Low temp thermostats

Hey all,

Apologies in advance if this topic has been covered. If so, could someone please post the link it would be much appreciated. I'm new to the forum and have already tried searching to no avail.

I need advice on low temperature thermostats, not necessarily engine specific (but if there had to be one B18C7).

Most have written about their benefits on track, but none have wrote whether low temp thermostats have detrimental effects on cars which spend the majority of their lives on the street. Yes allowing the fan to work and coolant to flow though the rad earlier will keep temps down during hard driving, but will a low temp thermostat stop the engine from reaching ideal operating temperature during daily street driving? What is the best compromise for a daily driven car which sees the track maybe once or twice a year? Any particular brands stand out?

Any knowledge would be much appreciated.

Thanks

For a street application i would just stick with an OEM thermostat as a low temp item will have a negative effect on your fuel economy due to the engine not reaching peak operating temperature as quick as usual. theres isnt really much benefit in a low temp thermostat either provided your cooling system is in good operating order, becuase once that water reaches 82 Degrees (i think) the thermostat will remain fully open regardless.

when you say the the engine will not reach peak operating temp as qucik as usual does that mean with a low temp thermostat the engine will eventually reach optimum operating temp? but slower then usual of course. cheers for the advice man!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by UTM

when you say the the engine will not reach peak operating temp as qucik as usual does that mean with a low temp thermostat the engine will eventually reach optimum operating temp? but slower then usual of course. cheers for the advice man!

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yes exactly, the engine will eventually reach peak operating temp but in the mean time the ECU is telling the injectors to pump more fuel into the cylinders untill the motor warms up, it got to do with the way fuel combusts under different temps. on a track were the car is constantly being driven at speed & high RPM this isnt an issue as peak operating temps are reached much quicker. sometimes people dont even bother running a thermostat in there track cars.

just makes it take longer to get to optimal temps.
Which means that the engine will suck abit more fuel

Any other opinions?

thats about right nothing more to say - just when you hit the track remove your themostat and go racing!

IMO removing a thermostat is a bit of a bitch lol (I have big hands).

I'd probably just prefer to fit a low-temp and let my car warm up in the driveway, or just suck it up and pay for petrol...

Standing in the driveway wont make any difference. It won't warm up slower with a cool thermostat. It will warm up at the same rate. Its just that it will open earlier and maintain a cooler temp.

Oem thermostat for Street. Low temp for track. Most aftermarket ecu's and oem ecu don't have temperature correction. Therefore silly to put one in.

Thanks DL001. I'm just trying to fight the usual before track paranoia lol

Removing the thermostat can also cause overheating.

If you do want to take it out, keep the restrictor in there and just remove the spring and wax mechanism.

If there's nothing to restrict the water, it can not spend enough time in the radiator cooling down which leads to hotter water temperatures. (Especially in low speed, high rpm tracks).