I'm debating whether to put in a 160 or a 180 into my car. I have an Accel Gen7 with wideband O2 control so there is no issue of the car running in "open loop". My question is purely, will the engine like 160 or 180 better! I have both my fans on toggle switches, I normally run em both on since our Firebirds have such poor ventilation anyways.

 

Well I ran 180 and currently have a 195 right now and my car likes both of them and didnt see any problems with my car.

 

I run 180° in hot muggy Houston. I used to have a 160° stat, but prefer the 180.

 

Stick with 180, with SBC's I have found that the sweet spot seems to be around 180. If your cooling system is functioning properly your car should not get more than about 20 degrees above even in the height of the summer. Running too cool of a thermostat will allow significant carbon buildup inside the block. If you can find a 170 that may be a good option if your not sure.

 

you car will not stay running in open loop no matter how cold your coolant stays, the ecm has a parameter to force closed loop after a max of 190 seconds engine run time as long as other things are operating fine. if you want best performance from your car go with 160 stat, for longevity go with 180, cylinder wall wear will be minimized with a 180 stat.

 

Just split the difference and run a 170. I can get you a GM part # if you would like.

 

post it.

 

I run 160s in all my birds. Some Ive had for 20 yrs and 200,000 miles.
Whichever you decide to use, run the proper fan temp switches or programing.
Only use toggles for racetrack.

 

I don't see any disadvantage to having my fans on toggles and just leaving them both on?

Each fan draws about 0.1HP of power (~100 watts max).
The car won't run any cooler than your thermostat, as the fans aren't cooling the engine coolant when the thermostat is closed.
The fan motors are $24 so I'm not concerned with them wearing out faster.

 

From the factory, the fans shut off over a certain speed (40mph?). why have them on if not needed?
Its not that it costs big power or they will wear out faster but just no reason to run them if not needed IMO.

 

I've been debating the same thing for the last few days and I'm going with 180* thermo with 195* fan switch. 180* seems to be a good compromise from everything I've read.