That area you have marked for trimming is where you trim. I'd also drill a 1/16 hole in the area on the other side of the lip that you're shaving up to.

 

I used the NAPA equivalent, only it's the one for the Mazdas. Has the little relief popup hole thingy already in it.
Trial trimmed it for fitment a couple times til it fit nicely with the grommet around it.

40k miles later, no issues to report.

As far as the lower temp causing carbon or whatnot, that's horseshiyat IMO. Keep in mind that vehicles ran 180 degree thermostats for decades before all the emission stuff started.
A cooler engine is a happier engine, up to a point.

 

hemifever his stant already has the bypass blocker i do believe it is the same one as mine and it already has the little hole to allow coolant to pass through if needed on cold start-ups. No buildup here that i know of. Yes, that is where you need to trim to, and no this will not hurt summer driving.
-josh

 

my 14168 didn't have a relief hole and I didn't see one in his pic unless it's hiding in that little section not visible in the pic. If it's there, don't worry about it. If it's not, drill 1/16 hole.

The biggest issue for running an engine too cool is the condensation build up under the valve covers and in the oil pan. If you make a bunch of drives that don't involve a good warm up (20 min run time), you will get excess condensation build up. Outside of that, if you change your oil on schedule and get good warm up cycles you won't have to worry about sludge buildup

 

I do have alot of errand runs and stuff like that. I go to school, work and home. Its about a 15 -25 min drive to each. But I do run errands sometimes where I only drive for like 5-10 mins at a time. Will that cause excessive sludge build-up as well as excessive condensation?

I don't have the 1/16th hole in the flat part of the thermo. Is it really necessary? What does that benefit?

 

There is a very small v-shaped slit (it's very small and very hard to see) in the 14168 so drilling a vent hole is not required. If you have SC's you don't need a PW, but the 180°F t-stat will still help to make more power by lowering the underhood/inlet air temps and also help to prevent spark knock and the resulting spark knock retard will causes power losses.

 

You also only need to trim 1mm off of the O.D. because the stock stat is 63mm and the 14168 is 64mm. Don't trim more than you need to.

 

I do have alot of errand runs and stuff like that. I go to school, work and home. Its about a 15 -25 min drive to each. But I do run errands sometimes where I only drive for like 5-10 mins at a time. Will that cause excessive sludge build-up as well as excessive condensation?

I don't have the 1/16th hole in the flat part of the thermo. Is it really necessary? What does that benefit?

Change your oil regularly with a good quality oil/filter and you will not have any issues with a 180°F t-stat.

 

Alright. That sounds simply enough. Now, are their any tips or tricks or a guide that someone can throw together so I can install it sometime soon. I basically have an idea:

1. Drain
2. Take Hose Off
3. Take Thermo Out
4. Replace Thermo
5. Reattach Hose
6. Fill back up

 

yea man just have some towels and a drain pan under where the radiator hose attacthes to the thermo cause no matter how i tried to drain it there was always a lot in there and it will get all over, so put some rags on the pulleys and engine stuff below the thermo. Oh yes and do not completely take out the thermo housing bolt that is hidden, it is the biggest PITA to get back in, but if you unscrew it 3/4 of the way you will be able to slide the housing around the thermo. Good luck man, its not a bad install its just the draining takes awhile.
-josh