Alright, what the hell is a thermostat? And how would it help if upgraded?
05Dakota
04-07-2006, 05:10 PM
Copied from a post made by enhanced250:
Your t-stat controles the length of time the coolent stays in the radiator... thats it JOB. If your cooling system is not up to the task and can not cool the coolent to the T-stat rateing the t-stat will remain OPEN and will not close untill the coolant temps drop below the t-stat rating. This means the coolant will not stay in the radiator long enough to drop to/below the disired temp. When this happens the temps start to rise and because they rise the coolant NEVER cools because its NEVER in the radiator long enough and the temps continue to rise..... So you may actually run hotter with a 180 t-stat if your cooling system can not cool the coolant to that temp.
Just because you insall a 180 degree thermostat does not mean your engine will run at that temp. It just means the coolant in the BLOCK will be allowed to pass through and on to the radiator once it reaches 180 degrees..... If the water in the radiator has not dropped below 180 degrees by the time the water in the block has the t-stat will remain open and temps WILL climb. You need to make sure your radiator/cooling system is up to the task or you may just overheat with a lower t-stat.
Also a hotter t-stat will get you the BEST fuel economey but not the best performance. A hotter engine gets better MPG. "
