Pros and Cons of a 180 T-Stat

[PCT]

I have been researching and understand both reasons to have a 180 tstat, and a reason to keep the stock one. Just curious what yall think about 180 Tstat? Are we really smarter than the engineers at Chrysler?

 

[iLLeStEyECoN]

I have been researching and understand both reasons to have a 180 tstat, and a reason to keep the stock one. Just curious what yall think about 180 Tstat? Are we really smarter than the engineers at Chrysler?

I don’t know if there is a benefit to current set ups, but when I did this to my Chargers, you typically needed a tune to have the fans kick in at the right, lower temperatures.


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[Wild one]

I have been researching and understand both reasons to have a 180 tstat, and a reason to keep the stock one. Just curious what yall think about 180 Tstat? Are we really smarter than the engineers at Chrysler?

The engineers are under the gun to get milege numbers,the hotter the engine runs,the more efficient it is.It's your call,do you want a little bit more power,and in my opinion a longer lifed engine,or do you want a little better milege .I run a 170 in mine,it still runs at the same 185 temp running down the highway as a 180 T-stat does,but it'll cool off slightly faster in the staging lanes at the track

 

[PCT]

The engineers are under the gun to get milege numbers,the hotter the engine runs,the more efficient it is.It's your call,do you want a little bit more power,and in my opinion a longer lifed engine,or do you want a little better milege .I run a 170 in mine,it still runs at the same 185 temp running down the highway as a 180 T-stat does,but it'll cool off slightly faster in the staging lanes at the track

Intresting, why does it increase power, but decrease mileage?

I was reading on other forums, that the engine is designed to run at the hotter temp, so running it cooler can cause issues.

 

[Wild one]

Intresting, why does it increase power, but decrease mileage?

I was reading on other forums, that the engine is designed to run at the hotter temp, so running it cooler can cause issues.

Takes gas to make power.The cooler the engine/intake the denser the intake charge which will hold more fuel in suspension in the airflow,so your milege drops slightly. Your injectors are set up to flow lbs per hour,the cooler the fuel,the denser the fuel molucules are,so more of them will flow through the same sized injector opening,meaning you're getting more lbs of fuel stuffed into the engine in the same time period.Which translates to more power,but less milege

 

[PCT]

N

Takes gas to make power.The cooler the engine/intake the denser the intake charge which will hold more fuel in suspension in the airflow,so your milege drops slightly. Your injectors are set up to flow lbs per hour,the cooler the fuel,the denser the fuel molucules are,so more of them will flow through the same sized injector opening,meaning you're getting more lbs of fuel stuffed into the engine in the same time period.Which translates to more power,but less milege

Interesting, noticeably? Almost sounds like idea that used to work on carb engines, but not on programmed fuel injected... But what do I know, I'm a GIS tech

 

[Wild one]

N

Interesting, noticeably? Almost sounds like idea that used to work on carb engines, but not on programmed fuel injected... But what do I know, I'm a GIS tech

That's my theory,as I haven't been able to come up with any other reason why milege goes down slightly with the colder T-stats,lol. If somebody comes up with a better theory,i'm wide open to listening to it,lol

 

[nateinva]

The engineers are under the gun to get milege numbers,the hotter the engine runs,the more efficient it is.It's your call,do you want a little bit more power,and in my opinion a longer lifed engine,or do you want a little better milege .I run a 170 in mine,it still runs at the same 185 temp running down the highway as a 180 T-stat does,but it'll cool off slightly faster in the staging lanes at the track

Exactly this... +1

 

[HammerHead]

In a daily drive you wont expect to see anything noticeable behind the wheel driving, but when I was racing in the north Georgia mountains in my 2013 Ram it really helped keep my engine oil temps down. Added benefit if you plan on tuning it or racing. I have heard some say it wont let your engine oil get hot enough to burn off condensation in the oil; I never had any water in my oil samples tested at Blackstone.

 

[BarbersBlue]

In a daily drive you wont expect to see anything noticeable behind the wheel driving, but when I was racing in the north Georgia mountains in my 2013 Ram it really helped keep my engine oil temps down. Added benefit if you plan on tuning it or racing. I have heard some say it wont let your engine oil get hot enough to burn off condensation in the oil; I never had any water in my oil samples tested at Blackstone.

I've wondered about this. When you heat up a pan of water, it starts producing steam before it hits 212F. You are still going to be vaporizing water and removing it through the PCV valve, just not as quickly.

 

[joshuaeb09]

If you've got one of the newer 8 speed equipped trucks that runs hotter due to the stupid fluid heater it also helps drop it back down to something more reasonable. Usually mine's locked at 185 with the coolant, but I had just finished passing a line of rigs on a private road out in the corn fields.

 

[blackbetty14]

You won’t notice any real fuel economy differences. Tstat only dictates fluid circulation temp which alone can cause a drop in engine temp since our trucks use a mechanical main cooling fan. The electric is for AC operation to make sure you have enough airflow over the condenser. Fan temps should be adjusted for lower Tstat operating temps. But you can see temp drop during high speed low load driving like highway cruising when ample airflow through the radiator is present and cooling fan operation isn’t a factor anymore.

Dropping engine temps affects fuel
Burn in the chamber and how fuel mixes with air for a more complete burn. Engine temps also affect material expansion of the engine components like block, pistons and heads etc. a hotter engine will expand more and tighten tolerances which can promote a bump in fuel economy. It’s a balanced equation and modern engines are designed with the higher temps in mind, cooling can have a negative affect on engine longevity but it has to be measurable and I’m not sure that it is.

The drop in engine temp usually results in a lower IAT which can promote slight power increase. Something I heard a long time ago is 10* decrease is worth 1% or something. IAT temp is used in a lot of engine management tables for the engine running, higher IAT temps can cause a reduction in fuel to maintain commanded AFR as the fuel is more efficient at higher temps. IAT also affects things like timing reduction to help with detonation etc. decreasing IAT temps can make more power from the above but usually at the same commanded AFR bc the O2s will always dictate AFR and the ECM will control fuel to meet that.... doesn’t matter the engine coolant temp if it’s 180 or 200* the AFR is and will usually not differ thus no change in AFR or power, but you could gain hp if timing reduction is reduced due to lower IAT and engine coolant temps.

With all that being said, lower Tstat and adjusted fan temps would be a worth while mod IMO especially if you have the 8spd and I don’t see it being a real negative longevity wise. Even in stock form the engine is designed to run 89 octane, most of us run 87 which can cause pinging or detonation at stock temps, thus the PCM reduces timing to compensate, reducing temps both engine and IAT could combat that, thus making more power on the same gas octane.

 

[bassheadhemi]

The only "downside" for me is when it's below freezing, the truck always reach 185 for the coolant and about the same for the oil (water in my UOA are always at 0.0%), but the 185 coolant mean you have less heat coming in the cabin. If set to the max it's always get hot no matter how it is outside, but if I lower it (only one notch) the air coming out is no longer hot if really cold outside.

 

[Tim Garceau]

Better economy (.5-1 mpg) cruising with removal of clutch fan, also gets up to operating temps much quicker. Wish I would’ve done these mods day 2 of ownership.

180 stat alone can be done stock, but no real value IMO unless you ditch the clutch fan and obviously have a method of dropping e-fan on temp.(wire in a switch/tuner)

 

[joshuaeb09]

Better economy (.5-1 mpg) cruising with removal of clutch fan, also gets up to operating temps much quicker. Wish I would’ve done these mods day 2 of ownership.

180 stat alone can be done stock, but no real value IMO unless you ditch the clutch fan and obviously have a method of dropping e-fan on temp.(wire in a switch/tuner)

It's even better if you ditch the AGS and swap to one of the higher flowing grilles if you have one of the more restrictive ones on top of the e-fan swap/tune. My IAT with the Vararam dropped a few more degrees which is nice in the middle of summer around here. Sure I lost a little bit of highway fuel economy, but I didn't buy a 4x4 with a V8 expecting to get the best fuel economy out of it.

 

[Texjim]

I have seen the cooler temp equals more power play out on the dyno countless times. Ever notice how snappy cars are when they are warming up from a cold start.

 

[MarshRam]

I have seen the cooler temp equals more power play out on the dyno countless times. Ever notice how snappy cars are when they are warming up from a cold start.

I agree. I have the 170. Truck always feels like it is driving right off a cold start. Has a firm feeling to it. I get in my other truck that doesn't have it and it just doesn't hold that firm feeling.

 

[shadowhawk]

resurrecting- does it make sense to put a lower t-stat in during a flush and fill, then adjust in my tuner for the lower temp, and then clutch fan delete? I'm in WI= cold winters

 

[Tach_tech]

resurrecting- does it make sense to put a lower t-stat in during a flush and fill, then adjust in my tuner for the lower temp, and then clutch fan delete? I'm in WI= cold winters

If you run the 180 thermostat and do the clutch fan delete you can just change your fan temps for winter time. I have the 180 stat and v6 electric fan in mine. Currently have fan temps for around 190. Usually stays right on 185. I’ve also disabled the grill shutters. Helps IAT temps, especially running forced induction in the summer.

During the winter just set your fan temps to 200ish. That will give you back any loss in heater performance. That’s what I’m going to be doing along with enabling the grill shutters during winter.

 

[shadowhawk]

If you run the 180 thermostat and do the clutch fan delete you can just change your fan temps for winter time. I have the 180 stat and v6 electric fan in mine. Currently have fan temps for around 190. Usually stays right on 185. I’ve also disabled the grill shutters. Helps IAT temps, especially running forced induction in the summer.

During the winter just set your fan temps to 200ish. That will give you back any loss in heater performance. That’s what I’m going to be doing along we enabling the grill shutters during winter.

that sounds like a plan.