I have a stock 305 tpi getting ready to do hoses I bought a set of goodyear high temp hoses which are blue but anyway while i have the hoses off i wanted to do the thermastat. Does anyone recomend going with a lower temp than factory will this effect the computer or cause problems. if so what temp do you run and will this increase hp thanks

 

I am using 180 F. Much better than 195 F stock. In the city you will not notice much of a lower coolant temp but once you hit the highway your temp gauge will read much lower.

Unless you change the Fan temp/on in the chip (set at 225 on 220 off-way too high) or do your own fan switch, your fan will still come on at 225F.

Lower coolant temp will give you more spark advance thous increasing performance.

Hope this helps.

 

well, when I drive my car cold - it seems to really like the 160-190* range, below that it dont really got power, and idles high, above that, it doesnt run quite as strong...

 

I say with TPI go with 180* it won't mess with the computer and give better cooling. I run 180* in winter, 160* in summer, car is NON CC too. In traffic right now the car doesn't get warmer than 190*, 180* highway. I also have a 3core aluminum radiator.

 

I would base my decision on the type of average driving you do. If your daily commute consistes of a lot of stop and go I would recommend getting a 170 deg. stat. The reason I say this is that your operating temp will probably be around 180-190 anyway. If your commute is high speed driving and you want a little warmer environment than the 180 would be a better choice. The average operating temp of these cars is pretty much determined by how much air is moving across the radiator. At idle in traffic the temp will go up fast until the primary fan comes on. I strongly agree with the other posts that one really good idea is to lower the temp that the fans come on. Factory settings of 195 or higher are used mainly for emission purposes. They want fast warmup(to achieve closed loop)and they want higher operating temp for emission control. There are two ways to achieve lower fan turn on temp. You can get a new PROM that will tell the ECM to turn on lower or turn on the secondary fan sooner. I use a JET fan switch which has a turn on at 205, and off at 190. This controls the secondary fan operation. This sensor is located on passenger side of block near the knock sensor. You will to drain some coolant to replace it but it works pretty well overall. A side benefit is that when the secondary fan comes on, the ECM will default and turn on both fans because of programming in the ECM . This gives a really fast cool down even in the summer. I have fooled around quite a bit with different stats, if wany more info drop me an E-mail. Danno, 89 rock 5.7TPI

 

I would base my decision on the type of average driving you do. If your daily commute consistes of a lot of stop and go I would recommend getting a 170 deg. stat. The reason I say this is that your operating temp will probably be around 180-190 anyway. If your commute is high speed driving and you want a little warmer environment than the 180 would be a better choice. The average operating temp of these cars is pretty much determined by how much air is moving across the radiator. At idle in traffic the temp will go up fast until the primary fan comes on. I strongly agree with the other posts that one really good idea is to lower the temp that the fans come on. Factory settings of 195 or higher are used mainly for emission purposes. They want fast warmup(to achieve closed loop)and they want higher operating temp for emission control. There are two ways to achieve lower fan turn on temp. You can get a new PROM that will tell the ECM to turn on lower or turn on the secondary fan sooner. I use a JET fan switch which has a turn on at 205, and off at 190. This controls the secondary fan operation. This sensor is located on passenger side of block near the knock sensor. You will to drain some coolant to replace it but it works pretty well overall. A side benefit is that when the secondary fan comes on, the ECM will default and turn on both fans because of programming in the ECM . This gives a really fast cool down even in the summer. I have fooled around quite a bit with different stats, if wany more info drop me an E-mail. Danno, 89 rock 5.7TPI

 

A thermostat has an operating range of almost 20 degrees past it's opening point which also fluctuates by +/- 3 degrees. I would eliminate the 195 and the 160.

A 170 or 180 either would do you fine........ depends on how toasty you want your feet on a cold day.

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Please forgive my (embarrassing) ignorance, but is there a certain thermostat that you use. There are many different ones at parts stores--do I need a certain kind? Also, what gasket do you use between the intake and the waterneck?

BTW, MikeInAZ, thanks for the p/n on that TB gasket set.

 

I use the stant brand. Any auto parts store will probably carry stant in the 195,180, and 160 temps. As far as I can see nobody stocks a 170 deg. stat. You can order one through any GM dealer under GM part #10220957. The parts store usually has a cross reference book so you can look up your engine and get the correct part. On my 89 the housing gasket is fel-pro#35062. Stant has two grades of stats, a cheaper OEM type and a premium unit. Either one will work well, and Stant is the OE supplier to GM. Danno on the GO!