Is the m7 thermostat worth purchasing (for a mere $44.00), for mainly a street-driven, lightly-modded MCS, or does it's use become apparent only on the track?

Would I notice and differences or benefits from changing the thermostat on my daily driver?

Would it mess with my car, causing faults to light up on my dash board?

Please only answer if you have this mod on your MCS. Thank you!

 

it opens at 180 degrees rather then whatever the stock temp is (190?) when it opens it allows cool fluid from your radiator to enter your engine block/head and cools it down. It opens sooner which means the engine itself will stay cooler. This helps alot when tracking your car or anytime when you stay at high rpms for any good length of time. Oil temps tend to climb during hard track runs and this helps with keeping it cooler. Cant go wrong with it, but for normal street driving, i dont think you will see any "huge" gains. Its more to help the engine from over heating and to battle climbing oil temps when running the car hard.

As far as any lights popin up due to this, there should be none. My friend who tracks/autocrosses runs a 160 in his civic and has had no problems.

 

So for a daily-driven MCS in the Northeast, (think snow, lots of snow), am I wrong to assume that this mod would be overkill?

I do a few autocrosses each summer, but for 97% of my miles, it's on the street.

Thanks.

 

Huh? If you're running at high RPMs for an extended length of time, your engine temp is going to be well above 190 degrees, so the thermostat would be wide open.

 

I don't get his explanation either. Whether or not the thermostat opens at 180 or 190 should have no bearing whatsoever on ultimate engine temp. Its still going to get as hot as it gets. Just a little bit cooler in the beginning.

 

If it were me, i would use the money to spend it towards a different mod. Being up in NY it doesnt get crazy hot like down here in the south. Also, autocross runs are fairly short, maybe 1 min per run. which isnt very long. Now if you were, putting laps down on a track and staying at fairly high rpms then i could see buying it.

just my .02

 

yes the temps will eventually become the same no matter what thermostat you are running if you are going WOT. But it will take longer for them to reach that point with a lower thermostat as it starts to cool the engine down alot sooner.

my friends civic has a 160 and on average daily driving the temp gauge stays in the middle of the lowest point on the gauge and the center line. When he runs the car hard on track days like at seabring the temp raises up to the center line or just slightly above. Before he switched his thermostat his temp gauge would climb up between the middle of the center mark and the highest mark.

Almost 1/4 the differance on his temp gauge.

 

having made the mistake of putting this in, and I do live in the NE, I can tell you that it will kick SES lights because of engine temps below ECU parameters. Peter at M7 freely admitted that this mod is for cars where it is HOT (you might have thought he woulda mentioned this in his literature).He suggested I swap it out twice a year........Right.

 

Ive never had a light thrown due to the thermostat, but then again...i live in hot as hell florida.

Edit: most people down here who are performance minded, dont even run antifreeze. We use just enough to lubercate parts and keep them from rusting in the cooling system. About 1/4 anti freeze 3/4 water.

 

In all honesty that could be due to a better flowing thermostat. Or the fact that the coolant is newer. Running a higher percentage of water will allow an engine to run cooler as well.

 

Yes, I'm getting the impression that this is a good mod for cars in the south and track cars.

For daily drivers in the north, who drive through the winter, it sounds like I'll be throwing codes every time I drive it for the cold half of the year...

Yes, it only costs $44, but that kind of hassle isn't worth it for MY particular circumstance, it seems.

Thanks guys!

 

Right, the problem is people that live in cold climates like the NE. My t-stat is fine all summer long and works great! The problem is that in the winter when it gets bitter cold the engine will never come up to normal operating temp, which is some cases will throw a SES code. For me I have to switch to my stock t-stat when I travel to the NE. -- Johan

 

yup 2 cents time.... i've read also that this is climate dependant mod. but i was considering swapping it out every summer. i just don't like hearing that fan come on . just an old guy freakin'out .