I recently put in a 160 thermostat and if I read right, the gauge says the car runs at 120 degrees. My gauge starts at 100 and reads all the way up to 260 but the car runs at the first line which would be 120. When I had the 180 thermostat, the car read that it ran at 140 degrees. What would be the best thing to do?

 

weird, my gauge goes from 160 to 260, i run just below the first notch coming from the 160 side, so i guess thats 170-180. is your car tuned for the 160 t-stat?

 

The problem is the 93 coolant temp gauge isn't marked correctly. They have the first line marked "100", when it should have been marked "160". They corrected it in 94 and later years. Its running at 180* if its where the needle is in the photo below.

Check this page from Shoebox's site:

 

After installing my 160 stat, I thought it would run at 160. It always runs about 175 or so even cruising.

 

that's cause at 160 the stat is just starting to open...the temp will never match exactly what the stat is rated for.

 

Strange.

The stock 180 would stay at 180 when cruising.....

 

The "rated" temperature is the point at which the t'stat starts to open. Typically, it won't be fully open until about 20* above the rated temperature. If your engine was running at 180* with a 180* t'stat, it means the cooling system was able to remove the required heat with minimum recirculation, or that your temp gauge wasn't all that accurate.

 

Alright, thanks all. That page answered my question. The car runs at about 175* from looking at that. I guess I was right in thinking that the gauge on the 93's is weird.