importknight

Is it bad that i have a mugen thermostat and its winter time, my car never warms up to normal operating temp. A 4 hr drive home from Pennsylvania when i first got the car and it never even reached it.

SuckMyDOHC

iTrader: (1)

Where does the temperature go up to?

Todd00

There is no reason to run a different thermostat in your N/A car unless it is a track-only car.

The Spoon and Mugen 160 degree thermostats do more damage to a daily driver than they do good.

typer_696

^ What he said. It is meant for a track where the car is under extreme heat and contanst heavy loads for extended periods. Not needed for your daily driving. Stock thermostat is all you need.

get RIGHT

I recently (this winter) came to that same conclusion and put an OEM threm back on. CaR gets to temp now and my gas mileage shot up too in the freezing weather.

jgirard

I drive about 20-25 minutes to work and if it's cold enough here, my stock thermo doesn't get all the way up to normal temp which is one line before the middle mark on the gauge, it will fall about a half a mark to a full mark short of normal temp, is that bad?

The Dude

Shouldn't harm the motor, but will def. have a negative impact on fuel economy. Do you have the companion fan switch?

tewee

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by The Dude &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Shouldn't harm the motor, but will def. have a negative impact on fuel economy. </TD></TR></TABLE>

in theory, it will harm the engine because there is more wear in the engine components. and bringing a engine up to operating temperature quickly will prevent that.

get RIGHT

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by tewee &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

in theory, it will harm the engine because there is more wear in the engine components. and bringing a engine up to operating temperature quickly will prevent that.</TD></TR></TABLE>
Yep, such as piston ring damage for example.

importknight

Any one kno where i can get a OEM one from, maybe a used one? also would getting a fan switch do anything?

TODAwhore

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by importknight &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Any one kno where i can get a OEM one from, maybe a used one? also would getting a fan switch do anything?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Are you joking??? a used one .....New one from the dealer is $12-15...

electron_si

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by TODAwhore &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Are you joking??? a used one .....New one from the dealer is $12-15...</TD></TR></TABLE>

Dude, not all of us are on baller status and can afford brand new parts

TODAwhore

http://www.sonsacuraparts.com/...7C003

KOALA YUMMIES

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by electron_si &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Dude, not all of us are on baller status and can afford brand new parts </TD></TR></TABLE>

Its a cheap maintenance part, everyone and their mothers know you replace with NEW parts. Its not baller status, but putting in a used one is ghetto status.

importknight

yea i just found out how cheap they are, so all i gotta do to get to it is take the bottom hose off, do i have to drain the radiator too?

The Dude

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by tewee &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

in theory, it will harm the engine because there is more wear in the engine components. and bringing a engine up to operating temperature quickly will prevent that.</TD></TR></TABLE><TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by tewee &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

in theory, it will harm the engine because there is more wear in the engine components. and bringing a engine up to operating temperature quickly will prevent that.</TD></TR></TABLE>
Right about engine wear but wrong about stat and switch. BTW, oil temp is a better indicator than water temp.
Mugen stat and fan switch start coolant flow quicker than usual. Fan switch closes at 176 rather than 199°F.
And on the stat; "The use of a flow-control-type valve prevents hunting, thereby achieving rapid stabilization of the water temperature (the engine warms up within a short period). Operating temperature: 154°F (STD.: 169~176°F) Full-throttle acceleration temperature: 178°F (STD.: 194°F)"
I added Water Wetter to above parts and it seemed that the engine warmed up to operating temp faster than it did with OEM parts and coolant. The Water Wetter stuff only makes a big difference if you mix it with water and no coolant but this is a race blend, no freeze protection. I mixed antifreeze/water to give protection to like 0°F and Water Wetter dropped operating temp like 8°F. Heat also kills engines.
These mods allowed the engine to reach operating temp. sooner, dropped operating temp on average 15°F and the engine ran at a more stable temperature range. (24°F vs. 50°F) Running at more stable temps. can also mean more power.

importknight

ok im not understanding what u guys are saying! im gettin mixed messages, should i go back to OEM thermostat or not???

98 ITR

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by importknight &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">ok im not understanding what u guys are saying! im gettin mixed messages, should i go back to OEM thermostat or not???</TD></TR></TABLE>

Personally, I would go back to the OEM thermostat if you daily drive your R, especially in the winter. There's no reason to have it installed right now.

A car like mine, that sees equal street time and track time, and only in the summer, can afford to have one installed full-time. I run the Spoon thermostat.

And yes, you will have to properly refill your rad if you disconnect the bottom hose. Make sure there are no air bubbles before you seal the cap.

neo_

Your engine is designed to run at a certain temperature. Cooler is not always better.

The Dude

You are right neo but 15 degrees is not much of a difference and you will see a slight performance advantage due to a more stable operating temperature at different throttle openings and loads with the performance stat and switch. OEMs are cheaper and don't hold as constant an operating temperature. For a stock motor and a DD, OEM is fine. You might want to move up if you live someplace hot like Ariz. or Texas and spend time stuck in rush hour traffic with the A.C. on.



Modified by The Dude at 5:49 PM 2/8/2008

frozenb

my thermostat stuck open and my temp always stay on cold or just move up 2 mark the most. does that mean it's bad for the engine? I was in this situation for 2 months....

i never thought it will damage piston ring. can someone be kind explain to me

Todd00

Let's not forget that if the engine runs too cool, it won't come out of 'cold' mode (controlled by the ECU). I've seen a few folks have this problem with those stupid 160 degree thermostats.

They aren't made for a daily driver, period...especially one that sees outside temps fall below 40 degrees.

Put the stock one back in. Honda motors like to run at normal operating temp. (but take in cool air).

admanirv

Hi Guys, im sorry to butt in on this thread and maybe its the wrong section but..

I have an S2000, im about to install a "spoon ecu" that runs different fueling and igntion timing.

I was about to buy the cooling mods, ie "spoon thermostat", "fanswitch" and "rad cap".

But my car is a daily drive, do i not bother with the above? As im confused i though i would need to as it will run hotter, my car has done 100k miles and is a daily drive, the temp here in the UK where i live never gets below -2 C.

Thanks

get RIGHT

^^ If you daily drive your car in the temps below 50 degrees then do not get it. It will most likely do more harm than good.

admanirv

Hi thanks, so your saying its not worth it.

Here the max temp in degree C is usually 28-30 and in winter -3c at the most.

Please could you confirm

Thanks