deebee

Ok, so I bought a Hypertech 160 thermostat and have the power programmer to reprogram the fans. I haven't put it in yet.

I read on another forum this statement about the 160 thermostat:
"Some say that a 160 thermostat is not hot enough to "burn" off contaminates in the oil, specifically...water condensation during short trips."

Is this an accurate statement?

I am thinking this is the case for any vehicle if you take it on short trips, 160 thermostat or not. But if anyone can shed light on this I would appreciate it. I was planning putting it in this week but came across that statement and I am slightly hesitant now. Car is usually driven on trips where it is allowed to fully warm up and never will see cold temperatures.

Fatdog2

Might do a search--(160vs.180 degrees thermostat-Corvette Forum )
it's at forum.studebakerdriversclub.comc5tech/873082.160ss?
Might grab a favorite beverage as the first 15 or so posts are not so informative.
9-06-2004.Hope this helps.

deebee

Fatdog2, thanks for the link. I found it through Google.
I read the whole thread and came to the conclusions whether a 160 thermostat is good or bad.
YAY and NAY lol
Lots of back and forth in that thread and no solid conclusion. It was an interesting read, though.
I have an LT1 and that thread was more for the LS1.
My head still hurts from reading it.

bw_hunter

A 160F thermostat, without a timing adjustment, really doesn't do much for you. You'll probably have increased emissions and poorer fuel economy. The real advantage to a lower temp thermostat is it allows a tuner to add ignition timing without the engine suffering detonation.

A 160 thermostat, revised fan settings and an aftermarket tune can gain you power...it's a mod worth doing. It's not a mod worth doing halfway...adjust the tune or don't bother.

shoebox

Then you don't have anything to worry about.

Injuneer

160* seems very low to some people. But they are not aware of the LT1's unique reverse flow cooling system. The coolant from the radiator hits the heads first, then drops into the block where it continues to be heated up by the cylinder walls. Most cars have a stock 196* 'stat. But the stocker on the LT1 is only 180*.

No problems with the 160* for that reason, other than what Bruce mentions - more emissions and less fuel mileage. But I found those changes to be very minor.

deebee

Guys, thanks for the responses. I have a feeling they will help a lot of people.

Fortunately for me, gas is dirt cheap here and we don't have emissions testing.
I will pop it in and see how it goes.

Chimera96

with just doing the 160 stat and using your programmer to have fans come on earlier will make the motor run cooler but really won't give you any more "performance". You need the PCM tuned for it which involves making timing & fuel adjustments along with lowering fan turn on temps

If you are not having the PCM tuned for t, I would pass on installing the 160

Injuneer

There is an optional "power program" as part of the Hypertech programmer. Dyno tests documented in some magazine many years ago showed that the power program actually lost HP, unless it was combined with the revised fan temps and the 160* 'stat. With the whole package, it actually showed a HP gain of about 10 HP (as best I can recall after all these years).

Try it with and without the power program. SOTP isn't going to detect 10 HP, but maybe try it on the track with and without.

Won't be as good as a mail order tune, but at least it's something.

shoebox

I've run 160 and 180 and never noticed any difference in mileage.

I like the 160 in the summer, because the engine gets less heat soak. Even stock timing is pulled when the engine gets too hot, so even with no programming you might see less of a decrease in performance.