18o t stat. Good or bad?

[Jc12205]

I installed a 180 thermostat. And had a tune adjust for the engine temp range . Only for the tuner to tell me it’s not negative with eco Eng bad for the plugs and bad fuel economy. Can anyone elaborate with this?

 

[l1tech]

What were you trying to gain by installing a lower temp thermostat?

 

[TMac]

I installed a 180 thermostat. And had a tune adjust for the engine temp range . Only for the tuner to tell me it’s not negative with eco Eng bad for the plugs and bad fuel economy. Can anyone elaborate with this?

Same goes for any cooler thermostat- see here:

https://www.explorerst.org/threads/spd-170-thermostat-install-worth-it.3906/post-50773

 

[Jc12205]

What were you trying to gain by installing a lower temp thermostat?

I did a bunch of bolt ons before learning about st forum . I install the 180 and the tuner tuned a custom tune. Then a month later the tuner in a conversation told me the factory 192 stat is a better way to go and the 180 stat will lose hp, fuel efficiency and burn plugs faster. So unsure if I should return to stock 192 stat and get another tune.

 

[TMac]

While I'm not a fan at all of using low temp thermostats as I wrote above, I'm also pretty sure that a 12 degree change in thermostat doesn't require a "tune". Let alone having the tuner tell me that I need to return to the stock thermo and need another "tune". Who is your tuner?

 

[FORZDA3]

A 180F is actually a very good thing. There are a couple of “tune” items that should be updated. The Desired ECT value and the rad fan on/off temps. I haven’t looked in a while, but I think the ECT desired is set to 210F from oem. I recommend setting it to 195F and drop the fans on temp by 15 degF as well. Otherwise the lower t-stat isn’t as useful.

Sounds like your tuner(?) is “misinformed”.

My ‘21 ST already runs at ~180F as measured through the OBD port. My t-stat is the oem value.

 

[Jc12205]

I don’t feel comfortable putting him out there but he’s company is in Jersey. This is his quote from a email” Also word to the wise, the colder thermostats are no good for these newer vehicles. They keep the engine too cool and you run more fuel because of that. Its richer and causes some power loss and fuel economy suffers. Not to mention shortening the life of your spark plugs. Don't believe what the internet says, the stock 192 T stat works great. “. but they pushed me into a Sct x4 setup which I learned is garbage compared to HP. So I’m at the point of do I put stock stat in or leave the 180? And thanks for your feedback.

 

[FORZDA3]

Leave the 180 in, sell your SCT crap and go with a ZFG tune using HPTuners.

 

[TMac]

As I wrote before, and will again until it penetrates; changing the thermostat to lower values does not equate to good outcomes. These discussions are always about how lowering the engine temperature achieves more HP through...what...exactly? Please give me some logical, reasonable, thermodynamics based answer!

This stuff is what I post about. 20th century hot-rodding "lore" that doesn't make any sense in a modern GDI engine. None of the thermostatic tampering or even playing with ECT in a tuner will impact IATs with composite intakes, etc. The engine temperatures are optimized for piston wall clearance, oil temps, and fuel evap points. All you're going to do is upset those things resulting in higher wear factors on the cylinders, plugs and higher short-term and long-term ECU correction factors. It's not going to make any difference in HP- it's only going to make your engine less efficient and reliable.

 

[Blown F-150]

I don’t feel comfortable putting him out there but he’s company is in Jersey. This is his quote from a email” Also word to the wise, the colder thermostats are no good for these newer vehicles. They keep the engine too cool and you run more fuel because of that. Its richer and causes some power loss and fuel economy suffers. Not to mention shortening the life of your spark plugs. Don't believe what the internet says, the stock 192 T stat works great. “. but they pushed me into a Sct x4 setup which I learned is garbage compared to HP. So I’m at the point of do I put stock stat in or leave the 180? And thanks for your feedback.

There is literally nothing wrong with the SCT x4 or SCT software from a tuning capability standpoint. The tuners that tune with both SCT and HPT will tell you there are pros and cons to both.

Our ST is a ‘21 and has a 180 t-stat stock. I would think you’re fine to leave it in.


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[l1tech]

As stated the 180° t stat is stock. Per Ford spec it starts to open at 180° and is fully open at 202°.

 

[MikeHTally]

According to my ScanGauge II, that's what it seems to do.