im running a 160 degree stat some people have said this is to low and i should go to a 180 other people say its fine what should i do it runns a lot cooler with the 160 in is it hurting my engine

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CHRIS
1983 firebird transam
edelbrock performer rpm intake 360*k&n intake 160 theroostat gitting trans raced up and lots and lots of plans 4 the future

 

I think the 160 is a little to low in the winter months where I live anyway.

The most you'll notice is lost gas milage, maybe the gas wiping oil off the rings will wear the bores faster... I don't think it's this extreme though...

 

During the spring and summer I ran a 160* without any problems. Now that winter is coming and I am going to college in the mountains I switched to a 180* stat.

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'86 IROC
T-TOPS, TINTED WINDOWS, BRAKE LIGHT BLACKOUTS
GM GOODWRENCH 350
EDELBROCK TES HEADERS
3" Hooker CatBack w/Aero Chamber muffler
EDELBROCK 600CFM CARB.
KN AIRFILTER
ACCEL HEI DISTRIBUTOR
160* Stat
3:73 Posi
Rebuilt 700R4
B&M Megashifter, 5" Autometer Tach w/shift lite

 

most people switch to 180 in the winter for a few reasons. Int he winter you want the coolant temperatures to be higher so that the heater will blow warm air. Also, if your car never runs above 160, deposits in the oil will not burn off, and this may slowly damage the engine(though it probably takes years and years) unless you change your oil every 3000 miles.

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'86 IROC 5-speed
305 LG4
edelbrock performer rpm intake
edelbrock 600 cfm carb
msd pro billet hei distributer
'95 3.23 rearend
hotchkis rear suspension
PST front polygraphite suspension
"speed kills. buy a f@&d, live forever."

 

For a stock car, 160 is too cold, especially if it's a computer controlled car. There's programmed temperatures the car needs to reach before the computer will go into closed-loop mode, and it's above 160. 170 is marginal for that value, and 180 is generally a good choice.

However, if you're into programming your own EPROM's than 160 is not too cold, as long as you make up for the differences in the rest of the car.

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89 iroc-z 305 tbi
k&n filtercharger, open element air filter. nuffin' else

 

I like my non computer controlled engine

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'86 IROC 5-speed
305 LG4
edelbrock performer rpm intake
edelbrock 600 cfm carb
msd pro billet hei distributer
'95 3.23 rearend
hotchkis rear suspension
PST front polygraphite suspension
"speed kills. buy a f@&d, live forever."