Lower Temp Thermostat

[bagoon316]

I have been hearing a lot lately with my friends that installing a lower temp thermostat really helps with lost power caused by high temperature. The only thing is, i have heard from many parts stores and shops that it will mess up ur engine because more coolant is running through it than normal...any tips or suggestions?? If it works it is a good $10 mod. I have also heard that getting it lower 15-20 degrees will knock a tenth of a second of ur 1/4 mile time! Thanks anything will help!

[4drcord]

no matter if it helps or not it can still hurt you in the long run. ive only heard bad news about these. your engine runs at a certain temp for a reason. it has to warm up and be abble to cool down. if you mess with one of these temps the other will be thrown off too.

[92lx]

It's a good modification that will cause no real problems, you do need to dyno tune as with anything however. For reasons mentioned. So long as its no less than 160 degrees, it'll be fine.


- Nathan

[bagoon316]

Has anyone here actually done this to there accords?

[fast93accord]

I have a low temp thermostat and fan switch in my car. Believe it or not, my heater still get verrrrry hot. Doesnt much longer to warm up. Heres my setup. I have a Mugen thermostat for a 2000 civic si/ integra gsr... I bought a mugen thermostat for accord/prelude but it was way too big. The B-series mugen thermostat fits perfect. I also have a Mugen thermoswitch to kick my fans on earlier. The Mugen thermostat is 144 degrees farenheight, and the mugen thermoswitch kicks the fans on at 180 degrees farenheight. If its summer, everytime your driving, and stop at a light for about 30 seconds, the fans come on. Not as much in the winter. This mod definatly helps keep things cool. If i'm just cruisin on the highway, and its cold out, if i pull over and feel the upper and lower radiator hoses, the lower one will be cold becuase the thermostat closes up to help keep the heat built up. But if i let it idle for a minute after cruisin the thermostat opens right up. Needless to say, if you want the most out of your car, this can help.

[Granite CB7]

Bringing this one back!

Very soon I will be installing a new Koyo radiator and removing my A/C system in my 93 EX (mostly stock, maintenance first!). I have all the parts except a lower temp thermostat. I've been trying to find one (around 160 deg F) in my area, but the 12-15 shops I called/visited had nothing but the OEM rated one.

I know that the OEM thermostat is fully open at 194 deg F and the ECU is also calibrated for that too.

Would my cat. be okay w/ the lower temp thermostat (a little exta unburned fuel from slightly richer A/F mixture)? One guy mentioned that to me and it did make sense, but some people have both on their cars (cat and lower temp thermostat) and they seem to be alright.

What do you guys think? Am I wasting my time/money by wanting to get everything a little cooler? I'm not looking for power out of this, I'm looking for efficiency. I'd like to hear your thoughts on this! Thanks for your time, appreciate it a lot

Dan

Also, F22parts has a 160 deg Thermostat,
http://www.f22parts.com/item160tstat_.htm

[jdmhotness]

Im I really reading this? Haha suprised you guys have never heard about this being bad....

Keep your stock one in there! Just because opening it quicker doesnt mean it will cool any better. Just think all the coolant will be passing a lot faster, and not using anything outside the engine to cool it fast enough. Plus not heating your engine up quick enough is just as bad as heating it up to quick. Would you rape the hell out of your car if its overheating? NO. Would you rape the hell out of your car if its still very cold on a 20 degree day? I would hope not! I always laugh at people who start there car in the morning and then drive off right after its cranked...not a good idea and can lead to oil starved parts and blowing your engine if done enough....especially at 7000 rpms.

Keep the stock one in, get a better radiator, or dont mod your car if you cant afford to do it right...this is not fixing a problem, just making another one.

-.02
nick

[NoSloCB7]

Im I really reading this? Haha suprised you guys have never heard about this being bad....

Keep your stock one in there! Just because opening it quicker doesnt mean it will cool any better. Just think all the coolant will be passing a lot faster, and not using anything outside the engine to cool it fast enough. Plus not heating your engine up quick enough is just as bad as heating it up to quick. Would you rape the hell out of your car if its overheating? NO. Would you rape the hell out of your car if its still very cold on a 20 degree day? I would hope not! I always laugh at people who start there car in the morning and then drive off right after its cranked...not a good idea and can lead to oil starved parts and blowing your engine if done enough....especially at 7000 rpms.

Keep the stock one in, get a better radiator, or dont mod your car if you cant afford to do it right...this is not fixing a problem, just making another one.

-.02
nick

Agree .....and...totally Agree!!

[MRX]

Eh, i beg to differ. It may be my mods that makes me different but alone the lower thermo has certainly solved 70% of my cooling problems. Car warms up within 4-5 minutes, and has never had trouble warming up in 20-30* weather either. Mine is a Jackson Racing 160* thermostat from summitracing.com

[h22sparkle]

im not even runnin mine

[Granite CB7]

jdmhotness, FushigiRES, midnite racer x, and h22sparkle:

Thank you all for the input, appreciate that a lot. I am completely aware that to get the full effect you would need a fan switch, a thermostat alone can't quite cut it. I am very meticulous about maintainence and I always let my car warm up, and none of my friends understand why!

Right now I'm doing all the repairs/maintenance, and I'm just trying to start to get my motor slightly cooler b/c I don't like how todays cars are just running hotter and hotter.

I ordered a low temp t-stat (one step cooler, fully open at about 170) for this weekend. I'm going to put it in and if I don't like the results/notice harmful results, I'll take it out and put an OEM back in (new of course). I'll let you guys know what I come up with! Thanks again

Dan

[MRX]

best of luck.

[zoomspeed05]

i dont even have a termostat

[AccordAnimal]

this is how an eBay chip works basically. Except it over rides the settings of the Intake Sensor and puts more gas/air into the engine. When I put mine I (Flamming starts) The guy told me I could also hook it up to the coolant temp sensor.

[jdmhotness]

You people are not running a thermostat??!?! All I can do is sit here and laugh to myself...

Im not saying everyone who runs a lower temp one will have problems, but in the long run I think you will. Your telling me you can fix what millions of dollars in engineering went into the accord by honda? If they could cool the car faster and longer with not using one why wouldnt they? Ask any shop, any person that is a tech, they will tell you, this is a bad idea. I dont understand why anyone would do this, and this IS a bandaid and not a fix. Good luck, and I hope you dont blow up your motor or ruin other parts because you were to poor/cheap to buy a new radiator or other cooling parts to properly run your car.

cheers
-nick