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Thread: 160 Thermostat

  1. #1
    Senior Member kingls1's Avatar
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    160 Thermostat

    [B]Iam getting ready to send my PCM down to frost for a tune and have been kicking around doing the 160 thermostat and having the fans changed. Anyone have any input on this change and is worth doing? Cool makes power but I won't be racing it much and don't want the fans running a lot to keep up

  2. #2
    Spaz is My Mentor SMWS6TA's Avatar
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    I had frost change my PCM to turn the fans on for a 160* Tstat but I haven't switched it over from the 180*. I live in the south and it gets hot as Hell's balls on a summer day. It turns them on at a lower setting. So far no issues and my car (fingers crossed) hasn't had any issues.

    If you're getting a full frost tune and the fan change are part of the deal do it.

  3. #3
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    160 is a little low for a street car. 180 may be better. For a car that doesnt race much id keep the 195 for emissions and fuel economy but thats me.

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    Senior Member kingls1's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by camaroman1011 View Post
    160 is a little low for a street car. 180 may be better. For a car that doesnt race much id keep the 195 for emissions and fuel economy but thats me.
    Not to sound dumb but what does the thermostat have to do with emissions and fuel economy? Just put ory on with resonators so the emissions part is out anyway..

  5. #5
    Senior Member kingls1's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by SMWS6TA View Post
    I had frost change my PCM to turn the fans on for a 160* Tstat but I haven't switched it over from the 180*. I live in the south and it gets hot as Hell's balls on a summer day. It turns them on at a lower setting. So far no issues and my car (fingers crossed) hasn't had any issues.

    If you're getting a full frost tune and the fan change are part of the deal do it.
    Is the stock thermo. A 180? Do your fans run a lot to where you hear them?

  6. #6
    Veteran Firebirdjones's Avatar
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    This question comes up alot.

    The hot thermostat was in place in an effort to help burn off hydrocarbons, it doesn't help fuel economy or efficiency in any way.

    Another usefull piece of information is the LS1 thermostat, even though advertised at 160, doesn't actually operate at that temperature. Due to it's odd design, it doesn't actually start to open until about 172 degrees (cracks open) and is fully open around the 175 mark.

    With that said, even with a 160 thermostat the coolest the engine will operate is in the 172-178 range, the thermostat just won't let it run cooler than that.

    For those that worry, these cars enter closed loop at around 100 degrees, so no worries.

  7. #7
    Spaz is My Mentor SMWS6TA's Avatar
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    FBJ posted what I was going to say

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    Senior Member kingls1's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by SMWS6TA View Post
    FBJ posted what I was going to say
    So what Iam taking away from this is take advantage of this mod, I see that the thermostat comes in a complete housing for $35 and others have changed the guts any info on this

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    Veteran Firebirdjones's Avatar
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    If you have an LS1 with the LS1 style water pump, buying the whole housing with a thermostat is the only way they come.

    The thermostats themselves without the housing are made to fit the LS2, and vortec truck engines.

    I see a cooler thermostat as beneficial in alot of ways. Cooler temps allow a more aggressive tune on pump gas before detonation sets in. It also keeps everything else under the hood cooler, all your rubber and plastic parts that are prone to heat induced cracking and hardening. If you run an automatic or have a factory power steering cooler you also gain the benefit of those components running cooler, and we all know heat kills automatic trannies. You'll also gain a cooler intake charge. Not only does the air intake sit right on top of the radiator (great idea,,,lol) but your intake is also a heat source that can benefit from cooler temps.

    Overall, in my opinion nothing but good things come from a cooler running engine.

  10. #10
    expensive tires az gt eater's Avatar
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    As far as the actual part goes, I didn't have any luck at my parts store, I had to order it from the WS6 store. That ended up putting my car down for a week. They tried to give me the thermostat alone. You def need the housing as one piece. And if you are going to be doing that, change the hoses at the same time. But, again, verify they give you the right hoses before you tear it down, i got screwed on the hoses as well. (I have terrible luck.) Leads to a patient lifestyle, though.

  11. #11
    Senior Member kingls1's Avatar
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    Thanks for the info after much looking into this mod there is nothing but good to come from this, also the thermo for the LS1 for sure only comes one way..so here we go, this is a perfect week for some garage time as I live in Johnstown, PA and we are to get 12-18 inches of SNOW tonight thru Tuesday!!! Yes you read it right April 22 and 18" of snow......wtf

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    Member Whitefish's Avatar
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    I don't mean to threadjack, but after reading this, I am kinda freaked out. My 02 SS usually runs at around 210, according to the gauge. Is this normal?

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    Senior Member tatertot91's Avatar
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    The temp gauges in these cars aren't worth a crap. Yours is most likely fine at 210. The stock gauge should get to operating temp (210) and stay there unless it begins to overheat.

  14. #14
    Veteran Firebirdjones's Avatar
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    Yep that's about normal. I don't believe the stock fans are set to come on until 225 or so.

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    Member Whitefish's Avatar
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    Thanks fellas. I tell you, never have I felt like more of an idiot than since getting this car last month! I realized I know absolutely nothing about them. I have a lot of stickies to read, apparently.

  16. #16
    expensive tires az gt eater's Avatar
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    Yes you do, my friend, yes you do. Read for a few months, then start asking questions. We are happy to help.

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    Veteran 0rion's Avatar
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    another thing to remember is that the temp for the t stat is just the point at which it opens. After it's open your fan settings will control your temps.

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    I've got a 160* T-stat also. I reprogrammed fans according to instructions. One on @170, second on @ 175 but both off @ 160. Anyone has a recommendation on on/off settings? Should fans runs sequentially or together? Thanks

  19. #19
    Veteran Firebirdjones's Avatar
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    I run mine seperately too, usually 10 degrees apart. I don't see a problem with 5 degrees either.

    The only thing that would concern me is your actual temp. Since the 160 temp is actually the "crack open" point where it begins to work (like Orion mentioned). The other issue is the LS1 thermostat design really doesn't operate at 160 either. It's "open point" is around 170-172ish. So with those fan settings, you might find the fans running all the time and never shutting off.

    Only way to know for sure is to log and drive, and see what's happening.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Firebirdjones View Post
    I run mine seperately too, usually 10 degrees apart. I don't see a problem with 5 degrees either.

    The only thing that would concern me is your actual temp. Since the 160 temp is actually the "crack open" point where it begins to work (like Orion mentioned). The other issue is the LS1 thermostat design really doesn't operate at 160 either. It's "open point" is around 170-172ish. So with those fan settings, you might find the fans running all the time and never shutting off.

    Only way to know for sure is to log and drive, and see what's happening.
    FYI, FBJ, I tried to pm you but you're full.. Yes yur right, after driving awhile and come to a stop, I can hear the fans. What's your on/off setting on both fans?

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