pretty much keeping the car mild , CAI , headers , computer chip and flowmasters , is 195 satisfactory or should i go 180?

 

There are already alot of posts for this if you do a search. Basically, most of the people on here vote for the stock 195 - especially if you want to keep your mileage up. Lowering it to 180 would definatly lower mileage a little. It would also raise emissions a little so be carful if you have to pass a sniff test. I personally want to run a 180 but I havn't gotten around to it yet. The reason: cooler running cars last longer. So to hell with the mileage. Just don't go lower than 180 - your car won't go into closed loop operation.

 

I always run 180's on all my cars. All my Fords run 180's, as most of them run hot anyway. My daily driver, 91 Mark 7 lincoln runs a 180 thermostat, and works well here in the South. You will lose some heat in the winter, but I doubt you drive the f-body in the winter.

 

Holy crap, where did you get your info? That's at least 10 years old. Our cars go into closed loop around 130 degrees. I'm running a 160 thermostat since I got the car and never had a problem. It runs at the first line on the gauge and that translates to about 190 degrees. In traffic it goes up to about 200.
I recommend a 180 thermo for a cold climate and 160 for a warm climate. You should also change to a lower temp fan switch so the fans come on sooner. Changing to a lower temp thermostat only changes the temp at which the coolant begins circulating. If the fan doesnt come on to keep the temp cooler, it will continue to rise until it gets up to the stock temp of 220 anyway.