hey i posted this elsewhere but no one answered...........

mike, would it be any benefit to me if i put a 180 thermostat in? i remember when i got my Superchip, you told me it ran best with the stock thermostat....however, one of my friends with a chevy TBI 350 put in a 160 thermostat and it really helped!!! i would say it probably took off a tenth or so in the 1/4.........anyways, would it help? mine seems to run better times when the engine is a little cool....so i thought maybe 180 would be just right?

 

sorry to interupt your post...but i was just looken at your sig. you have a damn nice truck! I would think with all that you would run better than a 15.10. what do you estimate your hp to be up to? sorry to interupt again.

 

Hi Bullitt,

If you were consistently running say, 220 degrees of coolant temperature or above, then perhaps you might want to try dropping to a 180, but it's a matter of how the entire cooing system is designed to work together that determines overall operating temperatures. The thermostat just controls the temperature at which the thermostat opens & allows coolant from the radiator to begin entering the motor.

If you're going to be doing a lot of drag racing, you could try that if you're having problems keeping coolant temps below about 215 or so, otherwise I'd just stick with the factory unit, as you'll make more power.

In general, running abnormally cold thermostats is not a good idea, and we do not advise it in any street-driven vehicle, and few others, for that matter.

 

thanks mike.....i think i'll give it a try

and LBC, thanks for the good comments, my last time 15.10 was without the granatelli, TB, and ram air, so hopefully i am thinking that might get me into the 14's........yeah i think it should run faster but i dont think i got what you would call a "good" motor....it ran high 16's stock, but then again, i have the crappiest modular Ford v8 you can get, the '97 210 HP version

 

where abouts do you run at.....what track? I dont' believe i know where Axson is at but you sound kinda like someone i talked to before....probably not though. Anyways, just wondering what track you go to?

justin

 

justin,
i usually go to the 1/8 mile track here in douglas where i am from. its only 5 minutes from my house. next week however i am going to gainesville, fla to the 1/4 mile

 

Ok then i do believe i have met you then. I was with my friend (Rusty) with the 99' red lightning about a month or two ago in Douglas. I think i talked to your friend more than you actually but he was telling me about you and i think you walked up before we left. You ought to go to Hinesville this saturday. I know there should be a few new chevy's that need to be beat up on. And from the times i heard you ran you could beat them and they have the 5.3L. But i know i am gonna run mine, Rusty is gonna run his lightning, the 2 chevy's are a possibility, and a pretty quick 90 body style chevy will hopefully be going. Well anyways maybe i'll make it back down to Douglas with mine before too long. When are they running now??

justin

 

Hey Bullitt,

Just a quick thought on your ET's.................

First, your 1997 4,.6 motor is not a "bad" 4.6, that's a fine engine.

I see that you have an aftermarket MAF, which leans out the A/F mixture. You also have headers on there, which lean out the motor as well, and between the aftermaket MAF and those headers, you could easily be running too lean for best power, costing you ET and trap speed. I don't know if custom programming was done for those modifications or not, but just in case, if it wasn't, I can guarantee that you are down on power as a result, and that should be done to correct the lean condition & get your power up where it should be.

We may have covered this before, and if so, my apologies, ignore this post. I just saw your comment about ET and was looking at your modifications, and those are a couple of obvious causes if custopm programming for both of those parts was not done, just FYI.......................

Good luck!

 

hey mike, it was good that you noticed that...actually my order for a custom program is at superchips right now, but i hear they are backed up and it could take 10-12 days........anyways, my order has been in for a week now and i havent heard yet.....but yeah, i understand what you're saying, i been on top of that

 

Hey Justin, I 'm Ragan the dude that talked to you at the track in Douglas. Southern Dragway is open on friday nights now from 7-11. I emailed you about it. So you and Rusty are going to Hinesville Saturday? We are going to Gainseville wed. 27th yall need to come!