After posting "part 1" and getting lots of criticism about using a 160 t-stat, I decided to put in a 180 for ****s and giggles since I've had the 160 in there for about 2 years!

After swapping to the 180, this is what happened...this is with MY car! All results will most likely not be the same for other cars! First, the car didn't even hit 160 degrees! I adjusted my adjustable fan switch up a bit and noticed the temp climb to about 172! I drove around for awhile and the car never got above about 172! I drove home and shut the car off and the fan wasn't even running!! The car is now running the EXACT same temperature that it was with the 160 but it runs even COOLER on the highway at about 160 degrees constant! If I bump the fan switch up anymore it won't do any good considering that the fan never came on while I was driving the car around town to test it out!

I may have noticed a 2 or 3 mpg increase in my fuel mileage but I'll need to do some more "long distance" testing to be for sure!

All in all this is the conclusion I've come too! The only advantages I see with the 180 t-stat is less wear on the fan since it's not coming on as much! And of course, possibly the fuel mileage which I will still be testing!

That said, I still stick to what I've said before about the 160 t-stat NOT being too cold for our cars! At least not here in Missouri!!