Quote:
Originally Posted by LarryHughes
I'm curious - why are you going to a low temp thermostat?
If you're under the impression that it will lower the running temperature of the coolant, you may be wrong.
I was considering putting a low temp thermostat in my '01 996 which is in good condition and stock.
But I was curious to see how much the temp would fall. As an experiment, I removed the stock thermostat which has the engine running at an indicated 185F. Without any thermostat? Yup, an indicated 185F.
It turns out that the thermostat is usually only for warming the engine more quickly and is NOT the limiting factor of temp. The capacity of the cooling system is the limiting factor.
May save yourself a lot of time and trouble by trying this test on your vehicle before popping big $$ for a low temp thermostat.
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Sorry, but your hypostasis is incorrect. First of all, the dash temp gauges in these cars are well known and documented to be woefully inaccurate and non linear; they are little more than an idiot light that moves. It is not unusual to see one indicating 180F when the engine is actually at 205-210F.
Secondly, the thermostat, assuming it is functioning correctly, acts as a throttling mechanism that controls the
minimum steady state operating temperature of the engine. As such, it controls the lowest temperature that the engine will run at. Dropping the coolant temps from their normal 205-210F levels to around 175F with a 160F stat significantly reduces the inherent hot spots in these engine's that typically lead to problems like cylinder head cracking. The cooler coolant temps also lower the oil temps nearly 25F, which results in a huge improvement in the oil's life expectancy and performance.
Changing to a 160F stat is one of the cheapest significant modifications you can make to one of these engines.