Thermostat Temp 180 or 170

[Jayone2]

I live in central Florida and I'm wondering if I would benefit from a 170 degree thermostat instead of the factory 180. The 90+ degree heat down here is brutal especially with stop and go traffic. Any advice is appreciated.

[masospaghetti]

No, it won't help. Here's why.

The thermostat temperature controls the lower range that the engine operates at. The fan switch controls the upper range.

So if you have a 180 degree thermostat and the fan switch is factory (and set around 210 F, for example), then the engine will rapidly heat up to 180 degrees and should never exceed 210 F. If it exceeds 210 F then the fans are not moving enough air to keep the engine cool. But when airflow is restored and/or engine output is low, the temperature will drop to 180 F before the thermostat closes and forces the engine to heat up. So the engine will always be between 180-210 F.

If you use a lower temp thermostat such as a 170 F, then the engine will just have a larger operating range (170 F-210 F). In heavy traffic in Florida summer weather, the fans will be running so engine temperature will be 210 F either way, regardless of what thermostat you choose.

The only thing that will change is that the engine will sometimes operate at 170 F, such as highway driving. This is less efficient than 180 F and will burn extra fuel for no reason.

[aventari]

Is 180 really the factory spec? I thought I saw somewhere it was 190

[Granite CB7]

^fully open @194*F starts opening @169-176*F. Masospaghetti is right, the fan switch is ultimately what will bring the operating temp down. You could always buy a low temp tstat as well as a low temp fan switch too. Mugen, Buddy Club and Mishimoto are some names that come to mind. I really like my Mugen setup

[Losiracer2]

Every manufacturer torture tests their cars in Death Valley, CA where temperatures easily reach 120*F plus in the summer time.

I rock a Honda OEM T-stat and I live in AZ where it gets to 115 almost everyday in the summer. I've never overheated due to a T-stat failure.

Plus the made in Japan Honda ones are pretty cheap, around 21 bucks with the gasket, so i wouldn't even waste your money on a subpar Autozone or O'reilly auto parts brand one made in Mexico or China