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Thermostats: 180 vs. 160 degree

30K views 26 replies 19 participants last post by  Competition! 
#1 ·
Hi all,

Just ordered my C&L intake, Diablosport catch can, and Jet Performance 180• thermostat. Once the parts are in I'm getting a Predator tuner with custom tune done by Chag Auto Sports in Montreal. Here's the question:

My tuner thinks I should have gone with a 160• thermostat rather than the 180• permitting him to be more aggressive with the tune. From what I read on all of the sites selling this product it wasn't recommended for a daily driven vehicle and especially in colder climates. My car is pretty much a daily driver during 3 seasons - 2 of which can get a little chilly from time to time (I am in Montreal after all - which isn't as cold as people think with the exception of winter). Does anybody have any experience/thoughts on this? My tuner is of the opinion that the companies are playing it safe.

Thanks in advance for any help brothers,
 
#2 ·
Stay with the 180 degree thermostat. The Hemi is designed to run at hotter temps.
 
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#5 ·
Exactly, 180 stat is best. That way you can keep the engine hot enough to burn off all that oil vapor from the PCV system! :saythat:
 
#6 ·
I have a Trinity and yes 180f is agreed the right temp for the HEMI. I like the 170f for I can tune my fans with the Trinity with the 170f stat to run at 180f controled by the fans. Stat stays open at 170 and fans control temp. Doesnt overshoot Keeps a more controlable tighter temp. bandwith in a way. I found this way get rid of the heat sink a little faster.
 
#7 ·
Thanks for all of the replies guys. Guess I made the right call! That being said I thought that having the engine designed to run hotter was more of an emissions thing. Anyhoooo......I'm sure we'll make some good horse with the setup I've ordered. I can't wait!:bigthumb:
 
#8 ·
Your correct. But for a daily driver the 160* is a bit to radical. Many believe that it will also shorten engine life a bit. If you wan't to throw one in at the track, that's cool. Seems popular with the LX guys... But if the car is a daily driver the 160 is going to get in the road to often IMHO
 
#9 ·
I have the 180, but have had issues with the check engine light coming on in the cold weather, that is if I just start it and drive off cold. If I let it sit and warm up before driving it, all is fine. The gas mileage also suffered a little this winter. Now that it has warmed up, it is great for the summertime. I'm thinking, a 190 is probably better, but the factory 203, in my opinion is TOO hot. If I can find a 190, I will go that route.
 
#10 ·
Interesting since we are both in Virginia. I run a 180 and have never seen a CEL. I start the car, let it run for 1 minute and then drive.
 
#11 ·
I wonder if your fan settings are the same? I rase my fan settings in the winter back closer to stock, to get the temp up quicker. I don't recall the exact algorithm at the moment, but we throw a P0128 code when the engine takes longer than X to reach temp Y times. As Abnmarine points out, just letting it sit will help avoid that.
 
#13 ·
I have never heard that before. But when racing cooler is better. I have been thinking of running a 160 in my car. In the old days we would run a flat washer with a 1" hole instead of a thermostat and the engine would run about 140 when we were racing. But these new cars are a different animal altogether .:scratchhead:
 
#15 ·
tstat opens at a specified temp and allows coolant to pass thru the radiator to be cooled.


180 is the coolest you want to go. 160 doesnt allow the engine parts to expand to their intended dimensions and will wear the engine faster. a cooler engine allows for a cooler air/fuel misture and that makes more power
 
#16 ·
I was looking at thermostats from Autozone and they have Duralast thermostats for under $10. Does it really matter what brand it is?
 
#17 ·
Many on this forum will say there is a difference. The Jet 180 t-stat seems to be the most popular and is recommended by several vendors (I have one). Some of the others don't have the little valve that allows for air to purge through the system. Others have had minor fitment issues with some (not all) of the other brands according to some of the posts on the forum. I went with the Jet based on reading tons of posts on the 180 t-stat, as well as some independent research on the internet and vendor sites. I also talked with some guys I work with who have late model muscle cars that are heavily modded for performance - they all recommended the Jet. On top of all that, I figured a less than $40 part isn't a bad investment on a $40,000 car.
 
#19 ·
If you install the thermostat without updating the fan temps, then at slow speeds you will not see much of a change from stock temps. It will just take a slightly longer time to hit higher temps. In fact, if you live in a northern state, the 180F stat might trip a DTC as the PCM will detect a longer than usually warmup time. In all honesty, a 180F stat will not provide any benefit on a stock motor and tune. Some will disagree but I have not seen concrete numbers saying otherwise. I installed a 192F stat only because I am running a SC which produces more power/heat than a stock setup. Although with the way I drive the stock 203F stat would have been fine.
 
#20 ·
I do live in NY and will rethink installing the 180 stat because i understand that the PCM is locked and I would have to send it out to get unlocked for $$$ and then have a tuner reset the parameters for $$$ and I dont think it is worth it because my 1320 runs so darn good. I'm old school and just used to always running 160-180 stats in my 60's & 70's cars but today's vehicles are a whole lot different and better in my opinion. Thanks so much for the info and reply. Steve
 
#21 · (Edited)
Well recently I have installed the 160 thermostat was hard to get ur hands on....the brand milodon and I have tune the fans to 190 its running great I live in Kuwait and the temp rises to 42c day night 32 c which is extreamly hot weather

I wanted to lower the fan settings but I didn't want to deal with any major issues

I was having so many problems with the heat engine it took me 1 year to figure it out I went to multiple garages they they told me to replace the radiator fans ...which I did and nothing happend it was still overheating...

at they end the problem was The Radiator fan Cables they were damaged, got them replaced
problem solved
 
#25 ·
I was going to run silicone hoses but after reading this I decided not to.


Even silicone hose manufacturers mention silicone hose are permeable to water vapor (scroll to the bottom).

I am sure that running them is fine for a daily driver. A buddy put them on his corvette and he had no issues losing coolant or even smelling faint traces of it.
 
#26 ·
Does Mopar even make a 190-degree thermostat? I see 203, 180 & 160 only. Just trying to verify is all. If Mopar does in fact make a 190 thermostat would somebody please provide part #.
On the subject of Silicone hoses, I used Goodyear high miler blue hoses on an 87 MCSS with a 383 Stroker I used to own. I experienced no problems whatsoever however my MCSS was exclusively driven on the street!
 
#27 ·
Does Mopar even make a 190-degree thermostat? I see 203, 180 & 160 only. Just trying to verify is all. If Mopar does in fact make a 190 thermostat would somebody please provide part #.
On the subject of Silicone hoses, I used Goodyear high miler blue hoses on an 87 MCSS with a 383 Stroker I used to own. I experienced no problems whatsoever however my MCSS was exclusively driven on the street!
195.

 
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