ive read its bad to run with no thermostat cuz the water in the motor never leaves the block to go to the radiator is this true i read it at atkins rotary site but it doesnt say anything about running with a gutted thermostat? can some one clarify this with some explanation.

 

i took the thermostat out of my 88 turbo II, I didn't experience any negative side-effects, besides the engine taking like 20 minutes to warm up.

 

The function of a t-stat is to regulate flow of water and temp of water entering and leaving the engine block. The opposite of what you stated about the water never leaving the block is correct. The water that is circulating thru the engine block without a t-stat spends very little time in the block.
Here are the various problems of running without a t-stat.
1). In cold climates it will virtually take forever for your heater/defrost to work.
2). The engine will burn more fuel when in cold climates
3). If the engine does not come up to operating temp the natural dissapation of water or condensation in the oil pan especially in short hops will not go away. This will lead to unwanted contamination of the oil.
4). In hotter temps without the t-stat the coolant/water does not spend enough time in the radiator. This means that the forced air coming thru the radiator that is supposed to dissapate the heat will not take place. This can and will lead to a overheat situation especially in hot weather going uphills or stuck in traffic.
Summary. Do not run without a t-stat unless it is a drag car used on the strip.
Remember it only takes one time of overheating our motors that leads to a rebuild.
Tip. Always use the Oem specified temp. rx7doctor

 

what about a gutted t-stat?

 

It's just as bad as know t-stat. No direct regulation of flow. It's jsut going to push thru. The pellet at the bottom of the stat is designed to be heated and start opening a certain temp than fully open at specified temp. What this does is create a suction from the bottom radiator hose to pull the water (cooler water) from the radiator to carry away the heat already generated by the engine. Being gutted will
not aloow this function to occur. rx7doctor

 

What about a 160 degree t-tsat

 

Ok if you are running Fuel injection and the computer is programmed for it. Otherwise the stock temp is the way to g. rx7doctor

 

Only problem I see with saying "stock temp thermostat" is where you go to get it. At Auto Zone, the recommended one was 160, where at Advanced Auto Parts they said that 180 was recommended or "stock". I personally use the 160 but my defrost and heat doesnt work as well as it seems it is supposed to. However, I have a slight coolant leak so having the engine run a bit cooler is ok for me for the "just in case". My thinking could be totally backwards though.

BTW I check my coolant every single time I start the car. I top it off and never drive for longer than 1 hour at a time. I COULD go for 2.5 hours before the overflow tank is empty (to give you idea of how bad my leak is).

 

180°F is supposed to be stock.

 

get the lowest rating - so the t-stat opens up early. hell I dont even use one.

 

Per Racing Beat you remove the thermostat and plug the hole below it with a 1/2 inch NPT pipe thread tap and matchng plug. That hole is the bypass, once plugged you have a free flowing cooling system. Of course this is for Racing only even though I did it on my last two cars and had no problems.

 

thats what i have read also. the way i see it is with a t stat its just one more thing to go wrong that can be avoided by some work of a plug and now your vehicle runs cooler thanks for the inputs guys.