Re: thermostat

[Tom Jennings <tomj@xxxxxxx>]

On Tue, 5 Oct 2004, Sandwich Maker wrote:

> " > At what temperatures will the engine be most efficient? thats realy what i
> " > want to center on i guess. was there an enegeering reason behind 195? or was
> " > it just practical for most of NA or what?
> 
> the hotter the better, for efficiency.  if you don't have to retard
> the ign to avoid ping, run a 205 thermostat.

Well for combustion etc efficiency yes, but for all the junk
living under the hood, maybe not. All my cars are carburetted,
and carbs seem to like lower temps (vapor-locking and all that).

Cooling systems can remove a lot more heat at high water temps,
but adequately sized that shouldn't be a big problem. The heater
thing I solve by living in the SouthWest :-)


I ran my old 327 Ambo at 160, it was nice to work on :-)