Should I get a high temp thermostat?

[hansj3]

Honda has to do a lot of Things things like emmisdions, like oxides of nitrogen (NOx) things that are effected by high temps....
Honda has to ensure the cooling system works in Nome Alaska, and death valley at the same time. If you don't see high heat why sacrifice fuel Eco for cooling reserve you possibly don't need at all.


There are Hondas that respond well to high temp stats, and a lot of Hondas respond well to warm air intakes.

If Honda was interested in pure fuel economy my insight would get 100+ mpg and almost always run in lean burn, and not have to richen to clear the catalysts every once and a while

 

[philipp10]

Originally Posted By: mattwithcats
I would run the 195...

Better MPG....

I changed my 180 out for a 192.
Gained 4-6 MPG...

Car will turn fan on around 212, with 15 PSI radiator pressure.
Warning light at 220, begin melting at 230...


I call [censored]!!! No way did you gain 4-6 mpg.

 

[kschachn]

Originally Posted By: philipp10
Originally Posted By: mattwithcats
I would run the 195...

Better MPG....

I changed my 180 out for a 192.
Gained 4-6 MPG...

Car will turn fan on around 212, with 15 PSI radiator pressure.
Warning light at 220, begin melting at 230...

I call [censored]!!! No way did you gain 4-6 mpg.

Yeah me neither but I just didn't want to start that debate.

 

[kschachn]

Originally Posted By: hansj3
Honda has to do a lot of Things things like emmisdions, like oxides of nitrogen (NOx) things that are effected by high temps....
Honda has to ensure the cooling system works in Nome Alaska, and death valley at the same time. If you don't see high heat why sacrifice fuel Eco for cooling reserve you possibly don't need at all.

There are Hondas that respond well to high temp stats, and a lot of Hondas respond well to warm air intakes.

If Honda was interested in pure fuel economy my insight would get 100+ mpg and almost always run in lean burn, and not have to richen to clear the catalysts every once and a while


Well I did think about that too, but I didn't see how NOx was influenced by that small of a change in block temperature. Exhaust gas recirculation makes a difference since it directly lowers the combustion chamber temperature.

So do you know that a 10-15 degree coolant change affects NOx or were you just guessing?

 

[hansj3]

I've seen some ase papers in the past about higher coolant temps and fuel Eco. They mentioned that because the head was hotter than normal and 20-30 degrees more than stat temp NOx was increased. It had more to do with the density of the air charge, the o2 sensor, and the ecu leaning it out. I thought I read about critical tempature saturation at the cyl head for whatever pressure and engine they used. The only way to tell for you would be an emmisions test

I'd think a wai would be a larger player than a hotter stat on NOx formation. YMMV.

On the other hand HC ppms went down with the hotter stat

 

[CT8]

Originally Posted By: philipp10
Originally Posted By: mattwithcats
I would run the 195...

Better MPG....

I changed my 180 out for a 192.
Gained 4-6 MPG...

Car will turn fan on around 212, with 15 PSI radiator pressure.
Warning light at 220, begin melting at 230...


I call [censored]!!! No way did you gain 4-6 mpg.
If that is all that it would take !!! With the billions the mfgs are spending to meet increased CAFE standards.

 

[Yah-Tah-Hey]

Use the OEM thermostat. That thermostat is ENGINEERED for your vehicle's cooling system.

 

[Greasymechtech]

You can use a high temp thermostat. But, you will need to dyno tune it for optimum MPG.

I tried it in one of my previous cars. Higher temp thermostat caused A/F ratio to be richer and increases knock sensor infractions.

 

[DoubleWasp]

You might want to consider that there might be a very good reason for them choosing that temperature.

 

[wildmanrandall]

There is a huge difference in quality between the oem Honda Thermostats and the discount kind from parts stores. Big price difference also, but the Honda unit's will work for years without fail.

 

[KzMitch]

Avery, I think that by now you're smart enough to outguess the Honda engineers. Get the highest temp thermostat you can find and install it in your car today. Even if it's not made for your application, use a hammer if you have to, but please get it in there. You're just wasting fuel if you wait any longer.

 

[Cuda70383]

Hey guys why bashing him. He's merely asking a question. It could be the previous owner changed it out or something. And if they make the alternate temperatures I'd say the pcm/ecm could figure it out and learn.

I'd call the dealer, it maybe 170* is the alternate temp and 180* may be the oe temp, at least from my Google search.

I say if it's easy to change, log a few tanks before and after and report back. I know it will skew the results but maybe reset the pcm/ecm and clean the temp sensor and cooling fan temp sensor.

 

[spasm3]

I don't think the higher temp is a problem for the engine as far as damage, May warm up faster in the winter. BUT if the ecm is configured for a lower temp as standard, it may start pulling timing out of the engine when hot, this would reduce power and fuel mileage.

 

[rvt]

It probably would very slightly decrease engine power by raising the thermostat temperature opening point. Reduces charge density. Fuel economy who knows? If it pulling back timing due to extra heat or knock you may lose economy. All in all, probably every bit of this would be lost in the noise of everyday driving. Remember the 170 is generally the beginning of the stat opening. Often not fully open till 20 degrees later.

This may make sense in an older iron engine w/o computer management used in a specific duty cycle. Trips interrupted by half hour breaks where the higher temperature retained in the engine would be beneficial for heater output. Possibly even for economy -as no management to pull timing, etc..

 

[PandaBear]

I wouldn't switch to any different temperature. The engine controller is calibrated to run at the thermostat's temperature and if you want aftermarket, at least use the same temperature one.

 

[demarpaint]

I'd stick to oem. My experiences with aftermarket thermostats or changing the temperature the thermostat opens at is what taught me to stick to oem.