Serge944

Todays AIM conversation:

Serge 944: when the car is cold, it doesnt let any water into the engine...so its not being cooled, this is why you want one for cold climates, so the engine can get up to operating temperature
Serge 944: in warm climates, the engine gets up to normal tempearture anyways
TheStig944: i dare u to post that on rennlist
TheStig944: your theory
TheStig944: and see how bad ur gonna get slammed

Ive been running without a thermostat, and i dont feel its necessary for the warm California climate. I probably would have gotten a new one if I planned to do the job, but my car nearly overheated about 6 months ago and i knew the thermostat was at fault so i just ripped it out and forgot about it. Sure, in the winter, the car may take a few seconds longer to warm up, but no problems.

Let the "slamming" begin!

83na944

I won't slam anyone, but it is my understanding that the thermostat is necessary for normal engine wear.

IIRC, the rings and cylinders tolerances are designed at normal operating temperature. If the engine runs too cold, there will premature wear on these parts.

Since the engine normally operates above 212 and gets there in a few minutes, ambient temperature doesn't matter much.

Porsche-O-Phile

You just don't want to deal with that snap ring, do you? Stop making excuses and suffer like the rest of us!

F18Rep

Steve, well said.

Sam Lin

Serge, I'm with you, I don't run one - being in AZ, it's HOT, the engine doesn't need any help heating up. Of course, I got the car that way - when winter comes I'll probably put one in.

Sam

Dave

As long as the ambient temp doesn't drop below 120 or so it won't matter, below that there will be a little more wear since it will take a couple minutes more to warm up.

Danno

Also the engine-temp has to be high enough to heat the oil above boiling temperatures for the water that has condensated in the crankcase to separate from the oil. Or else you'll foam it in and get poor lubrication.

Serge944

My engine always runs at about 90-95 degrees celcius. Once it warms up, it never drops in temp. On hot days itll go up to 100 but will come down really quick once the fans kick in. Also, it doesnt take very long to get to normal operating temperature and I never push my engine until it gets there. So I am not at all concerned about premature engine wear due to its operating temperature.

Someone said that the engine may run too hot without a thermostat as the water will be running through the engine too quickly. My view on this is that if the engine is really hot, the thermostat will be open all the way and itll be the same scenario with or without a thermostat.

...Just wanted some confirmation.

Serge944

I took the original one out...didn't I? In about 30 seconds to be exact. Maybe i just had a very worn snap ring, because i have no idea why you guys are ALWAYS wining.

83na944

Because some of us take them out with the intention of putting them back in again.

Serge944

Good point!

MM951

The car will take forever to warm up..run like crap when its cold...also, when I pulled it out of my 280ZX the car took 20-30 minutes to warm up to normal and it would overheat if you drove for about an hour or 2 without letting it cool down...

I'd say you should put one in, better safe then sorry...a t-stat is like what...6 bucks anyway!

Serge944

My car takes like 5 min to warm up (in the fairly cool mornings) and never goes over 100 degrees C. Hmm.

MM951

Ah, your in CA...NY can get damn cold, probably what I am remembering

but I do remember the car would overheat eventually

Serge944

Im very curious as to why a car would overheat without a thermostat. Is more water let through without a thermostat as compared to a fully open thermostat?