I asked this question on the thermostat poll and never got an answer so here it is. Some people say the Jet 180 thermostat is good and others say its not because the lower temps not good on motor which sound stupid but I'm also not a motor wizard. So my question is would it be a good idea to put a jet 180 thermostat on my truck? It has cold air intake/ram air (homemade) and flowmaster super 40. In future ill be adding superchip and Hughes plenum repair kit. Also what are the advantages of the Jet 180 thermostat?

 

What motor are we talking about?

 

It's the 5.9

 

Yeah I am mixed on this too, I doubt that the answer you receive will be little more than theory. In the end, it will be up to you. I think I am going to make the plunge, when I do my upcoming coolant flush and see how it feels to me.

 

The problems not really with the motor, its with the computer. When it sees that the tstat is opening 15 degrees cooler than it designed for it thinks it needs to change the timing to compensate, which in some cases means more fuel is added. Usually people report around a 1mpg improvement and a cooler running engine.

 

If more fuel is added, then an MPG loss would result, no?

 

Correct. In those cases then you'd lose some mpg. But most people say its not an issue.

 

The difference that you will notice is that your truck will keep that fresh, first-drive of the morning type of power longer as opposed to that middle of the afternoon stuck in traffic for a while power. There is definitely a difference...it's just not an increase in your base HP.

With a 180 tstat, you will most likely never see a code (170 is a different story). If you lived in a cold climate, it might be an issue. If you don't have a programmer (e.g. diablo predator) it won't make much of a difference. You need to lower the temperature that your fans activate in order to take advantage of this.
On a down note: In order to flash impurities out of your oil, the engine needs to reach a decently high temperature (~200*) every once in a while, so while the consistent power can be nice, you need that occasional heat to keep your engine in tip top shape.

 

I'm still not sure which way to go considering still so many back and forth pros and cons to it.....

 

Hey the only con is the 10 minutes it takes to change it out....try it and see if you like it...course I live in FL where it warm year round...Nebraska on the other hand gets a little chilly in the winter. Try it this summer w/ the 5.9 and let us know.