lower temp thermostat

[evilinside09]

i have a few questions about this mod. first off, what does it do? how does it work and what kind of performance gains, if any, can i expect from it? i've seen people using 180 degree thermostats but i know a few local auto parts stores sell as low as 160 degree thermostats. what's the reason for more people not using a lower degree thermo? lastly, if i wanted to replace my stocker, where in the hell would i go?!?! sorry about the mass emphasis on that but i've been through my engine bay close to several hundred times and have not been able to find this...so if anyone can help clear up any of those three questions, i would be most appreciative. thanks

[PontiacGT2K]

180 thermostat is supposed to keep your motor at 180 degrees, and when a motor's cooler it's usually quicker. It just opens up the coolant lines at 186 degrees or something like that. I have the thermostat, and in heavey traffic it'll get up to 230 degrees sometimes, so obviously I need a fan switch.

160 is pretty cool....in the winter you might not get heat....stick with 180 degrees. I've got pics of where it's at in the how-to section, here's the link.

http://www.grandamgt.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=15821&highlight=thermostat+install

[pre_16365]

a lower stat allows it to open up at lower temps, in turn allowing coolant to go through the engine at say 180 instead of 200 or 210.

heres some go readin for ya!!!!!!
http://www.grandamgt.com/thermostat.html

[PontiacGT2K]

Oh yeah.....it's a biotch to install......I wouldn't recommend doing it unless you have like 4 hours to devote, or feel like taking off exhaust manifolds.

[Mike Jung]

Someone else posted before:

You might run richer in gas (& worse mpg) & might not pass an emission tail pipe test (if your area requires it).


Oh & if you have the 2.4L 4-cylinder engine; you already have as stock an 180F thermostat.
& changing a thermostat on that engine is even worse than doing it on the 3.4L V6 engines.

[PontiacGT2K]

I'm here to attest to the fact that I don't get worse gas mileage. It stayed exactly the same. As far as emissions...I have bigger things to worry about than a thermostat when it comes to that....

[evilinside09]

mike, thanks...yeah, i have a 2.4 alero. i would have been ****ed had i done everything, and found out at a later date that my stocker was a 180 degree thermo. thanks for saving me 10 bucks and a ton of time.

[95-GT]

180 is the lowerest you should go, unless you are running a turbo with lots of mods and stuff. What happens is like Mike said, you will dump more gas into the engine and it will run rich.

[Craig99SE2]

The lower you go, the richer the car will run and actually give you power. Our cars take several different sensors into factor when calculating fuel requirements. One is the ECT (Engine Coolant Temp). The lower the temp, the more enriched the mixture is resulting in more power. It will *NOT* take more gas because the fuel trim will negate the rich condition. But, in open-loop mode under hard acceleration, it will run richer, i.e. more power.

[95-GT]

other stuff can be affected also such a idle speed and more.

[Craig99SE2]

Originally posted by 95-GT
other stuff can be affected also such a idle speed and more.

Yeah, but all you hafta do is a re-learn on idle speed and it clears right up. Mine is fine after the re-learn.