Question on Thermo 160 or 180?

[bigpanther63]

For a 1996 V6 3.8L Firebird 160 thermo or 180 thermo? I Live in Texas Dallas to be exact hot summers does hotter weather matter? Should I start with a 180 to be safe?

[nofear_102]

Well, I bought a 160, but after reading some threads, I'm starting to wonder too.

[97camRS]

I have a 97 Camaro and was thinking about getting a 160 thermo too and a manual fan switch, I live in FL and with the weather now, My temp is getting around 220 everyday. What's the stock Thermo rating? 195?

[pgriffith]

stock is 195* untill '99 it then changed to 180*, I just ordered my hypertech 160* and some water wetter. Im going to take a chance. I figure if it dont work it is easy to replace with a different thermo and its not very much.

[triad]

I have the 160 degree Thermo and I notice lower temps - much lower temps and I live in one of the hottest cities in California

Our summers are in upwards of 110 degrees and my car has been working fabulously

[Blue Jay]

Ok, I will present the argument for both sides as I see it. A 160 will definatley lower the operating temperature of your engine. This is both good and bad.

the good If you are running an aftermarket chip, power adder's, or just plain drive like a lunatic all the time, the increased circulation of the coolant can keep the engine at a reasonable operating temperature.

the bad The engine is designed to run at a certian temperature. A hot running engine is an efficent engine. If the Coolant is circulating more, more energy is being dumped into the radiator and out into the surrounding air. That energy could have been used to make your car move, so among other things your gas milage will decrease. Also enigine life can be greatly decreased.

There are other arguments to this, but theese are the most basic.

[97camRS]

So a 180 thermostat would be better??? Also at what temp should the fans come on? And how much would a manual fan switch and a 180 thermo help?

[Night Rider]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by 97camRS:
Also at what temp should the fans come on? And how much would a manual fan switch and a 180 thermo help?<hr></blockquote>

I believe the fans are set come on @ 215 deg., regardless of what thermo you have. Someone correct me if i'm wrong.

The slp fan is excellent, especially for racing at the track. If your engine is hot, w/in seconds you can cool it down. This happens to me even w/ a 160 thermo.

Bigpan. i live in dallas, & i agree it gets hot as h*ll during the summer so i went w/ a 160. i've been running it for alittle over a year now, w/ no problems, except it takes alittle while for the heat to warm up in the winter, but it's no biggie.