i know i can get them for 10 bucks from slponline.com but what are they good for? what are they? do you gain horsepower from them? what kind of thermostat do i have in my 03 gt 5 speed? is it worth spending 10 dollars on?
what is a 180 or 160 thermostat
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stallion98gt
New Member
Sorry, couldn't resist. 
The thermostat regulates the flow of coolant from the radiator into the engine. Getting a lower-temp thermostat just means you'll put coolant into the engine sooner. It's a cheap and easy thing to do, and probably good "extra insurance" for someone who beats on their engine, but offers no real performance gains or benefit.
edit: thermostats eventually go bad and it's a good maintenance item to replace, I'd say at 50,000 miles or so (just a guess). I wouldn't mess with it until then.
The thermostat regulates the flow of coolant from the radiator into the engine. Getting a lower-temp thermostat just means you'll put coolant into the engine sooner. It's a cheap and easy thing to do, and probably good "extra insurance" for someone who beats on their engine, but offers no real performance gains or benefit.
edit: thermostats eventually go bad and it's a good maintenance item to replace, I'd say at 50,000 miles or so (just a guess). I wouldn't mess with it until then.
I've been told that going to a 180-160 degree thermostat is a nono for the reasons of sludging and an constant open circuit. The stock thermostat is either a 192 or 195 degreee. I have a 180 degree and I have not had any problems other then that I ran it doing the winter and if I didn't let the car warm up for at least 12-15 minutes the car would run so cool that it would throw my SES light on. I think there is nothing wrong with running a 180 degree thru the hot seasons. My cooling fan still comes on if I do city driving. It is usually good to have a chip burned to turn the cooling fan on sooner also. A 160 would be a nono IMO on a stock none power adder car. A 180 does offer good fast cooling though in the hot seasons. They usually recommend 160 and 180 degree thermostats in cars running turbo-superchargers or increased timing or high compression motors because the cooler the car runs the better the chance of avoiding detonation keeping cylinder pressures down. Hotter running cars of course run higher cylinder pressures causing the detonation which is not good on rods and pistons. Some one correct me if I'm wrong. I'd hate to give someone bad tech. info. Hope this helps.
85MustGT
Founding Member
The thermostat regulates at what temp the bypass to the radiator opens. You car runs at more than 180 degrees. What happens is the cooant circulates in the engine, then at 180 degrees the coolant flows thru the radiator as well. This aids how fast the engine warms up. If you live in Minnesota keep the 192 degree in there. If you live in Arizona a 180 or 160 degree might be ok.
you can get the t-stat at your local autoparts store for $4. just ask for one for a 4.6L Thunderbird. it's the same thing. don't let SLP rip you off. Sean Hyland charges $20
get a 180* t-stat. your car will run a little cooler, which is a good thing. it adds some protection from pinging. do not get a 160* t-stat, that's too cold for a street car.
get a 180* t-stat. your car will run a little cooler, which is a good thing. it adds some protection from pinging. do not get a 160* t-stat, that's too cold for a street car.
MotleyCrue
New Member
Bulldog, its very easy to install, just follow your upper radiator hose to your intake and pull the 2 bolts out and take the old one out and put the new one in. Thats it 
Tylerb59
Banned
MotleyCrue said:Bulldog, its very easy to install, just follow your upper radiator hose to your intake and pull the 2 bolts out and take the old one out and put the new one in. Thats it
Remember to cool down your car, as soon as you open that the radiator coolant and water mixture will shoot out [piping hot] if you haven't already drained the radiator.
Usually a good time to drain / flush / refill your radiator with fresh coolant also.
average guy
New Member
easy to do, make sure a new gasket is useed which should come with the t-stat. use a torque wrench, and like they said...might as well do a coolant change
03poontanggt
New Member
I feel a lot more at ease when I see my temp gauge and 1/4 up with the 180 and feel a little more nervous when I see it at 1/2 with the stock.
Sam98
Founding Member
stallion98gt said:I doubt u'll get HP from them
You won't. Back in the '70s, you could gain a significant amount of HP by using a colder thermostat because the engine would run richer and you could advance the timing more, but with fuel injection the computer already compensates for the temperature and maintains the same A/F ratio and timing.
