Installing a 160 Thermostat

[litle88]

Originally Posted by chevy 3

If Ted says it's ok to run or mod it to work better then so be it. Ted has or had 7 of the top 10 fastest camaros on the street. I think he is def worth listening too.

Tell that to folks like Supercharged SS OR NYNY69 or EPI.

You'll still be driving around at normal temps I've never ran cooler than 185/200 on a cool day. But it really matters in the hot azz summers. Coolant circulates more and at the track it's worth a lot.

[mikeyg36]

All hail Ted

[epstein]

If anyone needs a Stock one.... You can have mine Ill have that and brand new spark plugs barely used if anyone wants them.

[Supercharged SS]

Originally Posted by chevy 3

If Ted says it's ok to run or mod it to work better then so be it. Ted has or had 7 of the top 10 fastest camaros on the street. I think he is def worth listening too.

I'll let you know the other half of that story, the truth, if we catch up this year at a New England function. I will promise you right now that you will not have that same opinion. That's all I can say here.

[Cuda7050]

Originally Posted by jesse454545

Is it easy to install this thermostat or would I have to take it to a shop to install it? also is there a DIY on this particular mod that I cant find? Any help is welcomed. Thanks in advance.

LOL, the OP simply asks for help on a thermostat install and the 160 thermostat haters have to jump in here and preach to everyone. Please, give a rest.

[Camarojt]

Originally Posted by Cuda7050

LOL, the OP simply asks for help on a thermostat install and the 160 thermostat haters have to jump in here and preach to everyone. Please, give a rest.

I've never understood the basis for the argument anyways. The people that are against 160 stats are making it seem as tho there is a HUGE difference between a 160-180 stat. How much longer can it take an already warm engine to rise 20*?
Usually at idle id say about 2degrees every 10-15 seconds. The comment about taking short trips and it not letting your car up to temp is pretty unrealistic. Unless you only drive your car to the end of ur street and back and that's it. And IF that's the case, your 180 stat is gonna do the same thing. It's staying closed.
I have had both and now i DD with a 160 stat and I have 0 issues and love the temps that my car drives at and more so how it delays getting to 190 when I'm racing at the track. Win Win!

[DKT]

The engine will still warm up at the same rate doesn't matter if you have a 160 or stock. Both stay closed until their rated cracking temperature.

Even if the engine stayed at 160 that is still warm enough by about 40 degrees for the engine to run normal.

[Camarojt]

Originally Posted by Jered@DKT

The engine will still warm up at the same rate doesn't matter if you have a 160 or stock. Both stay closed until their rated cracking temperature.

Even if the engine stayed at 160 that is still warm enough by about 40 degrees for the engine to run normal.

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!

[JANNETTYRACING]

I Provide Technical Data Derived from 35 Years Experience For FREE.

What you do with that Data is Soley your descission.

It Doesn't make Anyone Right or Wrong.

If you Don't Agree, I respect your opinion, There is No need for the hate.

Stay Tuned, there are big things coming out of JRE.

Ted.

[urr2slo]

There is a lot of incorrect information on this thread. To answer the Op,it is an easy install, the hardest part will be burping the air out of the cooling system afterward.
Now what follows, you will probably get a check engine light come on at some point and time as the engine will not reach proper operating temp quickly enough. That is corrected by tuning and at the same time you can adjust when the fans come on to take advantage of the cooler t-stat. The stock t-stat is a 196 and the Camaros normally run at 205. With a 160 it is ideal to program the fans to start to come on at around 175 to keep engine temps around 180.
Now lets get to why you are installing a cooler t-stat? Is you car stock? If it is you will lose a little gas mileage and your tailpipe emissions will be slightly higher, there will be no performance gain as your car is now not as efficient as it was.
If your car is modified, then what mods do you have? When you start making horsepower you start generating addition heat in the engine, especially when making the additional power with boost. That is why you would want a cooler thermostat. Hook up a scan tool and watch the ECT screen and go do a few WOT pulls and see how quickly temps go up, in high h.p. cars it climbs quickly. That's why you would use a 160 or 180 t-stat and tune for it to get your engine running efficiently. Once you get past 185-190 on a modified engine it will cost you some power if your running hotter.
Example:
I recently installed a 160 t-stat in a friends modified Z06, the car dropped 25-30 degrees in operating temp and when I Re-Tuned for the cooler t-stat I was able to get a 9 h.p. gain on the first pull of 3 and a 18 h.p. gain by the 3rd pull.
First pull before was done with the ECT at 198, last one ECT was at 224.
After pulls started with first pull ECT at 174 and last pull at 196. Now this is a modified car which is now making an average of 621 rwhp, before it would cruise around town with the ECT's in the 220's and on hot days out here in the 230's, now it's cruising around town in the 180's, still waiting on hot days to compare. On track temps since the install did not exceed 208, before even in cool weather it would get as hot as 242.

The purpose for a cooler t-stat is operating efficiency, on a stock Camaro it is operating as designed so pretty efficient, More power means more heat, means you need to make your cooling system more efficient to get the most out of your power mods.
Where you live, and your seasonal climate changes will also determine if you should go with a 160 or 180 t-stat.

I am running 160 t-stats but I am in AZ, my '10 is making over 700 h.p. and the '12 is at just over 600 h.p. I do have 2 different tunes for both, winter and summer, with the winter tune mainly commanding the fans to come on later to get more engine temp in it quicker and for better cold weather drivability. To cold will also cost you power. I try to keep my normal operating temps between 175-185 for maximum power when getting on it.
Hope this helps some of you.

[patternpilot]

This is good information here.
From the OP's original post I got the impression he did not even know where the thermostat was located, thus the question if he should take it to someone else for the install. OP, do some research. You can do this yourself if after this threads information you still need to.

[litle88]

Not meant for you HrD WrK....sorry

Wow This has turned into such a biased place! Always going to the mods telling or mods always covering for you. Smh

[JANNETTYRACING]

The stock stat is 186F on this model

[BigBlock69RS]

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/

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

http://www.hotrod.com/feature_storie...l_temperature/

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.

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.