I just got a 166/176 fan switch and a 160deg thermostat from hypertech because I want my car to run cooler. On theeir website they also have a Thermomaster chip to use with these. DO I need this? It seems like the fan switch should be enough to turn the fan on and it would work well with the stat. Does anyone have this combination on there TBI? If so, does it work well?
Sorry if this has been covered before but the search isn't working well. I found some info on the Cooling section but most of them have 2 fans and I want to know how this works on the TBI.

 

No, the chip is not needed.

I don't know about going with a 160. A 180* T-stat, with something like a 190 fan switch would be good. But yes, the fan switch, and t-stat are the only things you need. Their chip is supposed to be a "performance chip", but it is junk.

 

I decided to get the 160 because I'd rather it run a little cooler and I don't care too much about the heater blowing real hot air. Right now I have a stock t-stat stuck open and stock fan switch so the car runs 120-150 normally but still will get up to 215 in traffic. The SES light goes on if it is real cold out and I am driving ~75mph or more since the temp drops to 120, so i figure this will actually make the car a little hotter than it is but it will prevent it from getting too hot.

 

Hello,
Have you got 2 fans? Because, on stock TBI, there's only one fan which is controlled not by a fan switch but only by the ECM.
Engines with dual fans have one fan controlled by the ECM and the second by the fan switch.
In your case, the only way to run cooler is to install a thermomaster chip with a lower thermostat. 180 is the max lower temp. Lower and the engine will never operate in closed loop.

 

Wahoo, you are not correct. Stock TBI cars, got a single fans, but it was solely controlled by the fan switch located in the passanger head.

 

I'm sorry...
But my first 86 Iroc had only one fan which was computer controlled. It was a TPI. I ve thought the TBI has the same system with a single fan controlled by the ECM...

 

TPI + MPFI = ECM controlled fan on/off
TBI = Temperature switch controlled fan on/off

 

Wahoo...you got me worried there for a second that I got the wrong part. I guess through the years GM made different changes to the cooling system. Anyway I got the stat and switch today and I'm gonna do the install tomorrow. Thanks for the info, I'm not gonna get that chip since I don't think the small performance gain would be worth the ~$125.

 

Go to www.top-downsolutions.com and get the adjustable fuel pressure regulator kit. You would see much more of a performance gain than just a little bump in timing and fuel. And it's alot cheaper than that chip.

 

Ok, here is what happened to me.

I have a TBIchips.com chip. The open and closed loop is changed in the chip (I belive, and I think biran told me this too). This means that using a colder thermostat will still allow the car to get in open loop and not stay in closed loop as the stock chip will do.
This way you run cooler the right way, and you are not wasting gas.
160 thermo is a bit too low, it might interfere with the loops . I have a 170 thermo and its perfect. It still blows hot on coldest of days, and keeps the car 180 all the time.
It only gets hotter when I am going up the mountains ona 100 weather.

If you wanna go cooler, get yourself a permacool fan that has over 2500RPM's over our stock one which is about 1300. You will notice the difference.

I had a lot of problems with cooling when I got my car.
I replaced everything and did some serious research. Now my car run 180 all day long. Mind it, its a firebird. They have virtually no openings on their bumpers. Unlike camaros who do, and run cooler IMO.

 

I put in the 160 stat today, not the switch yet.
Yeah mine now runs ~160 on the guage but on highway still sets off SES light if I go >70mph it just takes longer to do it than it did before. I might just end up getting the thermomaster chip since itll be matched to my stat and switch so that it can readjust for the lower op temp and wont put the car in "warm up" mode.

 

Ok
It's my first TBI. I bought the car on January...
And I haven't read entirely the service manual yet.