VW Did you end up going with the dealer IAT sensor or did you use another brand? I've been reading your threads and I think I maybe having the same trouble as you running about 210 or 215. Did your truck idle rough after it was left running for about a minute? Mine does that and I think it may need the IAC cleaned or replaced.

 

Read this post in the thread where it was resolved.

https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2502085-post14.html

 

That is funny cause i saw a performance gain as well. And mpgs went up after switching to the 180 stat. Trucks runs cooler in return runs hell of alot smoother as well. So w/e with it not doing crap without a tune.

 

I am firmly with the ninja HeyYou on this one..

180* stat does nothing w/o a tune unless something else is going on too.. It may resolve an issue you didn't know you had.. here is why (just my opinion now, fwiw)

Magnums don't have knock sensors, unless you consider yourself a sensor that is.. It relies totally on tables of known good a/f and spark charges written in the PCM.. (known good, on a engine operating to OE specs).. those specs call for operating temperatures of at least 195* +/-, say, 10~20*..

when the engine closes loop, it starts polling for real time data.. agreed? It closes loop somewhere around 120*.. your stat is still closed up tight at that temp..

While in open loop, your engine is dumping fuel- because it assumes your running cold.. and cold (dense) air is more difficult to ignite.. fuel helps make it more volatile, and easier to touch off.. at the same time your engine knows that air is denser, and harder to ignite, so it advances timing figuring it is safer. (no pre-det, it can hit spark real close to TDC).. viola- if it weren't for the extra fuel, you'd be gettin' some top notch power out of that rig..

when it reaches expected operating temperature, it will curve the fuel (no need to dump it at operating temp because just a little is good enough for catalyst to go BOOM), AND, it will retard spark (on the 'count that warmer, less dense air is a lot more volatile and likely to explode before the spark even hits it- it doesn't take much spark to ignite, where it takes a little longer w/ denser air).. if spark reaches the a/f compressed load to early on an engine at operating temperature BOOM- pre-detonation..

three key sensors monitor this.. your pre-cat o2, your coolant temperature, and your IAT..

if your truck is running BETTER w/ a 180* stat and NO tune, one of those three sensors is lying to your PCM.. I doubt it's your coolant temperature, but how would you know if you are running a rig w/2? (pre-'98 rig, '99+ have duel purpose coolant temperature sensor/senders.)

the entire concept of running a 180* stat is so you can SAFELY advance spark.. a side pleasure, is that your cooling system gets full flow a little sooner and stays a little ahead of the heat.. that is good.. HemiFever and other tuners (no matter the brand of tuner) request the 180* stat so they can advance the spark a little- and ignite the a/f load when it is more compressed, which gives you a LOT more power out of your power stroke.. a few tenths of a degree makes a big difference..

other makers use a knock sensor.. it allows the engine to advance timing until a knock is detected, and then back off a little.. we don't have that luxury, but at the same time we don't have another sensor to worry about.. but speaking of sensors:

I say again, if your engine runs better w/ a 180* stat, (I'm not talking about running cooler, I'm talking about running BETTER), you've got something not jiving somewhere.. Your engine is either advancing spark when it isn't 'sposed to, or it's pulling fuel when it ain't 'sposed to.. which speaks of o2's and IAT's not agreeing on the environmental conditions..

point being- if you think you're doing well now w/o a tune- swap out those three sensors, get a tune- and you will be one happy camper.

 

I admit I dont understand vehicles as well as some. But I dont understand how an engine running about 10 degrees cooler will do any damage. I have a OBD2/Bluetooth adapter on my Ram and have Torque installed on my phone. On a 90+ degree day in high wind the 318 was running about 175* and was getting about 17mpg. Before the 318 would be getting less than 15mpg. I was told when working on my '66 charger and older vehicles that the cooler the intake the better. I understand that these newer trucks have ECU/PCMs that have a computer monitoring and control the vehicle. But still I wouldnt think that 10* of difference would do damage.

I have fixed the plenum with Hughes kit, do fluid changes regularly like I do on all my vehicles and am pretty cautious about any irregular noises or motions. So unless I am missing something, according to the realtime data that I am seeing while driving, my truck is running better and stronger than it has since the day I bought it. Granted, I have put in parts that not everyone has on their ram. So the cooler thermostat may be doing something for my truck that wouldnt on others.

 

unless it's silly cold or silly hot- it isn't a HUGE deal.. the ninja HeyYou 'splained this to me sometime back- but those metal parts are tempered for a certain range, and then they are hit with a coating of some kinda crap I can't recall the name of (never can).. it will scrape off over time if the engine runs below a certain temperature it is engineered to work at.. meaning the parts are not only not protected as they could be, but that the tolerances aren't as tight either.. it's a minute thing, but it is still there.

 

This soundscorrect to me. But I am not going to start replacing anything until I get an error code on it. Especially when I am getting beneficial side effects from this "error".

And for what its worth, I dont total trust the ecu/pcms nor the sensors as little things can make them think somethings wrong. So when it throws a code I will usually just power cycle the ecu/pcm and record the trouble code and see if it returns. I am not a shotgun trouble shooter, so when the truck throws a code and it describes how the entire emissions system might be running improperly I really hate the idea of having a diagnostic system that doesnt give a very specific error. But thats just me, I work on computers all day as a systems analyst so I always try to repeat the issue before throwing parts/time/money at anything.

 

I wouldn't trust it to throw a code if a sensor is bad. I didn't get an IAT error code yet the performance of the sensor had degraded. Most people ask, "Why replace the O2 sensor if it's not throwing a code?", yet maintenance procedures from the manufacturer dictate to replace them ~50-75K miles. O2 sensors tend to degrade with age as well.

 

im done with this thread. nonsense about the thermostat. saying if it made are trucks runs better theres obviously something wrong. blah.

 

If your COMPUTER CONTROLLED truck is not programmed to run at 180* as its NORMAL temperature, the truck will continue to ADD FUEL to increase the temperature to 195 so it runs "normal".

Without a tune, you are just running rich and wasting gas. Might as well cut your pre-cat O2 sensor. That makes you run rich.

And I don't take offense to a newbie like you who puts their 180* thermostat in their signature as an engine mod.

It would work without a tune if your truck is NOT computer controlled. As in a carb setup. Most of those cars have 160* thermostats.