Oh, right. This is a recent phenomenon. I thought you were referring to the quaint notion that Toyota quality is lacking... that's way back in the day... before your time, Matty. Me, I'm a very old guy (a real dustfarter...).

Toyota must be on the Top Tier bandwagon, then. Let's hope.

 

i really doubt there would be sludge build up because what i have seen from the two mods the way i have the conroller set up i have a more stable water temp. the temp can't ramp up high like it could before the controller catches it before the temp goes as high as it did when stock.it's not like i'm forcing the car to run at 170 degrees or anthing. it's stable at 185 degrees. make sense?

 

And my oil temp stays around 210 to 215 degrees. that's the key if oil temps were below the 180 degree point that's what starts sludge build up.

 

If you start sucking too much heat out the thermostat will just shut a bit.... I like it!

Matt

 

Um, so for those of us in warmer climates - like Florida - is it a worthwhile mod to get the thermostat? I autocross, so heat build up is a problem, cold mornings are not.

 

I saw cooler average temps around a track with it. This should translate into a bit of power due to lower IATs, but it's not gonna be as much as a pulley!

But it's not a hard job, and the part isn't expensive. Which way to you want to skin the cat?

Matt

 

I thought the car needed to operate from about 185 up in to 200s... how will this affect?

 

I have a pulley on my Christmas list - I told Santa I was looking at the M7 16% pulley - thoughts?

 

As I understand it it really only affects emissions. Generally speaking the hotter the car is running the lower the emissions. Steve at Steves Auto Clinic explained that this is why OEM manufacturers run 195º thermos, cause this is the sweetspot for emissions. Otherwise, for a $30 part which has to be installed anyway (Doesn't cost more money for a lower temp thermostat) why wouldn't it be installed at the factory?

 

so would the m7 t-stat work well in fl.... i figure it would with our warm summers.

 

in South Carolina my buddies worked good untill the dead of winter when he tried to start up at 30 degrees, and he triped a check engine light.

 

I am working on a fix for the code generated and emissions issue. I will post when I have finshed testing it. It is an easy fix, but I want to make sure I have the math right before I share.

 

fixing the code problem would be great. it's true all new cars run super hot for reduced emissions. power wise this is not a plus. run cooler= more power and efficiency!

 

Hi Folks
Just wondering, how quick/easy is the install and removal of this item? Has anyone used this on the track?

 

i think it consisted of 4 wires plus power and ground. installed it in the glove box.so a couple of hours running wires or so. the t-stat maybe 45mins. nothing is a quick swap back to stock if it is usually there isn't much of a gain.

 

Unless an aftermarket thermostat changed the flow of coolant (opened more or less than stock), I would be surprised if it did anything other than open sooner than the stock one.

That just means it would take a little longer to get to the normal operating temperature the motor would normally seek.

Once the motor is fully warm and the thermostat full open, wouldn't the motor run at the same temperature as maintained by coolant flow/radiator capacity/etc. regardless if you had a 175° or 195° thermostat? That is if the normal temperature is above 195°, which I thought it was. The only way I can see this making any difference is that if the cooling system had the capacity to maintain the lower temperature.

I hope that makes sense.

 

[quote=Morris9982;1263567]Unless an aftermarket thermostat changed the flow of coolant (opened more or less than stock), I would be surprised if it did anything other than open sooner than the stock one.

That just means it would take a little longer to get to the normal operating temperature the motor would normally seek.

Once the motor is fully warm and the thermostat full open, wouldn't the motor run at the same temperature as maintained by coolant flow/radiator capacity/etc. regardless if you had a 175° or 195° thermostat? That is if the normal temperature is above 195°, which I thought it was. The only way I can see this making any difference is that if the cooling system had the capacity to maintain the lower temperature]]



The tsat sets the min, temp. And my experience has been that that is also the avg driving temp. When things get hot it still maintains a cooler delta than stock. So when you are at a stop light you can warm up 20* and still be at the stock cruising temp while a stock car would be well over 200*. Add in MTH's modified cooling fan maps and you stay suprisingly cool.

Don't forget that the tstat will also close to bring the temp up.

 

Those who have logged coolant temps while driving (I have for the stock t-stat) have seen that the temps gravitate very nicely at the t-stat rating. A cooler mass of water is being maintained, and will see overall (average) lower temps, and should see lower peaks when under higher demand; and if the same peaks are seen over extended demand, it will take more time to get there, which is also beneficial...

 

the M7 T-stat flows more fluid closed and open!
FYI

 

I don’t believe peak temps are affected by early opening of the thermostat in a performance environment (Morris9982 got the right idea); sure temps can be lower at stop & go speeds because it takes time for the thermostat to react. The reaction time from open to closed and back again can be prolonged but there is no steady state partial opening (at least not for long). According to my water bath testing of the stock thermostat it takes about 15 seconds for the thermostat to reach closed from rapid cooling, or open from rapid heat application; it can take as much as a minute to close when cooling is gradual plus the temp at closure will be lower than the thermostat rating. If the water temp is held at 197F the thermostat will open completely but it takes a long time.

Logged temps have shown this same behavior. I’ve seen temps lower than 190F with the stock thermostat after the vehicle has reached warm-up, to me that verifies slow reaction times.

I chose not use the lower rated thermostat because there are few passing opportunities at the beginning of my commute so I need the vehicle at operating temps as quickly as possible.