Drilling stock thermo..pic and ?
- Thread starter skaarew04SVT
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ChaosTheory
Banned
Thank you. I am very interested to see what the accepted solution for this is going to be. Thank you for your work on this as well!
i cant say for a fact that they help either..but....in my case they seemed to help quite a bit. Like i said, i have no factual data to prove this but i have had to burp my system before and also once again when i did the t-stat mod (drilled holes) and the last time went much quicker. it was actually just about full after the 2nd time i opened up the cap in the crossover tube. The first time, i remember opening that thing about 5 or 6 times. So i dont know..i dont think it hurts any??
After getting all the air out of my cooling system, the car ran WAY cooler than before. I took it for a short cruise around my neighborhood after letting warm up at idle. When I left my house the temp was hovering around 190+ and when I started moving (no faster than 25 MPH) the car stayed steady at 177* the entire time. The fan has not been adjusted at this point so it never even came on. With the A/C on and the fan running, the car stayed steady at 180* even after idling for 45 minutes.
The car only took about 10 mintues to completely warm up at idle.
The car only took about 10 mintues to completely warm up at idle.
01cobravortech
Banned
Thats awesome news. I'm wondering what those temps are going to be like in the winter time in NJ. Hopefully not much lower than that 177 you saw.
Actually the stat has a small hole in the diaphragm with an anti-drainback valve, the stocker does not have this feature. I assume that this there to help keep air pockets from forming.
There are many write ups on burping the system on the forum if you do a search. I'll probably put my own procedure up on my website because I've done this so many times and I think I've got a way to get it done in about 8 hours. (One cooldown cycle)
I'd be willing to bet that you will see some low 170s temps if the weather is cold enough, especially if you're going down a hill with very little load on the engine... only time will tell.
Unfortunately this is the trade off for having a stat that flows very well at 185-190*, it has to start opening around 172*. No stat can just open immediately at a certain temp. I wonder if someday stats will be servo driven and computer controlled :idea:
Now there's an interesting thought to ponder. ;-)
Sounds good ASHLEY. We look forward to reading it... :read:
01cobravortech
Banned
In your opinion, do you see any harm in the temps being that much cooler in the winter? Accelerated engine wear? Driveability issues? We had a 2 month period last year in Jerzey where the temps were consistently between 15F - 30F.
If my temps drop into the very low 170s then I think I'll get the coolant mixture closer to 50/50 to see if the temps get hotter. I figure in trying that approach when it gets colder but first I'll see what I'm actually seeing in temps before changing the 25/75 mix.
I don't think there will be any driveability issues but ideally you want your oil temp to be closer to 180*. However I think on a pleasure-only driven car that is taken out and driven hard, the trade off for running lower head and combustion temps is well worth it. But when you're talking about a DD car that will log thousands of miles running consistent oil temps below 170* that's a different story. In that case I would run a Stant 14138 stat in the wintertime.
I doubt changing the antifreeze ratio will have any significant impacts on cruising temps.
170 hybrid testing data and driving impressions here:
http://www.svtperformance.com/forums/showthread.php?p=7164681#post7164681
http://www.svtperformance.com/forums/showthread.php?p=7164681#post7164681
No you will be fine at 170 in the winter. The engine oil is getting up to temp at that point, and the ECU is out of the "cold start" map.
The coolant mixture will not change your running temps much at all. The more water in your cooling system the more efficiently it will carry away heat, but it will not run much cooler. You may only see a degree difference if anything at all.
01cobravortech
Banned
Well then it looks like I'll have to wait until next summer to install your t-stat then. I'm glad you identified that though, considering my Cobra is a DD and sees all the elements in the winter time. Oh well. I'll just have to wait until next May to take advantage of this t-stat.
01cobravortech
Banned
Ashley, you don't think the oil running at 170F as opposed to 180F + is a dangerous temp difference for the winter? What do you base this presumption on? I'm concerned considering I remember the lowest day time temp I saw in Jerzey last year reached 13F and I drove in that temp. Just want to insure that I'm not playing with dynamite, thats all.
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I don't think it's as serious as all that. It's just that oil is designed to up it's viscosity as temps increase. It's possible that running a higher weight or different oil would totally counteract any temp/weight issues.
Honestly I was really hoping you would at least try the modded stat in cold weather first because the truth is we really don't know what kind of temps will result until someone tries it. As long as you're staying in the 170-176* range I don't think there is any cause for concern.
Well I dont have much experience with the car in extreme cold, but the car will still run up to temp when it is that cold out. The 170 stat will regulate the temp better than a drilled OEM stat, and in turn keep the oil warmer. In cold weather the 170 stat will get the car up to temp faster, and keep it there. I would say you would be safer with the 170 than a drilled OEM.
Even in the cool evening air, my oil temp runs 180 on the highway. Most people universally say between 180-190 is considered "warmed up" for engine oil.
If you are worried, I would just turn up your fan settings a bit for winter.
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Agreed. If you ran your oil at 170* forever, I doubt you would ever see a difference.
I had my car on the dyno all night tonight and it never got hotter than 187* The low speed fan is set to come on at 184 off at 180 high speed on at 190 off at 187. On my way home it was 76* outside and the temps fluctuated from 174-190. I don't really know what that tells you, but for me the 190 part is a little higher than I'd like in that type of air. This was all highway driving and very little stop and go. I may reflush the system again and see if maybe I still have a little air in the system.
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