Went down to the local performance shop to pick up a 160 degree thermostat. The guy there said not to replace the thermostat unless I also made adjustments to the computer. He said just putting in the lower temp thermostat will mess things up.
Can anyone confirm this?

thanks

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Dan
00' Z28

 

I have a 160 thermo in mine, no problems at all. The only reason you would want computer adjustments is to make the fans come on at a lower temp. It is not required though.

 

You can run the 160* t-stat without doing anything else, but you won't see much benefit. You need to get the fans to turn on earlier also.

One of the techs at a local Chevy lot told me that installing a 160* t-stat would throw a SES light because it didn't allow the motor to get up to temp. He's wrong. But, this is probably what your tech guy was thinking.

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2001 TransAm WS6, M6 3.42
HPP, TBB, 160* t-stat, MTI Lid, Holley PowerShot, Flowmaster 80, Port/Polish MAF, !CAGS

www.BlackWS6.com

2001 Z28
-- R.I.P. - 06/25/02

 

160 t stat is a good idea, and if you drive your car, even without reprogramming the fans, it will run cooler than stock. cooler engines don't heat up the air as much, so its obvious that you will make more power. whether or not you feel the difference depends on the car, but i'd be willing to put $50 on saying that you could see the difference on a dyno. And don't believe some people who say that the car won't go into closed loop, because it does way before 160, or at least it should. if it didn't in those people's cars, it wasn't the cooling system's fault.