Did a search in the forums but couldn't find any info about using a 180 degree thermostat with a power wire. Can you use them together or do they do the same thing? I already have the low temp gage installed. Looking into the power wire. Anyone?

 

180 is the lowest I would go as your engine needs to get to atleast 165* just to burn off any internal moisture your engine has in it from the basic hot/cold cycling. The thermostat works in conjunction with the fan. My mustang I changed the fan to turn on lower to work in conjunction the the lower t-stat and what a big diff than just swapping out the stat all by itself, much cooler on the temp gauge. You will se no performance increase unless it's a super freakin hot day. Just the average day you will notice your engine running cooler. That's about it.
The PowerWire just fools the ecu in thinking the air temp is colder than what it really is. It is no help if you have cold winters, only when the temp is above 60degrees will you notice any minute difference. I personally don't like them because they alter your timing and a/f ratio. A tuner is a better option for the futre.

 

It only gets below 60 degrees about 20% of the year in Mobile, AL. But my question was "do they do the same thing or work in conjunction?"

 

I also have the superchip MMT but it doesn't allow much tweaking. Only one available for the 03.

 

If you get a tuner, then you do not want the PowerWire!
They don't do the same thing but rather the tuner does it better. The PowerWire has a fixed setting and the tuner has variables which your better off with.

 

Plenty of people (like myself) run a programmer with the power wire. Most handheld programmers are designed for a maximum of 91 octane "premium" since that's the highest octane available in many places. 93 is plentiful here so a little more timing doesn't hurt me in the slightest.

I made my PW so I have a whopping $2 invested in it.

 

Putting the PowerWire in with the program inhibits the maximum benefits you will see with the programmer.

 

I'd be interested in hearing your explanation on that idea. Programmer = timing, power wire = more timing. Sure, they tinker with the fuel a bit too but any richness added by the power wire will be learned out by fuel trims soon enough.

I ran the programmer for over a year before adding the wire and I prefer it with both.

 

You summed it up for yourself.

Too much timing = Timing retard as well which means less power.
The tunes from a hand held tuner are developed to get maximum benefits out of a specific gas rating like 91 octane...etc... Running 91oct. with a tuner and a powerwire will and can cause timing retard if 91 octane is used. Also, with a Handheld you can ADD MORE TIMING if you desire. That itself should give a clue!

 

I have a 2003 so I don't get all the custom programmer options. I get the canned tune from a SC 3715 and that's it -- no fuel adjustments, no timing adjustments.

They don't offer a 93 octane tune for my truck so I'm stuck with making my own. In my first post I said the tune assumed 91 while 93 is what I run. Manipulating the temp sensor won't make huge changes in timing anyway, even on a MAP vehicle.