just make sure to use coolant and have a fan shroud i had my mav up to 230 and i could notice a difference in the way it was running/power then i stopped to get a bite to eat and when sitting it got up to 250 and was hard to start ((( i didn't have a fan shroud thats why it did that ))) and i think it hit like 104 that day got a heating problem get the taurus fan and it wont happen again i got the 3 core aluminum radiator and taurus fan on low and have no problem's
I use a 160 degree stat, and have a Taurus fan set up. Car runs at about 170 degrees around town, but on the highway, it runs at 180-185 and I have never had a problem.
It depends on where you live a 160 or 170 wont defrost your windsheild in cold Utah winters I always use 190 or 195.
If you want to run a 180 degree thermostat, ask the person waiting on you at Autozone for one. They have a selection in their screen that says otional thermostat, which will have the 180 listed. You probably got some inexperienced person that didn't know this was there. I usuallu run 180's in my older engines and on the temp gauage, they usually run 190 on the road. Engines run better when they are in the 190's range. Jim
yes you do moister, sludge ,no heat,wear on the engine when not at operating temp over my 35 years working on cars i have found the factory gets it right 98.9 % of the time assuming you want reliability. $8.00 bucks and a little labor back in business
its just not that simple. when a motor is desgined they consider the heat expansion rates of the different metals used in the motor. they try to make it so when the motor is at operating temp every thing is at its ideal tolerrnce. most of the friction in a motor is controled with the oil system. the weight of the oil depends on the tolerances used in the motor. the tighter the tolerance the thiner or lighter weight oil is needed to get where it needs to go.
I live in PHX AZ, I run 195's in all my windsors. I get worried when i start seeing 220 Good radiator, good cap, good fan, good coolant, good airflow, good hoses, good water pump, 195 stat.......... no worries
I really think anything in the 180-195 range is fine. I just see alot of people using a lower t-stat to try and cover up another cooling problem like a band aid. I think being able to "control" your desired coolant temperature is much more important than the stats opening temp.
Darren is absolutely correct. coolant moving too fast through the engine and radiator will not pick up enough heat from the engine as it rushes through the coolant jackets and it won't give up the heat if it moves through the radiator too fast. I have used an old thermostat with the center punched out as a restrictor in a pinch. If you don't need heat in So-Cal then just run a robertshaw high flow 160 deg. I have a 195 in mine now with a stock water pump and 3row radiator and with air conditioner blowing full blast I might see 210 in the heat of the summer on a 100 deg day with high humidity (90+ %). Make sure your coolant to water mix doesn't exceed 50/50. If freezing isn't an issue, run 25% coolant to 75% water and a little water wetter and you should be good if your cooling system is sound. I am using an electric fan from a 95 crown vic (condenser fan) with no engine driven fan at all.
