Running No Thermostat....????

[DECODER22]

i was wondering can you run without a thermostat if you have removed your heater core and most of the coolant lines cause the turbo is oil feed only i converted the waterpipe to a N/T just curious the pro's and con's

 

[DSM1G90]

You CAN run without tstat, but your mileage will suffer some since the temp sensor will sense cooler operating temps making the ECU to shove in more fuel to try to heat the motor up to specs that the ECU is tuned for.

But, why would you want to remove the other coolant equipment, esp the coolant line to the turbo unless you're planning on street racing only and not being a "daily driver" DSM owner?

 

[brandt]

You CAN run without tstat, but your mileage will suffer some since the temp sensor will sense cooler operating temps making the ECU to shove in more fuel to try to heat the motor up to specs that the ECU is tuned for.

But, why would you want to remove the other coolant equipment, esp the coolant line to the turbo unless you're planning on street racing only and not being a "daily driver" DSM owner?

im not running a tstat. my car doesnt hit the halfway mark on the temp gauge but i have dsmlink so im not dumping more fuel. you dont have to run coolant to your turbo to be a daily driver. mine is my daily driver and i dont have coolant running to my turbo.

 

[DSM1G90]

....True, can understand your point (since I'm just a stock turbo owner), just concerned on the situation of added protection of coolant going into the turbo .. any extra protection helps in my book ..

 

[z24frank]

I also want to know the benefits of removing these lines and coolant systems.I thought they all had to be there or things would burn up.

 

[DECODER22]

well the car is a pure street/race car i removed heater core, all coolant lines cause 60-1 is only oil feed i have dsmlink so i figured i can keep the temps down more by removing the thermostat even with 2 fans in th summer its not enough

 

[heckles]

Id pressure check the coolant system, sound like a small leak to me.

 

[324vr4]

I removed my t-stat several months ago due to high coolant temps while cruising...I have a Honda "race" radiator, 1500cfm elec. puller fan, and no t-stat and now I'm seeing temps while cruising at around 185-190....but once sitting in traffic temps creep up to 210 and stay....should I be more concerned then I am in regards to making sure my coolant temps stay more stable WITH a t-stat or is this okay...I still have yet to add some water wetter which is proven to help decrease these temps...but I don't want to turn the motor into a dirty frying pan....

 

[cbrfrenzie]

You want your car to run at normal operating temp. Most power is made in that temp range anyway. I've got several motorcycle dyno runs to back this up. Given this is from a motorcycle, but and in-line 4 is an in-line 4. As far as your engine internals, I myself would want them to operate in the temperature range they were designed for, unless you did a custom build with specs to compensate for the lower temps. This may be a little nit-picky, but engines run at a "operating temp" for a reason. NASCAR runs coolant temps of 200+ on purpose, because that is where maximum power is made in their cars.

Now if you're having cooling problems, and you have to pull the T-stat to make the car run in the operating range, then i would think there are problems elsewhere.

Now a drag car with a half sized radiator I would have no problem running without the T-stat, just make sure the car is up to temp before the runs down the track. Just my $0.02

 

[DevilDoug]

why oh why would you not want a t-stat?

now dont get me wrong....if it is a TRAILOR car to and from the track and never driven on the street, by all means run without it. but for a normal use vehicle just get a lower temperature thermostat.

reason being is that you want the engine running at NORMAL operating temperature, not above, and certainly not below. your optimal power level is at normal operating temperature which is between 170-190 i believe (these cars may be different i dont know) but it is this way for any other car. running at any other temperature has potential to create problems.

cars come with these types of things for a reason, to work as a system, if one part fails the rest will soon follow. just let it do what its supposed to do. and tune for a cooler thermostat. (i run a 160 degree in my car but they typically run 20 degrees hotter than the t-stat is rated for, I run at 185* consistently in 70 degree weather.)

and if your car is still running too hot try flushing your system, replace the t-stat with a cooler one, and add that royal purple additive to the cooling system. boom! done

 

[324vr4]

I have heard of another option for you is to bore out the pressure relief "hole" in the t-stat on the top side...it will still allow for more flow and faster cooling but still function as a t-stat...might try it...if it doesn't work you only wasted $7...

 

[PieEyedPiper]

Eug. Where's Defiant when you need him.

Please just run a stock thermostat. If you are having cooling problems your problem lies elsewhere.

 

[DevilDoug]

Eug. Where's Defiant when you need him.

Please just run a stock thermostat. If you are having cooling problems your problem lies elsewhere.

exactly. is there no aftermarket thermostats for these cars?

 

[DECODER22]

there are no probs im trying to lower my temps a little bit more im running a 180 t stat dsmlink is still showing 210-214 on hard pulls at 34 psi i figured since the heater core is gone the throttle body coolant lines are blocked and the thermostat lines to the turbo are gone and i switched to a 90 style oil cooled filter so theres no lines going to the oil filter housing that maybe removing the thermostat will do the job

 

[jrohner]

What you are doing is just a band aid, if you had to do this to get home fine, but it's definitely not a long term solution. Fix your car the right way and be done with it.

A thermostat gets a car up to normal operating temp, it doesn't make your car run hot. If you are running hot you have a problem -- bad head gasket, water pump, radiator, sucking air somewhere, the thermostat you were running was bad, etc. If you are at a lot cooler temp to begin with (no thermostat), obviously it will take longer to run hot, but it will happen. It is also hard on the engine to run it hard when it is too cool, especially if you have forged pistons. Your fuel maps will be off, your mileage will suffer as will your hp. It will be harder on your engine.

I had my thermostat out for a few days while my head gasket was leaking, and the car would always be like 130-150 degrees on the highway and only warm up when in town / stop-and-go traffic; the instant I was on the highway again the temp was gone.

 

[z24frank]

Now what is the stock t stat 180 or 192 because I have two choices from my local auto zone?

 

[Defiant]

Okay, here we go again:
The thermostat does not cool the engine. The thermostat keeps it warm. The radiator cools the coolant.
Get your thermostat from the dealer, and run the factory spec.

"Fail-Safe" thermostats are a marketing gimmick, and are no more reliable than normal thermostats. Although they're supposed to fail "open", what do they do when that feature "fails"?

Do not run any post-1980 car without a thermostat.