Quote:
Originally Posted by Camarojt
Exactly!!  they both stay shut till 160! It's just that the 180 stat might warm from 160-180 a couple of minutes faster than the 160 stat. No biggie! People that buy the 160 stat are buying it for a reason! |
Except that 160 is not operating temperature. There is a lot of data pointing to longest engine life being achieved by getting the engine up to temp quick and opening the thermostat at 160 is not that temp.
Engine oil
Engine oil flow is dramatically different with even just a 20 degree difference in temperature. Engine oil also takes a lot longer to come up to temp than the coolant. Oil is typically 10-15 degrees hotter and needs to be around 220 for proper flow and to burn off the contaiments and water from the combustion process.
Even 15-20 minutes might not result in getting the engine oil up to temp completely.
Tolerances
Engines also experience the most wear when cold. That couple of minutes actually matters, especially if you do lots of short trips. If temperature doenst matter why don't you thrash on your car just when you start it up?
Look, engine machining spends a lot of effort on tolerances. They even spend a lot of effort heating up the things they are going to machine to the operating temperature so that the tolerances are just right.
That is difference between an engine that only lasts 50k miles and one that lasts 250k+ good tolerances and even oiling across all bearing surfaces. Both of which aren't close to ideal when cold.
Here is a good read:
http://www.wearcheck.com/literature/techdoc/WZA043.pdf
Look for the section low oil operating temp
Another:
http://www.tuneruniversity.com/blog/...l-temperature/
Quote:
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As a general rule of thumb, after the car is warmed up, oil tends to be a few degrees warmer than the coolant (usually 10-15 degrees Fahrenheit). However, it takes much longer for oil to come up to temperature
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http://www.hotrod.com/feature_storie...l_temperature/
Quote:
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For a dual-purpose car, engine oil needs to be at least 220 degrees F to burn off all the deposits and accumulated water vapor. For every pound of fuel burned in an engine, the combustion process also generates a pound of water! If engine sump temperatures rarely exceed 212 degrees (water’s boiling point), the water will mix with sulfur (another combustion by-product) and create acids that can eventually damage bearings.
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Oil Temperature And Engine Life
Why Is Proper Temperature So Important?
http://www.elephantracing.com/techto...emperature.htm
http://www.eng-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=289131
http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/art...lippery-slope/
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums...Number=3099554
You can believe what you want, but I'll go with the engine machinists, oil manufactures, and car manufacturers recommended temperatures who have spent a lot of money and have a lot data from studying this.