180 thermostat
Veteran
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 257
Likes: 4
From:
RE: 180 thermostat
I definitely felt a change (for the better!) after fitting a 180 stat to my 4.7. It feels more responsive, rather than neck snappingly more powerful.
I thought the gains came from making the engine management richen the mixture, rather than cooling the intake air temp. Doing the Stat and setting up the TPS are two of the cheapest mods you can do (one is free), and I just wish I'd done them sooner. On modern engines like the 4.7, there aren't huge gains to be had easily but lots of little ones add up to a worthwhile improvement.
I thought the gains came from making the engine management richen the mixture, rather than cooling the intake air temp. Doing the Stat and setting up the TPS are two of the cheapest mods you can do (one is free), and I just wish I'd done them sooner. On modern engines like the 4.7, there aren't huge gains to be had easily but lots of little ones add up to a worthwhile improvement.
Champion
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 3,051
Likes: 6
From: Roanoke, Texas
lol at people thinking they will feel an increase in HP after a 3$ mod.
I always run 180s, 180-195 is prime. Anything lower then 180 will toss CELs Pcm will toss codes saying engine not at op. temp ect, 200+ is testing your luck with these ****y head gaskets on the stock engine.
I always run 180s, 180-195 is prime. Anything lower then 180 will toss CELs Pcm will toss codes saying engine not at op. temp ect, 200+ is testing your luck with these ****y head gaskets on the stock engine.
Veteran
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 413
Likes: 1
From: Oklahoma City, OK
Because the 4.7 has a plastic intake manifold designed to shield the intake air from picking up heat...it is even less likely that a cooler thermostat would improve performance compared to the 5.2/5.9V8s that still have aluminum intake manifolds.
There is a lot of myth and non-sense still circulating on the internet about thermostats, engines and performance.
What you want is cooler intake air and hotter cylinder walls.
The cooler air has more oxygen and can allow more fuel to be added, plus there is less tendency to detonate.
But the hotter cylinder walls have the dual effect of robbing less heat from the combustion gases which gives them more pressure...AND...the heated cylinder walls make the lubricating oil thiner and less viscous and so there is less friction from the piston rings.
This stuff has been known for more than 60 years.
Want a second opinion from a famous non-engineering degree 'good ol'boy' NASCAR engine builder?
Read Smokey Yunick's book 'Power Secrets' where he tells about his experiments that found that as long as the intake manifold air is well insulated and the fuel octane level is high...the horsepower keeps going up as the coolant temperature goes up.
There is a lot of myth and non-sense still circulating on the internet about thermostats, engines and performance.
What you want is cooler intake air and hotter cylinder walls.
The cooler air has more oxygen and can allow more fuel to be added, plus there is less tendency to detonate.
But the hotter cylinder walls have the dual effect of robbing less heat from the combustion gases which gives them more pressure...AND...the heated cylinder walls make the lubricating oil thiner and less viscous and so there is less friction from the piston rings.
This stuff has been known for more than 60 years.
Want a second opinion from a famous non-engineering degree 'good ol'boy' NASCAR engine builder?
Read Smokey Yunick's book 'Power Secrets' where he tells about his experiments that found that as long as the intake manifold air is well insulated and the fuel octane level is high...the horsepower keeps going up as the coolant temperature goes up.
