than I do. When I am running hard on track with lots of wide open throttle conditions the coolant temp in my car is in the 220 degree range with oil temp about 50 degrees higher. If I took out the thermostat I would expect it to still run in the same range. The only thing a fully open thermostat does Vs no thermostat is restrict coolant flow due to its structure reducing the cross-sectional area of the plumbing.
Are you running OEM radiator or aftermarket? I'm running aftermarket which is about 2x thicker with 90% pure water and water wetter. I also have no A/C condenser slowing airflow to my rad and I've notched the crash bar on the front of the car to expose an additional 4" of the radiator through the front grill. My headers are ceramic coated and i'm not running catalytic converters either so much less heat in the engine bay. Further I also spray meth into my procharger to keep AIT's down and also the temp of the s/c unit
The ONLY aftermarket T-stat that isn't trash is the Katech. You're better off sticking with the stock 194 degree unit if you can't get a Katech. I've tuned multiple cars that had this issue with aftermarket trash t-stats. Put the stock one or Katech one back in, problem solved.
The AMP housing uses a LS style t-stat and not the failure prone LT style. They are a solid design, I use a similar setup on my 19 C7Z and I run 185° now. My guess is the LS t-stat failed on the OP's car.
The AMP housing uses a LS style t-stat and not the failure prone LT style. They are a solid design, I use a similar setup on my 19 C7Z and I run 185° now. My guess is the LS t-stat failed on the OP's car.
Ahh thanks for the info. I thought it was an LS style one but I couldn't find any literature to confirm that. What is a reliable LS t-stat that I can purchase?
Ahh thanks for the info. I thought it was an LS style one but I couldn't find any literature to confirm that. What is a reliable LS t-stat that I can purchase?
Engine runs 50-60f cooler without t/stat
