heres my question: i know the benefits of switching to a 180 degree thermostat from the original 195 dgree thermostat, but i've recently found a 160 dgree thermo. would that be too much for the cooling system to handle for day to day driving? i guess its only 35 degrees less than stock oe but it seems almost too low to me. thanks...

 

It is too low - your engine will never reach operating temp and so the ECU will keep it in "warmup" mode so you'll be running rich all the time.

 

ok what exactly are the benefits of running 180 degree because my truck had one in it from the previous owner and i froze my @$$ off in the winter. so i put a 197 degree in it and now it warms up quick and the heater puts out good. but thats also from the aid of the piece of cardboard blocking off my radiator. so whats the benefits of running a cooler one cause i'm kinda curious if the benefits would be worth not being able to roast people out of my truck in the winter

 

Benefits of the 180 are that your engine temps are lower which means detonation is less likely to happen which means you can run more timing advance for more power. Also the intake charge won't get quite as hot so more oxygen will get drawn in for more power.

The reason that the factory uses 195-ish is that hotter combustion means lower emissions so it makes the CARB/EPA happier. And it heats up better in the winter.

A 180 shouldn't keep your heater from working though, that's only a 17 degree difference in water temp.

 

the 180 doesnt keep it from working it just doesnt put out hot enough heat for me. i just like it to be where you have to take your coat off in the vehicle when its below 0 Outside

 

Where ARE you?? Below 0 is too cold. Blah.
[X(]

 

well below 0 was a bit of an exageration it only does that maby once a year if that. our winters are usually in the 30's in the day and drops into the teens at night

 

I was looking on cryslers website, and the 5.9L are ment to be about 182 they said, 160 is way to cold like the first guy said your engine will stay in warmup mode. 180 is perfect most people use 180... i also know that mopar makes a 185 so if your worried about heat maybe go with that one. lol.

I got a 180 in mine and i live in texas this place in a heat wave i was running 128 tonight on the highway and my water temp was at about 173, i just got my programmer and i had to see if my truck would actually make it to 128.. and it did. YAY! I still had about 1.5k rpm till readline also, so i need a higher mph limiter, i used hypertech and they only give me 2 choices 116 and 128.. pfft. Trans Ams blow my doors off... from 100. Lol