Not to hijack the thread, but I have read many conflicting opinions on the 160-180 topic. Lots of people say this is too cool, many others say it's fine and that they've never had an engine wear out prematurely for running temp in that range. My engine was running in the 210-215 range with a 180 stat in the first 100 miles (90-100f southern summer days), but I altered the grill for better airflow and now it sits happy in 178-182. When I was in the 215 range, it dieseled badly on shutdown.
Just curious what your thoughts are on the 160-180 being too cool.
FWIW - I run my race engines at 180, that includes if running methanol. Do I give up a few HPs? Sure, who cares. I bracket race and consistency wins, not HP. It's damn hard to keep an engine at 160 in the Texas heat when the ground under you in staging is 140. I have big fans and a big radiator but burning up battery juice trying to hold that colder temp is IMHO wasted time and effort. It's a lot easier to control in staging at 180. If I'm 180~190 rolling into the beams on a hot August day, we're good to go. Especially with methanol, running "in the window" jetting and staging at 180 and ending at 180~200 keeps the oil clean, which can be a serious problem with alcohol. It is kinda fun to have your engine idling at 180 and your intake manifold feeling like you could chill a Coke on it.
