Increased performance via thermostat

[lofat]

Changing out my thermostat really rocked my world.

Since I have had my truck I had never seen the temp gauge go above 1/4 way mark. I know it was running hotter than that, but it never over heated, and it never had any real problems as a result so I let it go.

because I don't like having 'wrong' info displayed to me, I decided to replace the thermostat and get a more accurate reading. well, I am not sure why, or how, but changing this part out has definitely improved my performance noticeably. seems like the lack of get up and go has got up and went.

when the beast is warmed up and I jump on the gas now, I notice that the acceleration is greater and where the transmission shifts out of first gear is different, like it is letting me squeeze get more RPM's out of 1st now.

I know little about carburetion, but learning as I go. but would this be the case of an electric choke reacting based on the engine temp? Besides changing the reading on my dash, how else does having the thermostat reading the correct information affect engine performance?

any insight shared is appreciated

Scott

[ocbaud]

i'm wondering, what temp. thermostat should i get for mine engine?

[lofat]

i just got a stock AC Delco for my stock set up.

[76bonanza]

as far as I know the electric choke does not operate on engine temp just air temp in engine compartment. Also the temp sending unit for the guage is in the block not the termostat. I would guess your thermostat was not letting the engine heat up enuf by staying open part way all the time. With the new one the engine is heating up to a better temp and running better as a result.

But then again I'm an idiot most of the time.

[KShortell]

An engine that's too cool will tend to have less efficient combustion resulting in decreased fuel efficiency and carbon buildup. Exhaust emmisions will suffer, too. A stock small block thermostat application runs somewhere in the range of 185 to 195 deg. F. 1986 small blocks have a normal operating heat range of 185 to 205 deg. (per FSM).

Open system (raw water) cooled marine engines run lower temp thermostats (160 deg. or so) to avoid boiling salt (or even fresh) water in the system. However, closed systems (heat exchanger/coolant systems) use hotter thermostats since the system is under pressure and has coolant running through the block instead of raw water. As a result, these engines also tend to get an average 7-9% increase in fuel efficiency, not to mention longer engine life due to not having scale buildup in the jacket and heads.

I use a half-system-- the block is cooled by ethylene glycol coolant like in an automobile; the manifold is cooled by raw water. The idea is that a manifold is much, much cheaper and easier to replace than an engine!

HP and torque aren't really affected by this, it's mostly a driveability, longevity, and fuel economy issue...

The choke may have a preheat, but is actuated by air temperature, not coolant temperature.

Hope this helps...

[Lynx]

There is a reason why its called "Operating Temperature" This is the temperature at which the engine preformes the best.

I noticed a bit of a diffrence when i changed mine as well... but mostly I was just happy i had heat!

[lofat]

awesome. thanks for the explanations! i am just stoked she is running better and thrilled to know a little more about how the cooling sys works.

now, here is hoping for the fuel economy to start kickin' in.

/me crosses fingers -

[bpmcgee]

Not sure I understand how changing the thermostat affected the gauge reading "wrong info." The gauge is driven from the temp sender on the side of the head. Did you change that too?

Brian

[lofat]

nope i did not change that, but it is reading different now.

it actually goes beyond the 1/4 way mark. I am currently subscribing to the 76 Bonanza theory

I would guess your thermostat was not letting the engine heat up enuf by staying open part way all the time. With the new one the engine is heating up to a better temp and running better as a result.

all i can say is that i made that change and i feel like the info i see more accurately reflects what is up with the engine.

[MylilBowTie]

The thermostat may have gotten stuck in the open position and wouldn't let the engine heat up. When the thermostat was changed it is now heating up to operating temperature.