OK, I am in a big discussion with a friend and I would like to hear from all of you that have or havent changed your Thermostats.... Now this is over the e-fan debate. So the ? is why change the thermostat with the e-fan???? Is it needed and what are the gains... I know alot of subjects are in the forums about this but I would like to hear from the folks that said they were gonna do it and now have... Teach has a great DIY, but still need some more imput...

 

what are you asking? if they're worth it? YES!! to both accounts. I put in the e-fan and noticed some decent mpg gains. About a month later i put the 180 tstat in and the truck runs about 40 degrees cooler now on a regular basis. it doesnt usually get past the 1/4 mark on the guage.

I didnt notice the temp drops until i put the t-stat in. With the e-fan, the engine stays the same temp, its just a more efficient way of keeping it the stock 220 degrees. the t-stat is what lowers the engine temps to 180 (which is ideal operating temps for longevity)

 

well the ? should be " why would you change ur t-stat ", ... sry for making it kinda confusing... My buddy brought up some good points and I just want to know from the Motor JUNKIES.

 

simple answer: the engine runs cooler. period. its one of those mods that should be mandatory IMO. the install was sooooo easy. took me about 30 minutes and a level 2 on a scale of 1-10. (only reason its not a 1 is the lower bolt on the t-stat housing is hard to get to without a swivel socket)

 

kinda off topic but my brother has a 2009 SRT8 jeep grand Cherokee and when he added his predator tune he had to change his thermostat.

 

I've never put a lower stat temp in any of my vehicles...never been worth it to me. Fuel economy will go down (fuel burns more efficiently at higher cylinder temps), if you go too low you could be jumping back and forth from open to closed loop at running temp, there's no need to trick the pcm in adjusting the a/f ratio when it's perfectly tunable, takes even longer to burn off condensation, and there's no notable power gain (debatable). The more important thing to keep cool is your intake charge...some people confuse the two.

 

I'm NOT a huge fan of going to a lower temp thermostat just for the sake of cooling the engine. For every advantage there is a disadvantage.
I do, however, run a 180*, but only because I was running lean with headers, CAI, and the performance tune of my Superchips. With the cooler t-stat, my A/F ratio is dialed right in about where it should be.
If I went to a custom tune, I'd probably ditch the 180 in favor of the stock one...

 

I changed my stock Tstat with a 180 and threw codes here in the UK.
I also found my fuel economy was worse (probably stuck in "closed loop mode") & the heater in the truck, took an age to get any decent heat built up into it to get the cab warm.
This was in a mild 3 deg C temp winter????
Granted, I do not have many performance mods 0on the engine, so for a stockish motor, I'd say don't do it.
Al.

 

Spot on. A lower tstat won't provide any benefit on a stock motor. However, it will help avoid detonation from running too lean (cai and headers) or timing too advanced (tuner). Just a cai and a catback probably doesn't warrant a 180 tstat.

 

Rubber...where ya been man? you vanished for the past few days