Lower temp thermostat?

[ElGaspo]

Howdy. W/ temperatures finally rising & now reaching usual tropical state here in FL, am thinking of installing a lower-temp stat in the interest of engine longevity. My other car -which I can monitor - runs 215 F, now I realize it's a pressurized system and is OK at that temp, but I still strongly believe that a cooler-running engine would last longer.

So, those of you who monitor temps [coolant & oil esp] could you pls post & tell me the avg #s? Also if anybody else has already gone the way of lower temp stat. I know the engine is tuned to run high, but partly cause of emissions regs, don't think it'll throw any cels w/ the new stat.

BTW, yes, I'm the guy who drives <3k mi/yr cause I have a short commute + I hate to drive w/o a purpose. My last car lasted 16 yrs & still running great w/ this routine. I'd like the MS3 to surpass that. The way I look at it, I locked in at $23.5k for 263 hp, 280 tq before mods. If that's not an all-time helluva deal, I don't know know what would be. Long live MS3! (rockon)

 

[MikeHTally]

The ECU may not like seeing lower temps. Mine is facing its third Florida summer. I don't believe there'll be any problems. I put a 180 in my Ram, but I'm considering going back to the stock 203.

I have low miles, too. In a month, I'll have it two years. It'll likely be just above 16K. Since you do drive it so little, it's probably a good idea to make sure it warms up fully. A lower 'stat might prevent that and cause sludge build-up.

 

[Mid_Life_Crisis]

Sometimes the lower temp stat is to fake out the ecu so it makes the car run in a richer mode. I had a V8 Dakota that responded very well to this trick, along with a set of one step colder plugs. Swapping the t-stat and plugs was claimed to be worth 15 horses on that truck.

Edit: Another poster was kind enough to point out that colder range plugs do not lower combustion chamber temps appreciably. So here is a little clarification.
The cooling effect of a colder range plug on cylinder temps is so minimal as to not count. What it does do is reduce tendency to knock, which allows the car to run more timing advance, which yields more power. Together the two different tricks yielded some easy horsepower, at the expense of needing to clean fouled plugs more frequently.

 

[Sport6]

Yeah with the way our cars run pig rich during warm up, it might get stuck in that mode with a lower thermostat and just run like crap, well not super noticeably but you will feel the power difference.

 

[ElGaspo]

Thanx for the ideas & past experience reports, fellas. I've just about talked myself into the lower stat. Car is due for oil chg in 1 month, so I'll probably just have a car care day then & do everything at same time. Will let you know how/if it works out.