Which Thermostat?
 

The other day my car started overheating. I could find no leaks under the car, and when I idled it, I could find no leaks anywhere. It seemed to me that the water was not circulating, so I replaced the thermostat. When I went to the parts store I thought I remembered 180o as the stock thermostat. The store owner said it would be better to go with a higher temperature. I wound up buying one that is 192 degrees. Did I do the right thing here? What are the benefits if I did? By the way, the overheating has stopped.

Scruffboy

Factory issued thermostat is rated at 88 degrees Celsius (thats 190.4 degrees fahrenheit)

Aftermarket ones range from 192 to 160 degrees fahrenheit. I ran an 82 degree celsius (179.6 degrees fahrenheit) thermo before my bhg and I ran exactly 190-195 degrees fahrenheit in actual coolant temperature.

Remember the rating of the thermo only indicates when it starts to open, it does NOT determine how hot the engine will get. The condition/efficiency of your cooling system determines maximum operating temperature.

Thanks IHH
 

So the one I bought (192 degrees F.) is at the upper range. Is that good or is there some benefit to having it open at a lower temperature? The fellow at the parts store insisted it was better to go with the higher temp., and there was no price difference so I know he wasn't just trying to get more money from me.

Scruffboy

For winter, yes you did the right thing. Actually you just put a stock rated aftermarket thermostat in there. You should have just gotten a factory thermo if you wanted to run the stock rating.

It matters because your coolant temperature sensor (the one the ECU uses) needs to see higher than 170 degree for the engine to go into closed loop. That's when the engine operates at its most efficent, completely combusting the fuel mixture, burning off condensation, reducing emmissions, etc.

i wouldn't use a parts store thermostat with a toyota supra
i would spend the extra 4 dollars and get one from toyota
cuz when you're at the next time wondering why the thing is overheating again you can cross that off the list
you can get 160 - 190 toyota stats too
i run a 160