Quote:
Originally Posted by seventythree
I don't know about the water temp needle being between the 8 and the 0; my 2002 Boxster base runs right around 200 in the moderately cool SoCal temps as of late.
I personally think the oil temp being in the 200~220 range is just fine.
What I've been wondering is if switching to 160 degree thermostat is of any benefit whatsoever. Once coolant temp is past 180, both 160 and 180 thermostats would be wide open anyhow. And it certainly seems as if Boxsters are designed to operate up above 180 under normal conditions.
My old-school understanding of thermostats is that they only control how quickly an engine warms up to normal operating temperature, and are specified to be fully open once the engine is warmed up.
|
Thermostats control the
minimum steady state operating temperatures of an engine; basically the “baseline” temp that the engine returns to after getting warmer say in bumper to bumper traffic and then getting out onto the open road.
M96/97 engines with the LN thermostats and instrumentation have demonstrated that they consistently run much cooler than they did with the OEM stat; on a 68F day, we have observed (steady state on the open road) coolant temps in the 177-183F range, while the OEM stat ran 208-215F (same car on the same day). I think one of the things that mislead many people is the fact that the dash temp displays in these cars are so inaccurate; you need to see the real temps, either from a scanner reading the PID’s, or from aftermarket instrumentation to appreciate what is really happening.
Besides lowering the coolant temps, the 160F stat also significantly lowers the temperatures of your oil (remember you have an oil to water oil cooler), which can lengthen the life of the oil, and possibly your engine along with it.