Tom M'Guinn

Well you were in good company. I've heard that logic before and it sounded right to me -- i.e., that the thermostat will be open either way when fully warmed up, so a low temp thermostat will only serve to make slow down the warm up. The problem with that logic is in the premise that the thermostat will be open either way. I had to be bludgeoned with endless evidence and literature to the contrary to see the light. Seems like the best way to think about the rated temp is that is serves as the lowest temp it will let the car run. So in sub-zero weather, your car will likely run at or near the rated temp. Where I am in CA, we just never see it get that cold, so even in the winter I was still seeing the gauge above the white line (above 80C) even with the 71 degree thermostat. If you live in a climate where it gets snowy and cold, and need an year-round car, then the 71 degree thermostat may indeed result in sub-optimal running temps.

Thom

I will stay with the 83°C thermostat eventually. I was able to tune the heat away, and I do not think the weather over here justifies using a lower temp thermostat.

Tom M'Guinn

What did you do to the tune to make it run noticeably cooler? More fans, or did you play with fuel and timing? My weather isn't like Las Vegas or anything, but most days in the summer are somewhere in the 75 - 105F range, and probably 30 degrees cooler on average in the winter -- and I don't drive much in the winter anyway. If you're not regularly seeing higher temps on the gauge, I'd agree there's no point in fixing what ain't broke.

Thom

I added timing. Seems to be a Variocam thing... Details on a postcard