Thermostat poll, 160 vs 180

[code5coupe]

Good luck with the cooling issue.

 

[Louis Bartay]

Thanks, I wll post how it is doing in another 500 miles. Glad it is getting cooler outside. Makes breaking a new engine better. You would not believe how much GM wants for new LT4 crank and rods and pistons, I almost had a stroke.

 

[Tom Bryant]

Reading some of these references to the old days I'm reminded that it used to be common practice to remove the thermostat in the summer and reinstall it in the winter. After all, it is a device to warm up the engine to a pre-determined temperature in the colder seasons. Lots of people used to run straight water in the summer too before the days of good quality permanent anti freeze.

Tom

 

[Louis Bartay]

Reading some of these references to the old days I'm reminded that it used to be common practice to remove the thermostat in the summer and reinstall it in the winter. After all, it is a device to warm up the engine to a pre-determined temperature in the colder seasons. Lots of people used to run straight water in the summer too before the days of good quality permanent anti freeze.

Tom

Back in the late 1960's when I was a teenager I worked at a radiator shop and saw this. But on some auto's back then if you removed the stat it would run Hotter as the water would circulate thru the radiator TOO fast. When that happened I saw some customers remove the center of the stat and install what was remaining ( a big washer) and then it would run a little cooler.

 

[urleycay]

93 coupe getting hot, SOLVED

my 93 coupe got hot real quick in traffic. i read all the threads why they get hot and how to cool them. still i did not like seeing temp at 230 within 5-10 minutes of ideling. so i purchase hypertech chip and 180 powerstat and the problem is gone. not only does car run better the fans come on sooner and temps stay down. it has been in 60's and low 70's here and i was getting hot. now temps are normal (to me) and i am more at ease. peace of mind means a lot to me. so if anyone is thinking about high temps try what i did, it works! all this because i read threads and thanks to everyone who wrote in with there experiances.

 

[polo94conv]

What is "hypertech chip" ?

 

[urleycay]

chip

in 93 you cannot buy a plug in reprogramer for your computor. you must add a performance chip. hypertech is one of the best out there. if you go to Hypertech.com you will find all the info you need for your application. for mind it changed the time or temp the fans come on plus it changes your timing and general running of your engine to get the most performance out of your stock engine. it some cases it will actually improve milege.

 

[Louis Bartay]

in 93 you cannot buy a plug in reprogramer for your computor. you must add a performance chip. hypertech is one of the best out there. if you go to Hypertech.com you will find all the info you need for your application. for mind it changed the time or temp the fans come on plus it changes your timing and general running of your engine to get the most performance out of your stock engine. it some cases it will actually improve milege.

I use my Hyper Tech Power Programmer, as the 96 has the OBDII computer and I can plug it in the port and down load my stock GM program and install the H-T HP program that turns on the fans sooner and adds some extra HP. But the best way is to have a Dyno Tune done with a custom mapping. But really more expensive and I can reistall my stock map for the winter time:cool

 

[urleycay]

I use my Hyper Tech Power Programmer, as the 96 has the OBDII computer and I can plug it in the port and down load my stock GM program and install the H-T HP program that turns on the fans sooner and adds some extra HP. But the best way is to have a Dyno Tune done with a custom mapping. But really more expensive and I can reistall my stock map for the winter time:cool

your right that is the way to go, (on dyno)I had my harley dynoed last year in daytona w/ the power programer installed not only did it jump the H.P. but i am now able to burn 87 octane. unfortunately Hypertech does not sell a programer for the 93 that's why i had to put in chip. the chip install time is only 20 minutes and it does work. the only downside is you must burn 93 octane with programer you can select range of octane. (87,89.91etc) i also have hypertech programer installed on my wifes 05 suburban and it works, milege is better performance (if any) is better and thats not bad considering the weight of the brick thru the wind.

 

[hoosierdaddy]

Just cruising and around towns the temp. runs 190. In the city, in traffic on a warm day it will reach 225. Temp will drop like a rock as soon as traffic opens up.

Remo
__________________

That is just about what mine runs; I assume this is the norm for LS-1 C-5.

Bill

 

[road agent]

stock is fine.

 

[golfman2008]

Stock has worked for me no worries

 

[KANE]

If temperature is an issue... then an aluminum radiator may be a better investment.

John Z and the rest of the folks who have weighed in on the issue for a 160 /180 thermostat hit the nail on the head; the lower the t-stat temp... the earlier the opening. It doesn't allow for a degraded cooling system to run any cooler on the whole.

 

[Fegs]

There have been some great posts on this topic…160 vs 180…the 160 will only try to keep the coolant in the engine at 160 degrees and above…the 180 at 180 degrees and above…how the engine heats up or over heats is by the design of the total system…the flow paths, how close they come to the heat source,(combustion chamber, exhaust ports, ect)…when Chevy guys sitting in little rooms with there slid rules figure this stuff out they are only limited by the guys who pay the bills…all systems are designed to fit an average…a defined range…if you live outside, or on the edge of this range you will have a harder time staying inside the designed range…this is usually caused by degradation of the system, (cooling system)…the car,(mine is a 95 LT1)… when it was brand new and prepped correctly it will run within the parameters that the Chevy guys designed it to…if you have had problems from the start it could be a design flaw, (like that never happened) or a bad part, but…I have never read from any tech manual or recall notice of an over heating design flaw….the first thing to check for is dirt…check the air path through your radiator…it might look clean but until you remove the air filter and surrounding stuff and clean and flush the outside of this area, any lost cooling will start to effect the system…the same goes for the inside of the system…you can not just change the coolant…you need to clean the inside…heat transfer from the coolant to the metal,(the radiator, engine inside surface, pump impeller ect,) has another effect…any buildup serves as an insulator…what kind of water did you use when it was flushed the last time…the proper anti-freeze at the correct mixture…temperate and pressure relationship is designed to be compatible with the type and viscosity of the oil…the clearances, force, load and the vibration, (one of the biggies we some times over look) of the lubricated parts are designed with this in mind…if you start changing parameters you will not necessarily do damage to the system, (your engine) but if you get outside the original spec. You run that chance…if you live on the edge of this system, (south texas, 125 degrees and heavy traffic, or ohio and drive in the winter, (I do) you might need to take special needs…those of you that do any refrigeration work know how dirt affects cooling…those systems are also designed with a set “delta t”…(the temp in and the temp out)…place your system back to the original condition…clean it inside and out, check the parts, all of them, find out what’s wrong first…what a great place the USA is…DRIVE IT LIKE YOU DON’T HAVE A NICKEL IN IT…

 

[86-ZZ3]

I live in a cold climate so 180 is fine for me. If the engine could handle it, I'd go for even higher as the engine would run more efficiently.

On a long (20km, 2,000' + constant climb) this summer at highway speeds, the engine temp did get up to about 221F.

 

[road agent]

I live in an area where it's hot in the summer and cold in the winter months! Can I get a dual range stat? If so what range do I need for my 83?

 

[road agent]

in 93 you cannot buy a plug in reprogramer for your computor. you must add a performance chip. hypertech is one of the best out there. if you go to Hypertech.com you will find all the info you need for your application. for mind it changed the time or temp the fans come on plus it changes your timing and general running of your engine to get the most performance out of your stock engine. it some cases it will actually improve milege.

 

[redvett]

I agree with REMO and never use anything but a OEM stat in all my vehicles. 1994 ZR-1 195F, 01 C5 195F & all my other toys & daily drivers.

 

[diesel1456]

160 stat

I have had a 160 stat in my 89 for 3yrs now and it runs like a son of a gun the plugs look great when i take them out and i am within the next week or so putting in a paxton procharger and they say you should use a cooler stat. with the blower. This is just my opinion but i personally would not go back with the 180
Rich

 

[Bob Chadwick]

Man, what a post. It started over 3 1/2 years ago and people are still debating the subject.