Thermostat Temp

[JD1964]

I have a 180 in there now. I'm thinking about putting the factory 192 back in. My radiator is huge and even if my fans are not running, just going down the road at cruise cools the engine to below what is maximum efficiency.

I can set my fans higher and it will maintain a higher temp if I'm not moving. But as soon as I move down the road, the temps drops to the point that the 180 closes.

So, who concurs with my idea of putting the 192 back in?

 

[General karthief]

I do

 

[Mustang5L5]

I would.

My 180tstat runs at 188* consistently. Low enough I just leave it in. Gets up to 195 in a WOT blast but quickly cools down

 

[FoxMustangLvr]

What's wrong with the stock 192* anyway?

 

[General karthief]

Nothing, thats what they need. The colder stat comes from the 60's, the thought was cooler engine temp more hp. It has followed the uninformed crowds like an old wives tale.

 

[Dan25nout]

hmmm wow I would of thought the same...my car runs in the 185-90 range..is it recommended to know put a 165 thermostat in? they do sell them all over lmr an other sites...

 

[Dan25nout]

not (typo)

 

[General karthief]

Engine temps are sensor related, factory calls for 195 so emissions stuff can function correctly with sensor imput to computer, thats the short version.

 

[JD1964]

From what I heard, the computer needs to see 188 degrees before it will go into closed loop. Please correct me if I'm wrong on this. Here goes.....;

Closed loop is when the computer accepts signal from the o2 sensors and allows the relevant adjustments to happen as you continue to drive the car.

Open loop is when the computer is running on a pre-determined fixed set of adjustments.

As designed, cold engine would run in open loop on the default settings. When the temp sensor gets to 188, it tells the computer to switch over to closed loop and passes responsibility off to the o2 sensors to direct things.

Am I correct so far? I will continue if I get concurrence

 

[JD1964]

hmmm wow I would of thought the same...my car runs in the 185-90 range..is it recommended to know put a 165 thermostat in? they do sell them all over lmr an other sites...

On a street driven computer controlled EFI 5.0? Hell no!! 165....NOT!

On a carbed track car that gets jet changes every time the wind blows, sure

 

[General karthief]

On a street driven computer controlled EFI 5.0? Hell no!! 165....NOT!

On a carbed track car that gets jet changes every time the wind blows, sure

The wind has to change direction before you need to address jet changes, everybody knows that.

 

[TOOLOW91]

I run a 180 in my blower car . In the cooler months it deff runs a little cooler then it should. Summer time it's right where I want it .

 

[FourEyed]

I run a motorcraft 180°, Mishimoto three core radiator, a fourseasons fan-clutch, with an Autometer mechanical gauge. No issues .

 

[Dan25nout]

From what I heard, the computer needs to see 188 degrees before it will go into closed loop. Please correct me if I'm wrong on this. Here goes.....;

Closed loop is when the computer accepts signal from the o2 sensors and allows the relevant adjustments to happen as you continue to drive the car.

Open loop is when the computer is running on a pre-determined fixed set of adjustments.

As designed, cold engine would run in open loop on the default settings. When the temp sensor gets to 188, it tells the computer to switch over to closed loop and passes responsibility off to the o2 sensors to direct things.

Am I correct so far? I will continue if I get concurrence

very well put....makes complete sense thanks

 

[Shakerhood]

I have had a 180 in my car for many years, next time I flush the system I am going to put a Stock 192 back in again.

 

[JD1964]

Obviously many of us take out the factory 192 and put in a 180. What exactly do we gain by doing this? And how does it affect a stock setup as compared to a modified setup.

 

[Mustang5L5]

Obviously many of us take out the factory 192 and put in a 180. What exactly do we gain by doing this? And how does it affect a stock setup as compared to a modified setup.

I did it when I was a 18 year old who didn't know much and the internet told me putting in a 160 or 180 would keep the motor cooler and add HP. It's also the same internet that told me to loop my EGR coolant hoses together, and set my TPS to 0.9999999999999v

These days, given what I know about how an EFI engine works, I'd leave the stock 192 in. In fact, next time I have my intake off, I will replace it with a 192 unit.


OPEN/CLOSED loop depends on more than just temp. It also looks at other factors. I've found some info suggesting the changeover could occur as low as 140-150 degrees, so even with a 160 stat you could still go into closed loop

http://www.veryuseful.com/mustang/tech/engine/EECIVInnerWorkings/

Downside to running cold in an EFI engine is that it could potentially damage the engine. Really need to get up into the 190-200 degree range to be the most efficient.

 

[FourEyed]

The thing is, at least for me, that when seating in traffic with the AC set on high, on a hot 100* plus Texas day my car wasn't exactly running cool with the 192* stat.

I know all about the open/closed loop deal. But with my current setup it has never ran better.

I think it's all about what works best for you.

 

[CarMichael Angelo]

The "thing" is, as it has already been said, The electrical sensors are calibrated to work at a higher temp for a reason. Simply put, the metal parts of the engine need that temp range to maintain their expansion rate. Pistons expand in the cylinder as the metal "grows" however many ten thousandths to seal in the cylinder pressures more efficiently. Run it cooler than that,..you get increased emissions, and potentially less than optimal drivability as a result. Additionally, a colder piston actually contributes to additional wear, as it moves in the cylinder more.

I realize it's not relevant here, but as an exaggerated example,..the 3.3L inline 6 banger that alot of these cars come with have a water pump where the impeller backs up to the #1 piston. Because the cooler water from the radiator is coming into the pump, that piston NEVER gets as hot as the other 5. Consequently, the #1 cylinder in all of Fords inline 6's is generally worn the hell out come rebuild time. In my engines case,..#1 was .030 larger than the other 5.

In the V-8's case,..that could potentially mean the 1 and 5 run cooler as well.

So then the take away here is to run the engine where the engineers wanted it to run. When you add mods that cause the engine to run hot/hotter, the cure is not a cooler T stat,...It's a better cooling system.

 

[JD1964]

I'm convinced. I'm going back to 192.