Opinion's On 180 Thermostat

[Gohawks]

What's your guys opinion of myself running a 180 thermostat, I got a 2017 5.7, 8 speed.
The catch is, I live in South Dakota and winters temp can be in single digits and teens for weeks.
How well do you think the heater will work?
Some of you oil gurus, do think the oil will get warm enough to burn off moisture?
Thanks for your time.

 

[kurek]

I'd be curious what the intended payout is?

 

[Tim Garceau]

 

[Elevated 2013]

Your heat and defroster will not get as hot is about the only downside to putting in a 180 thermostat. I have 1 in now and removed my mechanical fan and I’ve had no problems with the heat, but the heat won’t work as well in the cold.

 

[avantiguy]

I guess the Automotive engineers of today don't know anything about how to design an engine to run efficiently? The high temperatures are part of the engineered efficiency of newer motors.

It's also Physics, an old guy by the name of Carnot postulated that the higher the temperature differential the more efficient the engine.

Lastly, the ECM will think the engine is running cold and keep enriching the mixture. Good for all out drag racing and low fuel mileage but not so good for engines expected to go 200,000 miles or more.

Your choice however.

 

[Tim Garceau]

Management at FCA pinched pennies to meet emissions with mechanical valve-train assemblies/programming and now hundreds of consumers are suffering $4-$8 thousand dollar service bills out of warranty.

Yet we are still purchasing new Ram trucks with massive advertising investments at ridiculous costs to purchase because they have a “luxury” car interior and a Fiat front end design with the same powertrain. Couldn’t imagine paying $1000+ insurance a month for inferior engineering. I feel for every single owner that has endured the tragedy of a failed cam/lifter without a single f*ck given by Ram.

edit-imagine paying a premium for the Harmon sound system and its 75 speakers, absolute trash like their tech 12” screen and SQ department.

 

[Texram155]

I run a 180 T-stat on my 5.7 with no issue. I am tuned but have not adjusted the fan temps. I am in south Texas so i'm ok with running the motor a bit cooler.

 

[46RamMan]

What's your guys opinion of myself running a 180 thermostat, I got a 2017 5.7, 8 speed.
The catch is, I live in South Dakota and winters temp can be in single digits and teens for weeks.
How well do you think the heater will work?
Some of you oil gurus, do think the oil will get warm enough to burn off moisture?
Thanks for your time.

I must say that back in the 60's and 70's we all ran 160 degree in the summer and 180 in the winters and had no problems. Yes the heaters worked just fine with 180 in the winters in the midwest (Kc) and we kept cool in the summers too with the wing windows HEHEHE ....without A/C because most homes and most cars and trucks did not have A/C. I know it's hard to believe no A/C right !!!!!!!

 

[Hemi395]

I have a 180* tstat and live in New England. I have noticed no difference in the way the heat works. 180* is still hot enough to generate plenty of heat.

 

[bassheadhemi]

I have a 180* tstat and live in New England. I have noticed no difference in the way the heat works. 180* is still hot enough to generate plenty of heat.

yes it generate plenty of heat, but you only have one setting to work with since anything but max on the knob will produce cold air

that's actually my only complaint about the 180tstat

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[crash68]

To put it out there about whether how well the heat will work if you run a 180° stat. Depend on what temperature the heater core was sized for, changes in thickness, fin density and air velocity can change how much heat is actually transferred into the air. Also how cold the incoming air is will also effect how much heat will transfer into the cab.
Someone in Florida running a 180°F stat might think the heat works fine even when it's "freezing cold" to them at 40°F. Someone else in another state where it actually gets cold like -15°F might think otherwise.

 

[bassheadhemi]

To put it out there about whether how well the heat will work if you run a 180° stat. Depend on what temperature the heater core was sized for, changes in thickness, fin density and air velocity can change how much heat is actually transferred into the air. Also how cold the incoming air is will also effect how much heat will transfer into the cab.
Someone in Florida running a 180°F stat might think the heat works fine even when it's "freezing cold" to them at 40°F. Someone else in another state where it actually gets cold like -15°F might think otherwise.

here it can get down to - 30 and at the full setting it's still very hot, but as soon you turn it down a notch it start to blow cold air. might be an issue with my blend door too lol

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[Graygoose]

If I lived there, Id keep it stock...I live father south, and I keep it stock LOL

 

[turkeybird56]

here it can get down to - 30 and at the full setting it's still very hot, but as soon you turn it down a notch it start to blow cold air. might be an issue with my blend door too lol

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BASS: Many years ago, I was in the USAF stationed on a Northern Tier base. IT was so friggin cold on the flightline, we literally took our full size board mounted MAPS and shoved them under the hood between grill and radiator so we had enuf heat transferred to keep frost off of winders and cab at least tolerable.

Stock 1974 Chevy PU's with 350's at that time...I would neva go to a lower T-Stat if in a Northern area. But that is just me. And these friggin trucks and ECU's are tuned to run at those temps, just my opinion. IMHO

 

[clint440]

You could do a 190 thermostat, that's what I did. I pulled the mechanical fan off as well, little better throttle response. My engine stays in the 190-200 range vs 204-215, oil is a little cooler as well. The 180 will fluctuate more if you don't pull off the active grill shutters. I'm originally from SD, I wouldn't be afraid to run a 190.

 

[VB712]

A ton of bad information in this post.

I have a 160 thermostat in my 2014. Zero issues with heat. Helps a ton with keeping things nice and cool for higher performance tuning.

the 8 speed trucks have an internal thermostat that you CANT change therefore your truck will run at 185 degrees minimal no matter what degree thermostat you run.

get a 180, have a custom tune done and have your fan temps adjusted for the 180 thermostat.

 

[Hemi395]

A ton of bad information in this post.

I have a 160 thermostat in my 2014. Zero issues with heat. Helps a ton with keeping things nice and cool for higher performance tuning.

the 8 speed trucks have an internal thermostat that you CANT change therefore your truck will run at 185 degrees minimal no matter what degree thermostat you run.

get a 180, have a custom tune done and have your fan temps adjusted for the 180 thermostat.

Well said[emoji106]

 

[Gohawks]

Thanks for your time and responses!!

 

[Graygoose]

Thanks for your time and responses!!

sure you may gain a few HP, but be cold as he** LOL

 

[Tim Garceau]

Deleting the clutch fan and keeping the grill shutters significantly reduces time to meet operating temp regardless of the 160/180/203 T stat. Take a look at your digital cluster next time it’s cold out, I’m at 180 degrees water temp within 2 miles of moderate driving in 30 degree weather.

With the OEM setup it would take 15 minutes of driving for the stat to actually open in winter, again if you haven’t tried it don’t comment in these threads google mechanics.