Hi I just put hypertech 160 stat on my car. And one of the felow board member from NJboa.org told me that
"If the engine is too cool it will wear more and the parts won't be sealing as well as they would at the designed operating temp. Lots of tolerances get messed up when you run too cool. I like 180-195, anything cooler has never been proven to make a car faster. Yes having a cooler engine will make more horsepower so LONG AS the intake hasn't already heat soaked. Once that happens you're almost better off with a 180 stat since the rings, bearings, head gasket and what not will all be "tighter." Piston rings wear when the piston is loose in the hole, cold block = extra wear.
It's all up to you and I'm just giving you my opinion for whatever it's worth.
Also, definatly change those fan temps to match the stat. You could damage the 160 stat by overheating it up to normal temps on a regular basis. They're wax, wax expands, overheat it too much and the wax leaks out the seals."

This that true. I know that cold engine equals more wear but is this wear more then necessary, then i might just go bak to stock. I thought the advantage for the 160 stat was that it makes the engine run cooler and as a result i get little more horsepower. Thank you for all the responses in advance.

 

Never heard of wax in a thermostat....

 

that doesnt really make sense, when the block is cold then it has the tightest seal, when it heats up the metal expands and makes it a little looser

<edit> wear to the rings only happens signifigantly when on a cold startup, no oil up top so it wears them out slightly for a sec, and the only other problem i could see is that the oil doesnt heat up as much and doesnt thin out as much, but if that is a problem then just switch to a different oil</edit>

i was searching the forums about this yesterday and it seems that with the 160 thermostat you only get 99.99% of the life of the engine as compared with the factory 180.

and the engine temp wont actually be 160 unless its really cold outside, usually it will probobly have a temp around 175, as the factory setup has a temp of 195-210

i dont know too much about this myself but i wouldnt really trust what that guy said

 

Yea i have the 160 and it doesn't really help unless i droped my fan temp which i did. So at 150 the fan kicks on but the temp still isn't usually around 160 the gauage usually says 175-180

 

Sometimes people don't understand the implications of the "reverse flow" cooling used on the LT1's. The coolant hits the heads first, gets heated up, and then flows to the block. So, its not the same as a "standard flow" setup, where the colder coolant would hit the block first, then flow to the heads. That's why an LT1 can handle lower coolant temps, without subjecting the oil/block to lower temperatures. The main concern with the oil is making sure it reaches a temperature where the water and other contaminants will boil off.

It could be argued that the engineer designed the clearances in the engine based on his knowledge of the normal engine operating temperature.... closer to 210degF in the stock LT1... and that the reduced clearances with lower temps might increase wear, because they would not permit the required oil film thickness. But that's all "theory" and not within the ability to measure and predict affects on life of the engine. But bottom line, a standard flow cooling system with a 180degF 'stat will probably produce the same block and oil temperatures as the "reverse flow" system with a 160degF 'stat.

Keep in mind that there are a number of factors which need to be balanced to optimize the power production. A lower coolant temp reduces the thermal efficiency of the engine. But, it may also reduce preheat of the inlet air charge, and may allow a bit more timing advance, offsetting the power lost due to reduced thermal efficiency.

It is very common to construct the "pellet" that moves the 'stat open with a wax filling.

http://www.innerauto.com/Automotive_...ostat_Housing/

 

Driving around today I noticed the engine does heat up to normal Temperatues if car is sitting there or in traffic. But the temperature does drops lower then the 180 stat when the car gets moving. Another thing i noticed also is that when i let the car warm up for a bit, the oil pressure doesn't really drop from 50 psi to 20 psi all that quick.Only time the engine is able to reach it's 20 psi oil pressure is when the engine temp is around 190, or when the car has been driven a bit. Is this bad for the engine for the fact that the engine stays in high oil pressure longer? Thank you guys for all the responses.
Basically is it bad that the car holds a higher oil pressure now then it used to?

 

anybody ??

 

No, it's not bad. If it's holding or a little higher then it's all good.

 

So it's fine that the car takes little longer to get the oil pressure down to 20 psi. Thanx for all the replies keep em coming.

 

A lot of "old school" hotroddrs think they know engines, well they KNEW engines till these sorts of things came along, they break a lot of old "rules". Tell him the b-body got iron heads and 10:1 and runs great on 87 octane and I bet he tells you you are wrong, but there are a few hundred thousand cars on the road today that say I am right. Just an example of how technology is a wonderful thing.

 

I've been running my 93Z in which 100K of those miles was without a thermostat for the past 8 years and still haven't experience any premature engine wear. Then you have the folks who delete their coolant tubes altogether........

Johnny