(getting BB tune) Thermostat Questions - 160 v 180 v OEM

[atomemphis]

I'm about to send my 01 5.3L's ECM to Black Bear Performance for a tune. I plan on doing a 93 octane tune, disabling the EGR codes, and thought this might be a good time to put in a lower temperature thermostat, if it would help. (I probably ought to flush the coolant anyhow, and while I'm going to playing with coolant, might as well investigate thermostats).

So, if the ECM was tuned to compensate for an aftermarket thermostat, would the benefits be noticeable? The 'state of mods' on my Tahoe is relatively tame for now:

Spectre CAI, BBK 80mm Throttle Body, coolant TB bypass, EGR setup removed and ports blocked off, Powermaster Alternator, MSD Starter, and all the plastic shrouding removed from inside the engine area since its a pain in the ass to deal with.​

Seems like a 160 would be for engines that get really pretty hot from higher than normal compression, or are supercharged, etc, so a 180 may be better for my setup, but I am no expert here.

In sum, is it beneficial to upgrade? It doesn't seem very expensive... If it is, which one to get? I see JET, SLP, and Hypertech...

 

[brucebruce45]

Leave it stOck. Thermostats are useless for these

 

[atomemphis]

Why do you think they are worthless?

 

[blueflamed03]

worthless to change, no added performance gains...leave stock.

 

[brucebruce45]

Why do you think they are worthless?

Not a thought, it's been proven many times. Performancetrucks.net. Search there for a while and u will learn alot

 

[atomemphis]

i'll check it out, thanks

 

[2007tahoe]

I'm about to send my 01 5.3L's ECM to Black Bear Performance for a tune. I plan on doing a 93 octane tune, disabling the EGR codes, and thought this might be a good time to put in a lower temperature thermostat, if it would help. (I probably ought to flush the coolant anyhow, and while I'm going to playing with coolant, might as well investigate thermostats).

So, if the ECM was tuned to compensate for an aftermarket thermostat, would the benefits be noticeable? The 'state of mods' on my Tahoe is relatively tame for now:

Spectre CAI, BBK 80mm Throttle Body, coolant TB bypass, EGR setup removed and ports blocked off, Powermaster Alternator, MSD Starter, and all the plastic shrouding removed from inside the engine area since its a pain in the ass to deal with.​

Seems like a 160 would be for engines that get really pretty hot from higher than normal compression, or are supercharged, etc, so a 180 may be better for my setup, but I am no expert here.

In sum, is it beneficial to upgrade? It doesn't seem very expensive... If it is, which one to get? I see JET, SLP, and Hypertech...

Ask bb before you get a tune. I think I read somewhere, they stated to not put a cooler t-stat in b/c it will let condensation build up in your engine.

 

[atomemphis]

I did just that - asked them before buying anything, both to get their recommendations as to whether or not to do it and if to do it, which temp and manufacturer they suggested.

They said the same thing about condensation may build up in engine from not getting hot enough to evaporate it away. I'm pretty familiar with this on the Ducs, as they require a fairly extensive warm-up time to get the oil good and warm - otherwise a milky sight-glass on the crankcase is evidence you haven't gotten the bike warm yet. Makes short jaunts (like to the video store and back, when I used to physically go get a movie, things of the past now...) kind of a chore, but the fun kind - you'd take the long way there...

 

[hoe]

i run a 180* and my truck is tuned for a 180*

and it runs excellent IMO, under my hood is warm... Not burning hot, not ice cold. A stock tstat is 195* from factory. My tuner has tuned cars with 160* tstats and it can gain as little as 5-6 hp. Every little bit counts though.

Reasons listed above is why I went with 180* any way after taking 2 courses of physics in college. lol