would a 160 or 180* thermostat help with a 2.8 at all, i mean its dirt cheap etc...if so which one would you reccommend? anyone tried this?

 

ive been running a 180 Degree thermostat in my 2.8 (mainly because during the summer it gets right around 100-105 durning the day) Other then running cooler then its ever has before, ive haven't noticed anything....

 

i run the 160 and a manual fan switch/havent had one over heat problem since i did that/and witht he 160 stat as long as im moving more then 20mph i dont haVe to turn the fan on at all

 

you might problems with closed loop operation, some cars do, others aren't as **** about it. I run the stock 195 because there are no significant power gains to be had by running it 10 degrees cooler, plus the fact that you'll get slightly better milage with the 195. That's why some nwer cars run 205 and 210 T-stats.

 

I'm in NJ, and used to put a 160 in for the summer and go back to 195 in the winter...

..Then one year I was lazy (or just got sick of changing the 'stat!) and didn't put the 195 back in. Brrr... not only was I freezing because the car had no heat, but, I was using a ton of gas because it was never going into closed loop.

That's really strange because the GM book says the coolant needs to be above 77 degrees for closed loop- so my 160 degree thermo should've been more than enough!

So one day it was warm enough for me to change the stat without freezing- I got my heat AND mileage back! The 195 'stat has stayed in there for the past few years.

 

Ditto. Stick with the stock 195 degree stat.

 

Up north, run a 195.
Down south, run a 180.

You can run a 160, but you are on the edge as far as the computer thinking the car is warm (154, I believe is the 'warmed up' value)