Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Duratec Performance Where to get a 160F T-Stat???

Stazi,

If he was going to finish this engine then he would have last year. I sold those parts to him almost a year and a half ago! I'd expect he would have completed it. I can't remember how to get a hold of him but I bet he'd be willing to let them go if you convinced him. The most important part of the work was the runner shape and the bowl work under the valves, as well as the exhaust valve area. That is where I spent hours hand sanding. The runner where it meets the lower intake I just hit with a rotary sander to finish it off, then sanded longitudnally to clean them up. They don't have the 'fit and finish' so to speak that I put in under the valve seat areas and the exhaust ports as I felt they were less critical. But hell, they worked awesome and if you wanted them to be absolutely perfect you could refine them some more.

As far as the T-stat topic: I'm going to bow out of this one now. I only see some smidgeons of truth in all of these perspectives and I don't feel they change the whole truth or overall perspective on the matter.
I'm going to point out that if it were that easy for the manufacturer to improve their fuel economy and improve their overall CAFE (corporate average) then this would be standard equipment to every car. It obviously has more drawbacks than even I have indicated in that case. Hell, a tstat is cheap and costs the same irregardless of temperature rating! Why wouldn't they just run a 160 then?

Mods like headers are proven to improve torque and fuel economy. These cost a lot more to make than standard manifolds and there are also packaging constraints and pre-cats for emissions. They are therefore a serious improvement to the car but too expensive to be employed on every model for the performance that they gain. Therefore it makes sense that a manufacturer would cut them first to save cash. It also makes sense to drop some cash and change them out first if you are modding your car.
The T-stat temp being the only factor just doesn't make sense; this is additional reinforcement to me besides everything I posted above.
So to each his own.