160* therm Does NOT hurt your Fuel economy

[sonyman87]

countless times i hear how changing to a 160* t-state ruins your fuel economy. I can vouch that it dosnt.. hypertech 160* t-state and Hypertech thermmaster chip fans on at ~165*

after about 15,000 miles with this combo all i can say is that at first i noticed a 2% decrease still getting 20-22mph avarage when driving normal that only lasted a few hundered miles at most (probably romping on it to much or other machanical issues). then im right back up to stock terms 22-24mph sometimes better this is with hitting speeds of 100mph+ highway and crusing at 75mph. Im only suppose to get 24mph highway and im avaraging that. I think tonight after 180 miles i only burned 7 gallons thats 24.7mpg that includs some crapy city miles and again crusing at 75mph with 200-300pounds in cargo

i do use mobil 1 synthetic "filter" changes every 2500-3000 miles

[Aaron]

To be honest I doubt you will notice any difference in anything. Actually, the car shouldn't even run that much cooler all of the time. Just on average it will. The T-stat does of course play a role in cooling, but it is a slightly smaller role than you might expect. While building a buddies 383 stroker, we were talking a lot about cooling it. We talked to a guy at a radiator shop, and he said the T-stat is open generally from the time the water reaches its opening temperature to when the car is shut off. He said the T-stat will only close rarely, and only for a short amount of time. Ultimately, the fans play most the role in actual cooling. Try disconnecting your fans, letting your car get just shy of redline, and hooking them in. It is amazing how fast the temp drops.

Oh and as far as performance gains go. Keep dreamin....lol

Yah you may notice slight increases, but nothing worth mentioning. Less than 5hp at any given time.

[supreme_style21]

No way a t-stat of that temp would get by up here in the cold!

[sonyman87]

To be honest I doubt you will notice any difference in anything. Actually, the car shouldn't even run that much cooler all of the time. Just on average it will. The T-stat does of course play a role in cooling, but it is a slightly smaller role than you might expect. While building a buddies 383 stroker, we were talking a lot about cooling it. We talked to a guy at a radiator shop, and he said the T-stat is open generally from the time the water reaches its opening temperature to when the car is shut off. He said the T-stat will only close rarely, and only for a short amount of time. Ultimately, the fans play most the role in actual cooling. Try disconnecting your fans, letting your car get just shy of redline, and hooking them in. It is amazing how fast the temp drops.

Oh and as far as performance gains go. Keep dreamin....lol

Yah you may notice slight increases, but nothing worth mentioning. Less than 5hp at any given time.

aaron you are right to a point. a t-state wont make any differnce if your fans dont turn on. thats why my fans kick on at 160-165*s i noticed a huge difference in engine bay temp with this combo.

the t-state is designed to allow the motor to warm up to a specified operation temperature. The radiator and fans regulate the temperature from that point. My agrument is that 160* engine operation wont hurt your gasmilage like everyone grips about.

FYI most drag racing enthusiests do not use a t-state at all

[Vegeta]

Thats nice that you didn't, but I did with the 160 stat in my 3.1. I put a 195 back in, and the car not only regained 2 mpg or so, but also ran more consistant. Im sticking to 195 stats from now on.

[sonyman87]

Thats nice that you didn't, but I did with the 160 stat in my 3.1. I put a 195 back in, and the car not only regained 2 mpg or so, but also ran more consistant. Im sticking to 195 stats from now on.

allmotors repond a little differently.. maybe its that my car has broken into the temp setting.

[THe_DeTAiL3R]

Just a theory, but maybe your t-stat is staying closed longer than it's suppose to? I mean how can we actually accurately measure when a t-stat opens??? Anyways...

My 2.8 and my 3100 run on average at 60*C (140F) (for whatever that's worth ) which is a tad more than 1/4 on the guage. I'm getting good mileage out of my 3100, highway 500km+ (I constantly measure 35-40mpg going 50-60mph) and I know my t-stat is working cause the last one in there was stuck open and was always very low on the guage. The only time it really goes about 140 (on the guage) is in the city traffic.

I treat my guages as more of an idiot light more than anything, cause I know that the t-stat opens up eventually when I'm driving...

[Vegeta]

The gauge in the car is not proportional to anything written on it. You need to check the temp sensor reading in the ECM, and at that you need a good temp sensor. I ran a 160 stat for 4 years so I seriously doubt breaking in to any temperature was going to be effecting it. I ran it before and after the rebuild on teh motor as well, with stock chip and retuned with the fan on sooner.

[Aaron]

Actually running without a T-stat is stupid, except for short bursts, like a single drag run. The back up caused by it actually helps move the water quite a bit.

For proof, I ran our Bel Air for 20min with no T-stat, and it started overheating. Put one in, and I ran it at 2400rpm for 25min to break in the cam, and it never got close to overheating.

Its just like the worthless TB coolant bypass myth...

Oh and I bet my underhood temps are still lower You'd be amazed at how much the louvers actually help. If the car is running, stopped, with both fans on, you put your hand over the louvers, and it is just like weird how much hot air gets pushed out.

[sonyman87]

Actually running without a T-stat is stupid, except for short bursts, like a single drag run. The back up caused by it actually helps move the water quite a bit.



Oh and I bet my underhood temps are still lower You'd be amazed at how much the louvers actually help. If the car is running, stopped, with both fans on, you put your hand over the louvers, and it is just like weird how much hot air gets pushed out.

first part.. thats why i said serious drag raceing...

second part. are you a crack head? do you actualy think b/c i dont have hoodlouvers that my under hood temps are outragiously high? keep smoking buddy b/c GM has thought of that and thats why there is a nice gap between the hood and fenders. Its not so big but its LONG and it lets heat out nicely. and your "betting/bragging" again! im not going to comment on that subject for the sake of the forum..

[biff85ta]

Actually running without a T-stat is stupid, except for short bursts, like a single drag run. The back up caused by it actually helps move the water quite a bit.

For proof, I ran our Bel Air for 20min with no T-stat, and it started overheating. Put one in, and I ran it at 2400rpm for 25min to break in the cam, and it never got close to overheating.

Its just like the worthless TB coolant bypass myth...

Oh and I bet my underhood temps are still lower You'd be amazed at how much the louvers actually help. If the car is running, stopped, with both fans on, you put your hand over the louvers, and it is just like weird how much hot air gets pushed out.

I found the TB coolant bypass useful on my tpi car. I no longer have to split coolant lines to pull the TB.

[Brian P]

My car came with the TB bypass from the factory.

[TurboSedan]

I mean how can we actually accurately measure when a t-stat opens??? Anyways...

there actually is a way to do that. use a pot of water on the stove and hang your thermostat from a piece of wire (coathanger?) so that the thermostat is submerged; yet is still close enough to the surface of the water so you can easily see when it opens. slowly increase the heat and use an accurate thermometer to monitor the water temperature as it rises. you should be able to see the thermostat open once it reaches a hot enough temperature.

i watched my auto mechanics teacher do this in 10th grade lol.

[THe_DeTAiL3R]

I mean how can we actually accurately measure when a t-stat opens??? Anyways...

there actually is a way to do that. use a pot of water on the stove and hang your thermostat from a piece of wire (coathanger?) so that the thermostat is submerged; yet is still close enough to the surface of the water so you can easily see when it opens. slowly increase the heat and use an accurate thermometer to monitor the water temperature as it rises. you should be able to see the thermostat open once it reaches a hot enough temperature.

i watched my auto mechanics teacher do this in 10th grade lol.

Never thought of that!

My car came with the TB bypass from the factory.

Mine did too. That's why when people talk about it I'm just