this hot weather is makin my car get pretty warm. so i'm thinking of putting a 160 thermo in...hot engines suck. Are there any manufactures that are better than others?

 

hypertech seems to be a popular choice for a lot of guys. if you're gonna do a thermostat though, it's a good idea to put a manual fan switch in, cause otherwise the fans still wont come on until the engine gets a lot warmer than 160 (whatever the factory settings are, not sure off hand), and that's a lot of what helps keep the engine cool.

 

You could also drill a hole in the stock thermo stat and install a fan switch.
Also your thermo might not be opening all the way so you might want to take it out before you change it and put in a pot of water and try boiling it. See if it opens.
That would give all most the same results as a 160 stat but with more temp controal during the cooler months.

 

This sounds good but I have a couple Q's.
* What size hole should we drill in the stock thermostat and where should we drill the hole?
* Do I need to replace a gasket or O-ring when I remove the thermostat housing?

Tim

 

You will want a new gasket. try to find a rubber one and start off drilling 1 or 2 holes and if that does nothing pull it off and add a nother. It all dependes on the size of the hole and you will want about a 1/8'' hole or smaller or 2 or 3 1/16'' holes.
a 1/8'' hole will flow all most 4X as much as a 1/16'' hole. Don't make to many 1/8'' holes to start with.
Don't drill a spring or a sealing surface, stay to the out side. Just drill flat metal.

 

just remember. if you dril a hole then it will no longer bypass while your on a cold start up. it will always be circulating and will take a good deal longer to heat the motor up. sometimes due to this you can set a code for extended time to closed loop etc etc.


I recomend a hypertech and a fan switch with both a low and high speed. I did made one for a friends V6 and works great along with teh hypertech that he installed. I have a few switched left if you would like to buy one. I bough enough stuff to make 5 and so far have used 2

 

Thanks for both sides of the information. I just discovered my girlfriend bought me a 160 thermostat and fan switch from SLP. The ground wire on the fan swith is too short to connect to the stock ground post, just my luck.
Harlan, I noticed you have the Lingenfelter SuperTube. I purchased one and can not get it to fit under the hood without putting too much pressure on the hood when it is closed. Do you have any ideas why that would be? Also, how far below the metal plate does the plastic tube extend? Mine seems to extend more than an inch and would have to push the end all the way through the rubber clamping area of the K&N filter to make it fit. I can't imagine my Camaro being different than any other.

 

before you make everything tight get it all together and then press down on it while you tightn the screw. then what I did was take a paint pen and outline on the top of the elbow and quickly shut the hood. then open it again. you should see an outline of the piant on the fire shield atached to the hood. cut out that section and you will be good to go

 

this is good to know because LPE says they should fit without removing the insulation. I am glad to know I am not the only person to experience the tight hood problem. My luck is so good the fan switch purchased, for me, from SLP had a short ground wire by five inches. I called them today and they measured the fan switches they had in stock and discovered all of them had short ground wires. I guess I am the only person they sold one from this batch to. PITA! Just lucky I guess

 

whats the difference between drillin a hole in the stock thermo and just buyin a new low temp one? Besides that you have to pay money for it. And the fan switch, is it a pretty straight forward install?

 

Just installed the 160 degree thermostat and should install the fan switch this weekend. The thermostat I replaced was a 180, is this correct for being stock?

 

1.. like I said above... just remember. if you dril a hole then it will no longer bypass while your on a cold start up. it will always be circulating and will take a good deal longer to heat the motor up. sometimes due to this you can set a code for extended time to closed loop etc etc.



2.. on the fan switch. depends on how you do it. If you do it right it will take you about 2 hours and about 10 bucks to do. dependsing on if you want LED's etc etc etc depends on how complex you make it. Like I also said above I made one for a friend and have enough parts for more if you would like to buy one and just hook it up.. that way all you need o do is wire a hot and ground and then 2 wires through teh firewall to teh PCM connector..


pics.

http://www.mainstreamtopics.com/harlan/Switch2a.jpg
http://www.mainstreamtopics.com/harlan/Switch3a.jpg