[jessrayo]

Originally Posted by kgendron71

Sorry for digging up an old thread but it beats starting a new one. :wink:

I was wondering the same reguarding the 165 thermostat. Why does it seem to be included in all hop up kits? Living in Florida, Is the lower thermostat better/worse for my car?
Thanks,
Ken

Here is the answer that Ted pretty much gave. The higher temps are better for you car as long as the car does not overheat. Higher engine temps give better fuel economy and actually a little less wear as long as your engine stays in that 195 to 225 range.

The reason most shops alter the thermostat in their kits is because the cooling system in the car is only designed to keep the car cool with stock horsepower. And that cooling range is pretty small. If you add a bunch of power you add a lot of heat and if you don't start cooling until the car is almost 200 degrees then it is pretty easy for an upgraded engine to blow through the stock cooling systems capacity to keep up.

No tuning shop wants to build your car power up and then have you come back and say, it has more power but everytime I put it on the track or drive it hard it over heats. The easiest way to improve your cooling system is to give it a head start and get it to go into full cool mode at 165 degrees. This makes a huge difference if your car ever gets close to running hot. 165 is not a bad temp, it is not quite as efficient as 195 but nothing like 100 degrees.

If I had no intention of racing my car ever,... the 195 t-stat should be fine. If you ever do race your car in any type of event then I would switch to 165.