I have read many places where changing thermostats has increased the HP just by reducing the heat. Is it worth it and what temp would you guys recommend? Thanks in advance

 

I've read that, too. Not sure I put much stock in it. Cooling the air is good for power, cooling the water is good, as well, but perhaps more for engine life. The manufacturers are striking a balance: make sure the engine gets hot enough to burn off the contaminants, but not so hot as to hurt something. When I was a kid, we had big Pontiacs... They regularly ran at 230 or so. They also had carburators (sp), bias ply tires, and only ran on very high octane gas (11.5:1 in the last one, I believe). That last one would out-run any state trooper it needed to.

 

This dead horse has been beaten 100 times, doa search for the volumes written here on the subject.

 

It is worth noting
that official Chrysler SRT Engineering Group
says that going to 180 degree thermostats
do not increase HP or improve MPG
but there are 100s of posts on this and other forums with claims all over the place.

There was a recent cross-post claiming up to a 16 hp gain for a 5.7 Hemi
on a rear wheel dyno test
{with the vehicle standing still with little air going through the radiator}
when a 180 degree thermostat was put in
but the original poster never put the dyno sheet up like he promised to
...which I consider highly suspicious.

If you test a factory 5.7 v8 in such a way that the coolant overheats and the knock sensors fire so that the PCM computer retards back 12 degrees of ignition timing temporarily...you certainly would see big HP changes...but that is not 'real world'

If you get a different thermostat
get one with a "bypass post valve" like the 203 degree F factory unit has.

Mazda thermostats will fit the 5.7 Hemi if the brass lip diameter is sanded down slightly.

 

I have a 180 degree thermostat in my truck (stock is 203). With a superchips programmer i do notice the difference. Without the superchips programmer however i notice no difference what-so-ever

 

i might do one this summer.... hanson how is the heat with a 180... its cold here too!!! but yea this is definately a[sm=deadhorse.gif]

 

I love the dead horse smiley, always makes me laugh
That is a good question, how is yer heater workin Hanson?

 

Perfomance will be little to none, but high temps arebad for engines.If you can run 10 degrees cooler it is good for the life of the engine.

With that said running to cold is bad as well, but 10 degrees off of the stock temps is a good thing.

I will probably do mine next Spring, truck will be up for a 30K maintenance routine.

 

It's just not the temp. aspect of it, either. The lower temp t-stat richens your mixture a little, which is an especially good thing if you have other mods (CAI, Headers, Tuner, etc.) which all work to lean your mixture out...

 

I havent had any problems with my heat at all yet. Altho the coldest weather I've come across so far is 18 degrees, but she was still blowin hot!!!