theryman311
Registered
whats the general purpose of an hightemp "(180degree) thermastat?
thermostat?
- Thread starter theryman311
- Start date
Stock T-stat is 195 and you can get 180 and 160.
The 'general purpose' is to start coolant flow sooner. Cooler temps will yield more HP. I have the 160 but most will tell you not to go lower than 180. I do not have any issues with the 160 but mine is not a daily driver(even if I did manage 10,000 miles last year.)
The 'general purpose' is to start coolant flow sooner. Cooler temps will yield more HP. I have the 160 but most will tell you not to go lower than 180. I do not have any issues with the 160 but mine is not a daily driver(even if I did manage 10,000 miles last year.)
theryman311
Registered
do you think there is a noticable increase?
WOW! Thats alot of 1/4 mile runs.
None that you will feel.
It alleviates knocking, which allows one to advance the timing a little more. This is why good tuners will recommend going with a colder t-stat when installing a chip.
Higher running temp is supposed to help gas mileage (so the automakers believe), but if it does, it is negligible.
Higher running temp is supposed to help gas mileage (so the automakers believe), but if it does, it is negligible.
I have the same stat as driller and mine IS a daily driver, weekly racer, over all general purpose vehicle.. I almost LIVE IN THE DANGED THING!!!
160 works great for me here in Sunny Ole Texas
... your mileage may vary!
back in the carb days, a hotter intake plenum helped keep the fuel suspended in the Air Fuel Mixture.. so it really DID help out in the older NON FI cars.
newer fuel injection that is directly squirted into the intake port of the head doesnt NEED a high intake temp to keep the fuel atomized.
For every 10 degree's you drop the intake air charge is worth 2% HP.
2% doesnt sound like MUCH.. BUT.. bear with me.
2% of 300HP is 6HP
if you drop your intake temp from 200 degrees down to 160 that is a 40 degree drop.
so take the 6HP and multiply it times the 4 and you get 24 HP.
I'm sorry, but 24 HP is "noticable and you can FEEL IT".. and it's a substantial increase in power considering most chip manufacters claim "about 20 hp increase"...
Headers.. 30HP increase
So for the cost of a 300.00 chip.. or a 800.00 set of headers you can almost pick up the same amount of power from a LOWELY 20.00 THERMOSTAT.
Alot people will argue this point, but you have to consider that these people have "products" they are trying to sell, or they just want to argue either way
I'm not trying to sell you ANYTHING and I dont want to argue.... just stating the facts based on my personal experience.
No one has mentioned the fact that the ECU makes the car run a little rich until it gets warm to help it warm up faster. If you put in a lower t-stat you may never get out of the warm-up loop and your mpg gets worse because of that.
I remember a 91 Cougar I had was running a little on the cool side and mpg got worse. I changed the stat and temp gauge settled where it used to and mpg got better. I can't say anything about power as I didn't know about this supposed increase at the time so I didn't check it out. Unless you're racing I would say stick with the factory stat. I don't agree with everything the manufacturers do, but they designed it that way for a reason.
I remember a 91 Cougar I had was running a little on the cool side and mpg got worse. I changed the stat and temp gauge settled where it used to and mpg got better. I can't say anything about power as I didn't know about this supposed increase at the time so I didn't check it out. Unless you're racing I would say stick with the factory stat. I don't agree with everything the manufacturers do, but they designed it that way for a reason.
negative, that is incorrect.
The stock factory tune in the mark 8 is sent to "switch to base fuel" at 130 degrees of coolant temp
So regardless of your thermostat, your car will switch from the "cold table" to the "base table" at around 130 degrees of coolant temp.
With SCT's PRP package you can dictate a different temp to "jump to the base table".. but the stock setting is 130 degrees.
Again, I have to respectfully disagree with you on this.
I've proven my points in the past with dyno charts...you should too.
Dyno numbers are pretty subjective, and I dont "race dyno's".
I can go to three different dyno's on the same day and get different numbers.
Whereas I can drive to 3 different dragstrips and get the SAME NUMBERS..within .01-.02 and MPH numbers that are "DEAD ON" the same.
MPH numbers are far more accurate than "some guys dyno" that may or may NOT be using the correct settings.
Dyno numbers are easily fudged by using differnet correction ratios...
Unless you have 3 dyno's set up exactly the same.. the numbers will be different.
I use a REAL TIME DYNO.. "the dragstrip" that tests my car in the exact manner that is it used...
no load factors to "fudge" no correction ratios to fudge.. no BS.. just REAL TIME ACCURATE DATA.
I have timeslips showing the improvements.
I have extensive logbooks documenting these gains.
Do I feel the need to "prove anything"..NOPE.
If you dont want the "FREE HP".. no skin off my back.
I can go to three different dyno's on the same day and get different numbers.
Whereas I can drive to 3 different dragstrips and get the SAME NUMBERS..within .01-.02 and MPH numbers that are "DEAD ON" the same.
MPH numbers are far more accurate than "some guys dyno" that may or may NOT be using the correct settings.
Dyno numbers are easily fudged by using differnet correction ratios...
Unless you have 3 dyno's set up exactly the same.. the numbers will be different.
I use a REAL TIME DYNO.. "the dragstrip" that tests my car in the exact manner that is it used...
no load factors to "fudge" no correction ratios to fudge.. no BS.. just REAL TIME ACCURATE DATA.
I have timeslips showing the improvements.
I have extensive logbooks documenting these gains.
Do I feel the need to "prove anything"..NOPE.
If you dont want the "FREE HP".. no skin off my back.
That being said, about how many tenths did your shave from your 1/4 mile by going to a 160 tstat?
So stock intake air is at 200 degrees? And lowering engine operating temp lowers intake air temp equally?
On my truck I've used a lot of different stats. Never noticed a difference, but the 57 chevy has room for 2 engines with room to work on them.
I log temperatures at the track. Temperature is one of the biggest detriments to HP in a naturally aspirated setup.
It didn't take me long at the strip to figure out the warmer the car got the slower it ran. I developed a "hit list" of items to help maintain cooler temps.
One of these items was the 160 degree thermostat. Now, contrary to the popular myth, that does not necessarily mean the car will run at 160 degrees nor does it mean it will forever be in cold start strategy, it does mean coolant will flow through the radiator when it is warmer than 160 degrees.
The stock T-stat is 195 degrees. That means before coolant runs through the radiator it will be at least 195 degrees. That's a 35 degree difference before the cooling system is even engaged.
The stock cooling fan does not turn on(without the AC running) until the engine coolant temperature is 215 degrees! It turns off at 205 degrees(10 degrees before the t-stat closes). Oh, and at 215 degrees, that is the LOW speed fan coming on at 50% capacity. It takes even more heat before the fan incrementally reaches HIGH speed.
I appreciate the question of the stock intake air being 200 degrees... allow me to explain my theory. I do not have the capability to datalog, but I have recorded enough temperatures of my engine to tell you the intake manifold will be quite near the same temp as the engine itself. Put your hand on the intake next time you stop for gas and tell me how hot it is. Now envision the intake air through the intake filter, tube, plenum and runners... I believe there is adequate time for the transfer of heat. To what exact temperature, I do not profess to know, but it will be proportionately lower with the engine running cooler.
That lower temperature is the 'additional HP' achieved with a 160 degree thermostat.
It didn't take me long at the strip to figure out the warmer the car got the slower it ran. I developed a "hit list" of items to help maintain cooler temps.
One of these items was the 160 degree thermostat. Now, contrary to the popular myth, that does not necessarily mean the car will run at 160 degrees nor does it mean it will forever be in cold start strategy, it does mean coolant will flow through the radiator when it is warmer than 160 degrees.
The stock T-stat is 195 degrees. That means before coolant runs through the radiator it will be at least 195 degrees. That's a 35 degree difference before the cooling system is even engaged.
The stock cooling fan does not turn on(without the AC running) until the engine coolant temperature is 215 degrees! It turns off at 205 degrees(10 degrees before the t-stat closes). Oh, and at 215 degrees, that is the LOW speed fan coming on at 50% capacity. It takes even more heat before the fan incrementally reaches HIGH speed.
I appreciate the question of the stock intake air being 200 degrees... allow me to explain my theory. I do not have the capability to datalog, but I have recorded enough temperatures of my engine to tell you the intake manifold will be quite near the same temp as the engine itself. Put your hand on the intake next time you stop for gas and tell me how hot it is. Now envision the intake air through the intake filter, tube, plenum and runners... I believe there is adequate time for the transfer of heat. To what exact temperature, I do not profess to know, but it will be proportionately lower with the engine running cooler.
That lower temperature is the 'additional HP' achieved with a 160 degree thermostat.
46callaway
Registered
Are you guys using the Hypertech 160 degree thermostat?
When I swapped the 93 engine and the 98 trans into my car it was running 14.50's
Swapped to the cobra water pump and 160 thermostat and it went 14.35
No other changes were made to the car, this was with the stock tune on the car.