Got another question for you ladies and gents out there(...and the rest of you too!) Some time back (read a couple of years) I had read a write up on the net concerning engine temp and longevity. i.e. with the normal factory temps,195ish, the protective equation amongst the oil/coolant/internals and the every present mojo, the engine would "last" the longest and if you were either above or below that temp, the situation was not ideal and therefore sacrificing engine life. I've recently searched for the info and come up with nothing. So the question is, is running a 180º stat with fan mod in turn taking away overall motor life? I assume the factory original stat is an emissions choice otherwise the 6.1s would come with 180s out of the gate. Let the discussion begin.
the OEM T-Stat is for emissions only. Do yourself a favor and go get the 180 stat. You no longer need the fan switch if you have the predator. The Predator allows you to set the fans. Here is a How-To on setting the fan controls in the Predator... http://www.srtconnection.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7403
There have been some larger threads on just this. The factory temp is mainly for emissions although they maintained a target duty cycle of about 100K miles. Too cold is not good either since a lot of stuff needs to get up to a certain temperature for various reasons. Pretty much for hp, colder is better. So it's a balance between emissions, longevity/maintenance, and hp. I think the sweet spot for our cars is between 180* and 190*.
