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180 degree thermostat

R

RTGT

CEG'er
Joined
Mar 20, 2011
Messages
488
Location
Lincolnton NC
Is there anyone out there that's running one of these in the SVT? I've put one in almost every Mustang that I've had in place of the 192. I'm fixing to replace the factory water pump and thought this might be a good time to switch it out. I did a search but didn't find what I was looking for.
 
i have one running in my cougar with a 3l swap. but i heard you should adjust the fans to turn on with the thermostat temp or theres really no point. thats exactly what i did on my tune
 
RTGT said:
Is there anyone out there that's running one of these in the SVT? I've put one in almost every Mustang that I've had in place of the 192. I'm fixing to replace the factory water pump and thought this might be a good time to switch it out. I did a search but didn't find what I was looking for.
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If I am not mistaken the stock svt thermostat is a 180 degree. That is what I have in mine. I actually want a 160 degree but I cannot find one.
 
- Stant Part# 13396 160 Degree T-Stat

I run it in the track car. Dropped coolant temps about 15 degrees per my gauge.
 
bgrogan01 said:
If I am not mistaken the stock svt thermostat is a 180 degree. That is what I have in mine. I actually want a 160 degree but I cannot find one.
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stock is 190 degrees, pretty sure its the same for all contours too. At least 190 degrees is when the low speed cooling fan will turn off.
 
Thanks for the responses. Autozone list stock as 192, that is where I got my info from. I'm going to change it out when I do the water pump anyway.
 
I got a 160* at autozone. I don't like driving it in winter though, i need to swap mine out for stock as it doesn't crack 170* on the highway with 30*F.
 
As I recall reading, fuel injected engines need to be within a certain temperature range to run correctly. Now this might just be an emissions thing but I am not sure. Its not like older carburated engine which i do believe benifited from running colder.
 
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BrApple said:
As I recall reading, fuel injected engines need to be within a certain temperature range to run correctly. Now this might just be an emissions thing but I am not sure. Its like like older carburated engine which i do believe benifited from running colder.
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totally agree.

im read fuel injected engines should run 200*ish. but since racing rises temps ppl put in lower thermopstats to make then cooler. i dont know why ppl even think about 160* thermostats. but im not ••••in my car up
 
These engines were designed to run at 200F to 220F coolant, if nothing else for emissions and fuel economy, but if they run significantly cooler than 200F continuously, the oil never warms fully, and this can cause several long term issues:

1. Accelerated cylinder bore wear.
bienOUkW.jpg


2. Higher oil pumping losses.
3. Higher shear film losses in the bearings, meaning more parasitic HP drag, which leads to...
4. ...in these engines especially, cold oil can increase the probability of spinning rod bearings.
5. If the oil doesn't regularly get hotter than boiling water, the water (a combustion byproduct) can't leave the oil through the PCV system. Water hinders oil's ability to lubricate, and increases corrosion in the engine.

Colder thermostats, especially down to 160F is a 1970's drag racer trick. If you want to treat your modern fuel injected, computer managed engine to this, hey, it's your motor, knock yourself out, but I don't recommend it.

If you're trying to fix an overheating problem, a cooler thermostat isn't the answer, it just delays the onset of overheat, but it doesn't solve the underlying problem, which is likely either a coolant flow issue (think clogged radiator passages, stuck thermostat, bad water pump), or an airflow issue through the radiator.
 
gmorrell said:
These engines were designed to run at 200F to 220F coolant, if nothing else for emissions and fuel economy, but if they run significantly cooler than 200F continuously, the oil never warms fully, and this can cause several long term issues:

1. Accelerated cylinder bore wear.

2. Higher oil pumping losses.
3. Higher shear film losses in the bearings, meaning more parasitic HP drag, which leads to...
4. ...in these engines especially, cold oil can increase the probability of spinning rod bearings.
5. If the oil doesn't regularly get hotter than boiling water, the water (a combustion byproduct) can't leave the oil through the PCV system. Water hinders oil's ability to lubricate, and increases corrosion in the engine.

Colder thermostats, especially down to 160F is a 1970's drag racer trick. If you want to treat your modern fuel injected, computer managed engine to this, hey, it's your motor, knock yourself out, but I don't recommend it.

If you're trying to fix an overheating problem, a cooler thermostat isn't the answer, it just delays the onset of overheat, but it doesn't solve the underlying problem, which is likely either a coolant flow issue (think clogged radiator passages, stuck thermostat, bad water pump), or an airflow issue through the radiator.
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I guess i will step up on swapping it out! I just put in the cooler one because i auto crossed for a while and was not nice on it at all.
 
Doesn't the factory tune start pulling timing at 200F? I ran a 160* thermostat for a while, but changed to a 180* as the oil was taking a long time to get to temp. I also have a 180* oil cooler thermostat. But the only times I'm at the 180* is when I'm driving at night during about 3 months of the year here... otherwise the temp is being managed by the fans.

Also since the PCV system is under vacuum, the water boiling point would be less.
 
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