160* Thermostat

Meat496

New Member
Dec 9, 2004
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Hey all I have been looking to run a cooler thermostat and I haven't been able to find one. Does anyone make one for the 05/06 GT's yet?

Do the T-stats from the last gen 4.6's work for the 3 valve?

thanks in advance:flag:
 
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The EEC won't respond well to a thermostat lower than 180 and you will get poor performance and mileage from such a peak operating temperature.

The lowest you should go with this setup is 180*. Any lower than that and you will be doing no good.

The "cooler the better" philosophy is from the carburetion days.
 
I have a 160* thermostat from Powerstat that fits the new 3V.
(Hypertech) Got it from my local Autozone.

It has not been installed yet.

I plan on giving it a try this spring.
The car has an annoying detonation problem that does not seem to go away.:notnice:

Once installed and running for awhile, I'll post my results.

Having an Xcal2 might also help me monitor the system as well.
It is not an A/F problem from what the dyno tells me.
 
mpentico said:
I have a 160* thermostat from Powerstat that fits the new 3V.
(Hypertech) Got it from my local Autozone.

It has not been installed yet.

I plan on giving it a try this spring.
The car has an annoying detonation problem that does not seem to go away.:notnice:

Once installed and running for awhile, I'll post my results.

Having an Xcal2 might also help me monitor the system as well.
It is not an A/F problem from what the dyno tells me.

Go for it. I would be interested in the results. Log your fuel economy before and after you do it to note any variance.
Also, don't forget to lower your fan kick-on temp as well, with the lower T-stat to achieve full benefit.
 
mpentico said:
I have a 160* thermostat from Powerstat that fits the new 3V.
(Hypertech) Got it from my local Autozone.

It has not been installed yet.

I plan on giving it a try this spring.
The car has an annoying detonation problem that does not seem to go away.:notnice:

Once installed and running for awhile, I'll post my results.

Having an Xcal2 might also help me monitor the system as well.
It is not an A/F problem from what the dyno tells me.


mpentico,

Thanks for your reply, do you have the part # for it? I spoke to the parts guy at my local Autozone and all he came up with was an OEM replacement.

thanks,
 
The Hypertech part number is 1011.
Autozone uses the same number but with a HYP prefix I think.

It was a PITA to get.:mad:

I found the part on there website. It is a special order part, so I had to go to the store. The yahoo behind the counter could not find it. So I had to go back home, print out the web-page, bring it to the store and after much searching... they finally found it on there computer system! Seems the part is listed under some kind of strange rarly used sub-directory. Anyhow, I ordered it for around $22 and got it in a couple of days.

Hopefully this will cure my detonation problem and MAYBE gain me a little HP.
 
blackened said:
<silence>

no idea on the LS1

i'd think that the knocking problem was due to too much spark advance. i doubt that 20 deg cooler air charge will elliminate detination.

I backed off the timing AND raised the octane... still pinging away.
And not all the time. :shrug:
 
you put higher octane fuel in or your put a higher octane tune in? if fuel you need to give it 50 miles or so before the other gas is gone. also look for good gas 93 cheveron. on the other hand if you tuned it for 93 then you just exacerbated the problem.

sorry if that's elementary to you. i'll assume that it is so there might be a problem with your knock sensor but it's not throwing a code.
 
Edbert said:
Just another idea...

Have you tried using gas from a different station/brand? I've had a tank of bad gas before, car ran like crap and pinged badly.

Just a thought.

Ahhhh back from vacation!!!!

Yup I've tried different gas stations, running each brand for a couple of weeks.
Brand and/or station does not seem to matter.

The really bad thing is the pinging in not consistant.
Some days no problem, other days it sounds like a diesel at WOT.

Never tripped a computer code, and had the car on the dyno while it was pinging.... the A/F mix was perfect, but you could see the ping "ripple" on the top of the dyno HP chart plot. I even backed off the timing. No luck!

Idontknow? Maybe the cooler thermostat will help.:shrug:
I'm also looking into more exotic solutions using the EGR/PCV System.
 
unless the intake has coolant running through it (i can't tell from cutaway shots, but it doesn't look like coolant flows through the intake) you're NOT going to get much cooler intake charge from a lower temp thermostat.

aluminum headed cars want to run at least 180 to get a good burn in the combustion chamber. the only way a 160 thermostat would help is if the map is too lean to begin with and the "warmup" mixture is closer to optimum. as several have noted, your mileage is going to decrease and you're going to build up oil sludge.

you'll do more harm than good by going with a 160.
 
Bullitt said:
unless the intake has coolant running through it (i can't tell from cutaway shots, but it doesn't look like coolant flows through the intake) you're NOT going to get much cooler intake charge from a lower temp thermostat.

aluminum headed cars want to run at least 180 to get a good burn in the combustion chamber. the only way a 160 thermostat would help is if the map is too lean to begin with and the "warmup" mixture is closer to optimum. as several have noted, your mileage is going to decrease and you're going to build up oil sludge.

you'll do more harm than good by going with a 160.

I am leaning towards this opinion.
It looks like only the heads have cooling water running through them.
I also do not like the idea of any kind of build up in my heads.

IF I decide to give the 160* a try, I'll do it close to a dyno pull to check A/F and other engine perfomance items. Maybe even check the plugs after awhile.

On the the PVC system..... CHARGE!