thermostats?

**99yellowz28** · 02-23-2009, 11:37 AM

what degree thermostat works well with the ls1 was thinking 160 degree but my buddy said 180 what do you guys think?

**mrr23** · 02-23-2009, 11:43 AM

i run a 170 myself.

**thearborbarber** · 02-23-2009, 11:58 AM

I have a 180 and am satisfied. Wouldn't mind trying a 160 in the future.

**stormy69** · 02-23-2009, 08:37 PM

if its a street car dont go under 180, engine wear starts climbing rapidly.

**SSTODD** · 02-24-2009, 07:44 AM

The 160's for sale (all) open at about 174-177 anyway so go with the 160 and it will run about 180 while cruising. I verified with a data logger after my 160 install after others reported this with theirs.

**occamaroz** · 02-24-2009, 07:48 AM

I ran a 160 for a few yrs and my mpg around town was horrible, 14.5. However this was driving very short trips to work so the engine never warmed up as fast because of the 160. I ran it mostly to reduce pinging in the summer and so I could use the predator tune. All this being said a colder thermostat only lowers temps when moving. Sitting in traffic and driving around town for a while the engine temps will go up to the same as a stock thermostat. You need to have the fans programmed to come on earlier or have a manual fan switch but then how would you know when to flip the swtich since the temp guage in my 02 is just a idiot gauge. I might get a 180 this summer to reduce kr.

**99yellowz28** · 02-25-2009, 04:05 AM

Originally Posted by SSTODD

The 160's for sale (all) open at about 174-177 anyway so go with the 160 and it will run about 180 while cruising. I verified with a data logger after my 160 install after others reported this with theirs.

the guy at summit racing said that might be to cold because the piston rings would not get hot enough

Originally Posted by occamaroz

I ran a 160 for a few yrs and my mpg around town was horrible, 14.5. However this was driving very short trips to work so the engine never warmed up as fast because of the 160. I ran it mostly to reduce pinging in the summer and so I could use the predator tune. All this being said a colder thermostat only lowers temps when moving. Sitting in traffic and driving around town for a while the engine temps will go up to the same as a stock thermostat. You need to have the fans programmed to come on earlier or have a manual fan switch but then how would you know when to flip the swtich since the temp guage in my 02 is just a idiot gauge. I might get a 180 this summer to reduce kr.

i plan on getting an hp tunner program and setting my fans lower

**JoshieDoom** · 02-25-2009, 04:09 AM

Originally Posted by stormy69

if its a street car dont go under 180, engine wear starts climbing rapidly.

Where is the proof in this post?

**SSTODD** · 02-25-2009, 04:26 AM

I've never heard the piston ring story before with just a 10 degree drop, and many people have had the 160 stat for years now with lower fan settings also to keep everything cool. Summit guy sounds like a quicky oil change guy

.
The stat does not slow down the engine warm-up it just will open to maintain the temp you buy, and about 180 is what a 160 will do because of the design.
Your gauge will not show any change unless you have a 98 because they are dumbed down to not react. I feel it runs better with the slightly lower temp and that cools the trans. and other items as well.

**99yellowz28** · 02-25-2009, 05:41 AM

Originally Posted by SSTODD

I've never heard the piston ring story before with just a 10 degree drop, and many people have had the 160 stat for years now with lower fan settings also to keep everything cool. Summit guy sounds like a quicky oil change guy

.
The stat does not slow down the engine warm-up it just will open to maintain the temp you buy, and about 180 is what a 160 will do because of the design.
Your gauge will not show any change unless you have a 98 because they are dumbed down to not react. I feel it runs better with the slightly lower temp and that cools the trans. and other items as well.

he said the 160 would not let the the rings warn up and to run the the 180

**SSTODD** · 02-25-2009, 05:49 AM

Originally Posted by 99z-28

he said the 160 would not let the the rings warn up and to run the the 180

The 160 runs at 180 as stated before, the cooling system can only be so efficient. Why lower your fans or change the stat if 10-20 degrees is going to mess with the rings.

**99yellowz28** · 02-25-2009, 06:41 AM

Originally Posted by SSTODD

The 160 runs at 180 as stated before, the cooling system can only be so efficient. Why lower your fans or change the stat if 10-20 degrees is going to mess with the rings.

i dont know why he said that i dont get it but im probily just gana run a 180 and turn the fans down and go from there

**stormy69** · 02-25-2009, 06:49 AM

Originally Posted by JoshieDoom

Where is the proof in this post?

google it....

engine wear bellcurve based on temp, i did a paper on it for school yrs ago.

**SSTODD** · 02-25-2009, 07:13 AM

Do not confuse coolant temp. with oil temp. and cylinder wall and metal temps inside the engine. oil is about 40 degrees warmer than coolant and the metal is hotter still, a 160 stat running at 177 is perfect for all charts and curves I have ever seen. Use a good oil and air filter to cut down your engine wear. I would not use it in fridgid weather but we are talking summer cruise weather I assume.

**karpetcm** · 02-25-2009, 07:14 AM

I dont doubt that there will be engine wear, but ive used 160 thermo with the fans set to turn on sooner on all my Camaro's and ive had 5 of them and never had any issues. On my 93 Z the temp was extremely low and never had an issue with it in the 4 1/2 years i drove it, same goes for my other camaro's. Maybe there were different factors in my case but my last Z i had was 156,000 miles and ran it up to 218,000 before selling it.

**RyanJM** · 02-25-2009, 09:15 AM

I've had my 160 for over a year with no problems. hell the car runs better now when it hit's the 90's here. I haven't noticed any difference in gas mileage. I had my fans reset when the put the thermostat in. Figures since I was doing the LS6 intake, ASP pulleys, and a tune up why not through a low temp thermostat in.

**JoshieDoom** · 02-26-2009, 01:55 AM

Originally Posted by stormy69

google it....

engine wear bellcurve based on temp, i did a paper on it for school yrs ago.

Did my research and asked the old man...

Coolant temp doesnt effect engine wear. Its oil temp and this is caused by condensation not burning off.

UOA will tell all.

**stormy69** · 02-26-2009, 07:12 PM

Originally Posted by SSTODD

Do not confuse coolant temp. with oil temp. and cylinder wall and metal temps inside the engine. oil is about 40 degrees warmer than coolant and the metal is hotter still, a 160 stat running at 177 is perfect for all charts and curves I have ever seen. Use a good oil and air filter to cut down your engine wear. I would not use it in fridgid weather but we are talking summer cruise weather I assume.

if its running at 177, its not a 160 stat (regardless of what it "says") so i dont see the relation to my statement. coolant temp is representative of block temp, oil will almost always be a different temp than coolant and isnt relative either.

**stormy69** · 02-26-2009, 07:19 PM

Originally Posted by JoshieDoom

Did my research and asked the old man...

Coolant temp doesnt effect engine wear. Its oil temp and this is caused by condensation not burning off.

UOA will tell all.

i disagree, in theory.... i stand by my statement that ENGINE temp effects wear....
but i do agree that condesation and other contaminates will affect oil life as well (also part of my paper) if temps arent reached long enough to eliminate them.

**JoshieDoom** · 02-27-2009, 12:41 AM

Originally Posted by stormy69

i disagree, in theory.... i stand by my statement that ENGINE temp effects wear....
but i do agree that condesation and other contaminates will affect oil life as well (also part of my paper) if temps arent reached long enough to eliminate them.

But what do you mean by engine? Each part of the engine is a different temperature. Thats too broad of a range to say such a thing.

be like sarge and prove me wrong with 2345678678 pages of info