# When i bought my car, my thermostat was stuck open all the time...

Posted by Aaron (92 SE Auto) on September 26, 2003 at 13:32:28: In Reply to: Relax man. A slightly cooler thermostat won't hurt. I ran NA without a stat at all and no problems! n/m posted by The Max on September 26, 2003 at 05:07:33: And since it was summer in Vegas when I bought the car, I couldn't tell I had a problem until I drove my car in 10*F weather moving through a mountain range. My coolant temp got below 150 and then the car started to act REALLY weird. The tranny got cold too. So no thermostat at all is fine unless you are in very cold weather. I'd say anything below 30 degrees. : : I called SOOOO many places. Including several domestic and import speed shops. They all had 170 as the lowest OEM Tstat. : : A 150 MIGHT be too much for me right now. i wanted a 170 tstat, but I ended up with a 160. A 150 might be too much... But if you have a nice 160 Tstat that's MADE for my VE, then please let me know. thanks Kaleb. : : : : : : After MANY hours of testing 170 thermostats, I've come to the conclusion that Stant 170 thermostats made for the 3rd gen open up at exactly 181. I've tested 3 so far and all are the same. : : : : I don't want a 180 thermostat, I want a 160 or 170. But, they don't make a 160 for the 3rd gen. Since the OEM Tstat is 64mm diameter, I found a 63mm thermostat made for another car. It's rated at 160 and made by Stant... AND it actually opens at 160. WOOHOO. : : : : But this Tstat doesn't have a jiggle valve, which allows a little bit of coolant to drip through while it's close for that short period. I thought, how important can a jiggle valve be? Well, Nissan did it for a reason, so i drilled a very tiny 1/16" hole to make a jiggle valve. This MAY cause my car to warm up a bit slower, but I'm not concerned. There are sacrifices in every mod you do. : : : : This Tstat was able to seal nicely and when I tested it, it performs as it should. : : : : It was 95 degrees when I tested it. Since the orifice is smaller than OEM, I was scared less coolant would flow through causing overheating problems in the summer time. So, I drove it aggressively up a steep hill with OD off, while blasting my AC full power. My car warmed up to what it should for this hot day... 220 degress aprox. : : : : So, I put on the heater to see how cool I can possibly get my motor. My previous record was 190 degrees in 70 degree weather. That is the coldest and i can get my VE to operate. It won't get any colder. With this 160 Tstat, I was able to achieve 183 degrees in 95 degree weather. : : : : So, this tstat is a success so far. I will be able to operate at a much cooler temp this winter in Vegas. The coldest it ever gets in Vegas is about 35-40 degrees over night. : : : : Thanks for reading. This is the first recorded 160 Tstat in a Maxima... that i know of. :) Replys:

Name: |
E-Mail |
Car: |
Subject |
Message:
: And since it was summer in Vegas when I bought the car, I couldn't tell I had a problem until I drove my car in 10*F weather moving through a mountain range. My coolant temp got below 150 and then the car started to act REALLY weird. The tranny got cold too. : So no thermostat at all is fine unless you are in very cold weather. I'd say anything below 30 degrees. : : : : I called SOOOO many places. Including several domestic and import speed shops. They all had 170 as the lowest OEM Tstat. : : : A 150 MIGHT be too much for me right now. i wanted a 170 tstat, but I ended up with a 160. A 150 might be too much... But if you have a nice 160 Tstat that's MADE for my VE, then please let me know. thanks Kaleb. : : : : : : : : After MANY hours of testing 170 thermostats, I've come to the conclusion that Stant 170 thermostats made for the 3rd gen open up at exactly 181. I've tested 3 so far and all are the same. : : : : : I don't want a 180 thermostat, I want a 160 or 170. But, they don't make a 160 for the 3rd gen. Since the OEM Tstat is 64mm diameter, I found a 63mm thermostat made for another car. It's rated at 160 and made by Stant... AND it actually opens at 160. WOOHOO. : : : : : But this Tstat doesn't have a jiggle valve, which allows a little bit of coolant to drip through while it's close for that short period. I thought, how important can a jiggle valve be? Well, Nissan did it for a reason, so i drilled a very tiny 1/16" hole to make a jiggle valve. This MAY cause my car to warm up a bit slower, but I'm not concerned. There are sacrifices in every mod you do. : : : : : This Tstat was able to seal nicely and when I tested it, it performs as it should. : : : : : It was 95 degrees when I tested it. Since the orifice is smaller than OEM, I was scared less coolant would flow through causing overheating problems in the summer time. So, I drove it aggressively up a steep hill with OD off, while blasting my AC full power. My car warmed up to what it should for this hot day... 220 degress aprox. : : : : : So, I put on the heater to see how cool I can possibly get my motor. My previous record was 190 degrees in 70 degree weather. That is the coldest and i can get my VE to operate. It won't get any colder. With this 160 Tstat, I was able to achieve 183 degrees in 95 degree weather. : : : : : So, this tstat is a success so far. I will be able to operate at a much cooler temp this winter in Vegas. The coldest it ever gets in Vegas is about 35-40 degrees over night. : : : : : Thanks for reading. This is the first recorded 160 Tstat in a Maxima... that i know of. :)