Has there been a consensus on what the best temp thermostat for TPI is, or is it still a never ending arguement? OR should I try the cooling board? I figured I'd put it here since it's TPI specific... I remember a huge thread on it that was just arguements back and forth, I was wondering if we had made a final decision? Stick with the 195* or go to a 180* for inbetween? Or does it really not matter and just go for a 160*?

 

I saw 180 all the way. 160 is very close to too cold. A 180 stat with a properly working cooling system will keep your car between 180-200 which is best for a TPI car. A car running from 160-185 might put out marginal amount of extra power, but reliability becomes an issue... whether it be problems with your set of aluminum heads, fouling plugs, or whatever. Note: this is not to say that people do not have great success with a 160, but I feel 180 is the way to go.

 

you can get away with the 180...

https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...hreadid=150343

i myself may be going to a 180 from 195..

 

Yeah, a 180 is about the best all around, not too cold for winter and not too hot for summer use.

 

181.3 to be exact. What are your fan temp settings in the prom? are they stock? You'll want to set them to work with the stat if you're into prom tuning.

 

180 All the Way. Setting the Fan temps to coincide is a good idea too. See my Sig for how....

 

I'm not into burning proms, probably won't be for awhile too...

 

180* . Get into tuning PROMs .

 

I have ABSOLUTELY NO driveablity concerns running my 195. Car runs great all the time....and I'm getting 21-22 mpg to boot.

 

I have this current lack of money issue.... I'm a poor high school kid, so I can't get into proms...

 

If you cannot change your prom I would suggest leaving the thermostat stock. I tune proms and many settings are based on the temp of your engine. The one that would be affected most would be idling when coming to a stop or coasting down the road. My guess is it would idle high because the temps would be lower. In general I think the car will run rich most of the time also. On the other hand in my car I use a 160 thermostate with a prom tuned with lower operating temperatures and it runs a little cooler, but I am not sure I am making the most power.

 

I have a 91 350. I run a 160 stat with a manual fan switch on mine and get about 15/21 MPG. That's BETTER gas mileage than my previous 88 5.7 with a stock thermostat. I always let the car warm up for about 5 minutes in the morning and that's plenty of time for the engine to go into closed loop mode. Also that's the only time it idles high. When it's warm it idles where it should be.

 

Anything above 100 degrees will let your car enter closed loop mode. GM wanted the cars to enter closed loop as soon as possible in order to reduce emmissions. When I say idle high I am not talking a great deal. I am talking about 200-300 rpm higher. A stock F-body with SD should idle around 600. With a lower thermostat and no chip changes it will probably be 800-900 RPM. My 91 GTA for the most part never gets below 20 mpg even when I beat on it all day. An 88 f-body is a tottally different story. It was equipped with mass air flow. That early type of Mass air flow has some quirks that need to be ironed out before it is efficient as possible. A good place to start is with the ARAP binary file.