Tstat 160 less combustion than stock?

[MHW100]

Was just speaking with the dealer' mechanic and he said the Ecoboost likes the stock tstat which runs the engine hotter for purposes of better combustion. He said Ford engineered it this way and didn't recommend the 160 for this reason? Is this true?

 

[krewat]

If you're tuned, all bets are off. Do whatever the tuner suggests. If you're not tuned, leave it alone

Even my '96 T-bird with a 4.6L, the tuner specified a 160 degree t-stat. It's just "what you do" to reduce pinging.

 

[MHW100]

I see .

 

[SHOdded]

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

Sorry couldn't stop laughing at the mechanic's comment. Although he is sorta kinda right. IF all you care about is emissions.

Livernois has stated before that 140F is actually the optimal operational temperature of the 3.5EB (maybe other EBs also IDK). The rest is all in the alchemy Ford vs your tuner decide to adopt.

For all practical purposes, it doesn't really matter tuned or not tuned. Stock or colder. But if Livernois tells you that you can get more longevity with it in there, I would do it lickety split. I would want more performance but not giving up longevity, not by a LOOOOONG shot.

 

[MHW100]

Good advice .

 

[StealBlueSho]

170 or 160...

LMS recommends 160 as they told me the 170 didn’t make much difference in their testing over stock.

All the other tuners recommend the 170.

Point is... a cooler tstat should help.


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[SHOdded]

It's the alteration of fan behavior that really turns the tide. The TStat just opens the door.

If you decide not to change the TStat, no harm no foul. brucelinc did just fine without it with his MKS.

 

[brucelinc]

I eventually put the 160 in my MKS. I monitored engine temps with an Aeroforce gauge both with the stock thermostat and the 160. Once the car had been driven and the temps reached their maximum, there was NO difference whatsoever in running temperatures. Just cruising on the highway, both ran 185-190. The 160 took a bit longer to reach maximum temp since it opened sooner but once fully open, there was no difference between the two.

I had Livernois leave the fan settings alone for my daily driver tune but had a tune for drag racing in which the fans came on at a lower temp. At the drag strip, the car did cool down more rapidly after a run with the 160 but I suspect the fans kicking on sooner had a lot to do with that. With either thermostat, I would see 215+ degrees at the end of the quarter mile.

The 2010-2012 MKS had a larger lower grill opening than an SHO so that might make some difference, too.

 

[MHW100]

I eventually put the 160 in my MKS. I monitored engine temps with an Aeroforce gauge both with the stock thermostat and the 160. Once the car had been driven and the temps reached their maximum, there was NO difference whatsoever in running temperatures. Just cruising on the highway, both ran 185-190. The 160 took a bit longer to reach maximum temp since it opened sooner but once fully open, there was no difference between the two.

I had Livernois leave the fan settings alone for my daily driver tune but had a tune for drag racing in which the fans came on at a lower temp. At the drag strip, the car did cool down more rapidly after a run with the 160 but I suspect the fans kicking on sooner had a lot to do with that. With either thermostat, I would see 215+ degrees at the end of the quarter mile.

The 2010-2012 MKS had a larger lower grill opening than an SHO so that might make some difference, too.

Very informative real world experience . Thank you . This doesn't make a strong case for changing the tstat if you weren't racing and then only marginally so .

 

[SHOdded]

I would say it is a good help in heavy traffic, or in hot climates, but no, not a minor miracle or anything. These engines do like running cool tho.

If I did not have the trans cooled separately, like the PP cars do, I would look into possibly upgrading the cooling to include the relevant bits. bpd pioneered that mod for the Gen 4 (2010-12 MY) SHOs. You can even get some benefit by simply upgrading the TStat in the trans bypass valve to the PP one.

 

[MHW100]

I would say it is a good help in heavy traffic, or in hot climates, but no, not a minor miracle or anything. These engines do like running cool tho.

If I did not have the trans cooled separately, like the PP cars do, I would look into possibly upgrading the cooling to include the relevant bits. bpd pioneered that mod for the Gen 4 (2010-12 MY) SHOs. You can even get some benefit by simply upgrading the TStat in the trans bypass valve to the PP one.

Not to beat the discussion to death but I'm waffling back and forth on changing mine from stock . There doesn't seem to be any consensus on benefits for a daily driver and only marginally it seems when racing or driven in extreme conditions. On the flip side it doesn't appear to hurt anything by changing it .

 

[brucelinc]

I think having the fans come on at lower temps was useful in heavy stop & go traffic. The drawback for me was a lot of extra noise. I also think there was pretty heavy draw on the electrical system. In addition to the fans sounding like a hurricane, I could hear a whine coming from the alternator.

 

[Lostneye]

I think having the fans come on at lower temps was useful in heavy stop & go traffic. The drawback for me was a lot of extra noise. I also think there was pretty heavy draw on the electrical system. In addition to the fans sounding like a hurricane, I could hear a whine coming from the alternator.

I daily my SHO in heavy traffic. I don't notice the fans/electrical with the windows up. I have an upgraded stereo as well.

 

[MHW100]

I think having the fans come on at lower temps was useful in heavy stop & go traffic. The drawback for me was a lot of extra noise. I also think there was pretty heavy draw on the electrical system. In addition to the fans sounding like a hurricane, I could hear a whine coming from the alternator.

More fuel consumption?

 

[brucelinc]

I think there is or was more than one speed for the fans. With stock fan settings, I could hear them but they weren't obnoxiously loud. With the fan settings Livernois had for my drag tune, they were extemely loud.

 

[Lostneye]

I think there is or was more than one speed for the fans. With stock fan settings, I could hear them but they weren't obnoxiously loud. With the fan settings Livernois had for my drag tune, they were extemely loud.

I run the 160 stat and 93 3 bar tune year round. I can definitely hear them outside the car.

 

[StealBlueSho]

Because data always helps... here is a datalog of a 160Tstat and a 170Tstat... you can see during the initial acceleration the 160tstat keeps the engine coolant temp cooler than the 170tstat. Additionally, it also helps at the end of the run keeping the coolant cooler... I have LOTS of logs of both, and they are all very similar in results. Top is 160 and bottom is 170

 

[SHOdded]

same tune, same environmental conditions?

 

[StealBlueSho]

same tune, same environmental conditions?

No. 170 was in my 2010 meth injected and the 160 is in my 2016 E30 HPFP.


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[mrhighcaliber]

During an extended highway w.o.t pull up to 170mph, I've see my coolant temps with 160 tstat go from 188. (normal temp) to 157 by the end of the pull. Normal 70ish degree night. I've also noticed temps drop drastically during some high way races. The longer you stay in it, the cooler it gets.

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