My motor is pretty much stock, except for an open element (whoopdy doo). My car also has a tendancy to run 220 and a little over.

Should I buy a 180* stat?

If so what changes will this make?

And what must I do to install it?

 

Anyone?

 

Lower coolant temp will tell the ECM to run in warm-up enrichment which gives you more fuel and more spark advance. It will keep the intake temp a little lower and sometimes the A/C will work better.

The extra fuel will mean a loss in mileage unless you fool the ECM with a CTS tricker box to tell the ECM that you're at the normal 200-220*. You can easily get the more fuel and more advance by just using the tricker box only but then you do not get the cooler intake temperature to go with it and you'd reach spark knock sooner because the engine will be hotter.

I know several people that run without a tstat and use a tricker box for increased performance and mileage. They either run without a tstat in the warmer months, or just only drive the car in the warmer months.

 

Well my car always runs at 220, sometimes a little over, I don't think it'd bring down the temp. enough to try to make the engine warm up all the time.

 

When you're moving your temp should drop to approximately the setting of the new tstat. To stay that cool when not moving you have to also adjust your fan turn-on/off to match.

On my 89 the min temp for highway-mode fueling is 185* as the stock setting. From what I've seen and heard, gas mileage goes down if your engine never gets to the factory operating temperature.

 

Well I just threw 180* in and burned the hell out of my fingers since I was in a rush. I guess I'll find out the advantages and disadvantages later tonight, I doubt it'll hurt my gas milage. If anything it should bring down my temperature to a normal operating temperature, not 220+.

 

Well, I'm very pleased with the results. It doesn't even go up to 220* when it sits, so the fan is not an issue.

 

if thats the case then the lower TEMPERTATURE of the stat didn't sovle anything, your old thermostat must of been bad. replacing it with a new one replaced it with a correctly functioning one. but hey as long as it works!

 

When it gets really hot outside is when you would notice it getting hotter than your tstat rating while sitting. I'm not sure where you live but I'm sure it will get much hotter in a couple of months. You will probably want to adjust your fan turn-on then if it becomes a problem.

 

I also did a 180 stat and it helped me a little. I also made sure I still had the plastic black air deflector. It should still be bolted under your car, it is a strip of plastic that pushes air up to cool the radiator when you are moving. You can also go to your parts store like autozone and spend 20$ for an adjustable cooling fan relay. It uses a probe that you stick in your radiator fins to sense temp. You then can adjust when the fan comes on by turning a dial. Works good for me. I have mine set so the fan comes on early and keeps it cool even in traffic. I would not recomend running without a stat. You need a stat to regulate the flow of coolant from the radiator, otherwise the coolant will flow through the radiator too fast to have the heat radiate out of it. I have seen a good compromise done by TPIS company. They would drill 2 small holes in a stat on each side to get a little better flow.
TPIgirl's tricker box is an interesting gadget though, pretty cool idea.