I am getting ready to buy either a 180 or 160 degree thermostat becuase ive been noticeing the 350 running at bit hotter then id like it to and im just wondering if there is any real difference between the 160 and 180 degree thermostats and if one is better then the other for other applications or what.. is there something i dont know about them

 

They won't help you for what you're doing.
If "running a little hot" is significantly over 180F, then both T-stats would be open at that point, and it wouldn't matter which you used.

A 160F t-stat will have the motor running cooler (assuming the cooling system is all working well), so you'd lose a bit of MPG generally.

How hot does it run?

 

its usualy staying around 220ish for some reason lately...

So, the cooler i go with the t-stat the lesser my mpg would be, but the better the preformance correct? Anything else i should know

 

No, he said putting in a cooler t-stat wont do anything. If your car is running at 220F, the 195F stat would be open already, so switching to a 180f will do nothing.

You have other problems to fix. Likely you coolant temp sensor is reading incorrently. They are hardly accurate. The fans and gauges uses different sensor, so what you see will not be what the fans see. Perhaps replace the ones that power the rads fans, so you can have something actually cool your engine.

 

aparently im lost, i was under the impression that a t-stat opened once it got to that certain temp to let fresh cool water in from the radiator to cool the engine... if i get one that opens at 160 as opposted to 180 it should be helping in some way to keep it 20 degrees cooler correct?

 

What they are saying is if you are running 220 deg. Your thermostat is already open and you have another problem.If you put a 180 deg thermostatin it will open early but youll still go to 220 deg. If your thermostat was stuck it would not stop at 220 deg and overheat. you might have radiator problem, if its only at high speeds you may have a rad valance issue, etc but 220 deg isnt really overheating anyway but at highway speed it should be a little closer to the 195 deg stat. I would measure the real temp first to make sure the guage is reading right.

 

It is also possible that your car has never had a new thermostat and could really use one.........some thermostats stick "open"........ie now you have no heat, and some stick closed "temp goes up and doesn't come down".......thermostats are cheap- buy a new 180 and see if you have the same high readings............you also ought to know if your fans are running at all..........if not, there's lots of good info on this site.........good luck.