Mods are in my sig. I run 93 octane with a can of lucas octane boost. Got the superchips set on performance, (91 octane +) What do you guys think? I am getting ready to change my A/C compressor out as it is starting to make a little noise. Figured when I have that off I would change the stat out. Thanks............

 

yep, i would

 

i did. figured a little less heat is better.

 

For every 10 degrees you can drop the heat = 1 more hp!

 

cooler always better.

 

do you have to run the octane booster to stop it from pinging?

 

My mechanic tells me that going to a 180 deg t-stat will make the truck run rich. This could cause a reduction in power output and efficiency.

 

A 180* thermostat is not that big of a change from the 192*. Actually only 12* for those of you that don't like math.
Yes it should free up just a little bit of power, but not enough to write home about.
Keep in mind, when your engine is running cooler, your net MPGs are going to be lower.

Seeing that you live in OKC, I would do a double change. Your not that far from me, and I know that summers down there can get pretty bad, but in hindsight, so can the winters.
What I do is run a 192* stat from about November to May, then I switch to the 180* for the summer months. If you don't mind waiting quite a bit longer for heat in the cold months, then you could just leave it alone. (180* installed)

Oh, When I change to a 180*, my MPG will go down about .5-1 MPG.
The only reason for me changing it like this is just to help with cooling in traffic.

 

I run my 180 all winter long without issue, and I see temps in the single digit and below 0 on a regular basis during the winter. There is no need to swap your t-stat out seasonally unless you just really like to do it and you are concerned about .5 mpg gain/loss. I'm personally not concerned about it, but you might be.

You will never feel any power from going to a 180, so don't do a 180 if you are thinking it is a performance mod. It isn't. What it is good for is if you do other mods that are performance mods that advance timing and make you prone to pinging. Having a 180 will help prevent that.

 

If you do a lot of short hop driving then don't switch thermostats. You need your oil to get and stay hot enough to burn off water, acids and other combustion byproducts or sludge will form. This doesn't happen when you make lots of short trips with cooldown periods in between. It will be even worse with a lower temp t-stat.