Hey guys, i was talking to f-body.com, about wut temp thermostat i should put in my 88 GTA 350, i bought at 160 at autozone, and they said that i should check with yall, cause it might be too cold. any suggestions? im gonna get a fan switch to 185 probably.

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88' GTA 350 MODS---> air foil, K&N, Shift Kit

 

If you are going to get the fan switch to turn on at 185 then I would get an 180* stat or a 170* stat myself. The 160* can be to cold because you would not get into closed loop but there are people running 160* stats here with no problems at all.

 

well i thought about also putting in a toggle switch, so if i ever went to the drag strip, or anything, i could just flip it on and cool it to 160. would that be wise?

 

Just cuz' you put in a 160° doesn't mean it's gonna' run 160°.

195° - The Artic Circle
180° - Cooler Climates
170° - Warmer Climates
160° - Hotter than Hell

 

dont waste the money on one of those $20-40 switches,just put a $2 toggle switch in there,i mounted mine right under cig lighter and no problems,it does its job

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91 z-28
t-tops
305 tpi
gutted airbox
k&n filters
tb bypass
fan toggle switch
3:42 gear soon

 

So is 160 good, in tx? or should i go with 170? i don't wanna have the Gas milage go down, i get 14mpg now, i just want it running cooler, not in closed loop.

 

Closed loop is very desirable. Our cars start in open loop to enrich cold starts and switch to closed loop for more economical operation.

You might be confusing open and closed thermostat.

In Texas you still encounter some winter time cold weather as well as some very hot summers. I would recommend the 170° stat to keep from flip flopping between 160° in the summer and 180° in the winter.

 

There is NO PROBLEM with a 160* T-stat going into closed loop, the minimum temperature is around 115*F to go into closed loop. (Also, it is changeable if you burn your own eprom)

The biggest problem with a 160* T-stat is that the ecm STILL thinks it is in "startup mode" based on how the programming works. This is further compounded if you have either a TB bypass or a relocated EGR. The ecm measures both the Coolant Temperature AND the DIFFERENCE between Coolant Temperature and Intake Temperature to determine when the engine is fully warmed up.

With a 160* (compounded with a relocated MAT and/or a bypassed TB) just makes you burn too much fuel when it really doesn't need to.

The real issue is the "heat" produced by the longer runners being transferred to the incoming air. In reality, the amount of heat added by the intake to the incoming air is not all that much. I have measured it, and it only adds about 5*C.

There is a differing theory about a "hot motor" having tighter tolerances and thus is more effective in getting all the energy of the "intake charge". I believe there is more to this theory than the "cooler temp stat to reduce intake temperatures".

I found the 180* T-stat gave me more consistent performance overall while having enough heat in the engine to have tighter tolerances. I have noticed that a higher temp t-stat DOES give better gas mileage however. This alone indicates a more efficient engine as I am getting more power from a given amount of gasoline.

Bruce Plecan (aka Grumpy) has burnt eproms for all three (160, 180 and 195) and is able to get ALL performing the same. The higher temp ones give more consistent performance however.

 

i have a 160* thermostat and a 2 dollar fan switch on my car, i live in texas and im getting about 24mpg on the highway.