I was talking to one of my friends about lower temperature thermostats and this is what he found out:

I was asking around about the low temperature thermostats. The one thing I
was warned about for the low temp thermostats is that the engine was
designed to work at a certain temperature. At the operating temperature,
the rings are round, the cylinder is round, etc....the tolerances might only
be for 1/2000 of an inch, but a few degrees ferenheit difference can change
the rings or seals by 1/1000 of an inch. Anyway, apparently one of the
issues for the engine restorers and long term users of low temp thermostats
is that the engine wears prematurely.

Now both him and I don't really know if this is fact or fiction. But i am thinking that spoon has designed their thermostats with that in mind. Any inputs?

 

If you dont do a lot of road racing then i wouldnt even bother.
Those that think cooler is better, dont know what they are talking about.

 

Even road racing a cooler t-stat can be more of a "band-aid" for other problems the cooling system might be having. In my experiance the Honda motor likes heat......the intake manifold/intake likes to be cold.

Mattj

 

i have the spoon cap, mugen thermostat and thermo switch and i can tell you the car does not run that much cooler on the street. my car takes about 5 minutes longer to heat up thats all, as far as temp goes, it still stays where it used to at a little below half. sgT can attest to this as he has seen the car on the dyno.

 

i just got a mugen low temperature thermostat, after hearing this i'm scared to put it in my car now >_<

?? anybody has anymore info on this?

 

My question is, WHY did you buy one?
It seems obvious that you didnt do research beforehand.

 

Don't be scared...but like sgT said, if you don't need it, don't bother.

 

I have heard about this before as well. But can't remember what problem will cause exactly. This is not something new when people try to keep their car cooler. I took off the t-stat on my older civic during summer so the coolant is constantly flowing and normal operating temp didn't go up or down but just that warm ups take alot longer in the morning.

 

My GFs LS had a broken thermostat, stuck wide open....dunno why someone would pay for the privelage All they do is open sooner, they don't offer any higher peak performance...like those viper throttle computer things, they open up the gas sooner, but you still have the same full throttle.

 

This is very interesting.

I ordered the Spoon radiator cap and the Spoon thermostat.

I´m running CTR 12.1 pistons on my euro spec ITR. ( 98 octane )

CTR pistons will be running more warm, than usual stock pistons.
Do you guys think i´ll really need to lower the engine temperature ?
Do you think i´ll be running under the indicated engine temperature ?

This is very important, thanks in advançe.

Pinota

 

gsr98vtec: you never did tell me how you did on the dyno. well??

 

the main reason I have not gotten one yet....

maybe a better oil cooler will help for 'track use'

Will
-who likes WOT for 20-30 min. at a time.

 

I use civic R pistons, my car runs fine with the stock thermo.
Temps are normal.

 

""Lower temperature thermostat causes premature engine wear???""

so does anyone know the answer to that question?

 

So....Does it or does it not affect engine life?

 

yeah? i'm still wondering about that?
anyone has the answer to this?

 

I think some of you guys need to chill. The difference in temperature is relatively minimal. If you are concerned about "engine wear" get an engine heater to minimize cold start wear, avoid stop and go driving, change your oil every 1,000 miles, and don't even think about engaging the BIG cam lobes! Get my point?




[Modified by itrsport.com, 8:43 AM 5/2/2002]

 

ya........if you that **** about engine wear then never drive the car.......park it in your garage and throw away the keys

 

Well, actually it is still an issue. I put about 60,000 kms (about 37,300 miles) on my car each year. With this kind of mileage, the premature engine wear is something I do consider.