New guy here. Just got a 2000 SSEI yesterday. Being a Ford guy for the last 20 years, 2 Mustangs, 1 Supercoupe(*-charged) and SUV'*, etc, etc. I am quite impressed. Needed a big car with a little pop and all the bells and whistles. (plus I am getting OLD!)

Got a couple questions.
180 t-stat, I would think simple and should surely do no wrong. Use to run a 160(302 Mustang) in the summer here(90-105 degrees heat in summer) and it sure helped.
1.Will the drop in the t-stat affect any PCM, controls or anything?(keep it in a richer mode or something like that?)
2.What is the best CAI kit available? I see some cheap ones on E-Bay but they are out in the compartment(engine bay heat!), you might as well just put a K&N in the box and go with that?
My street/strip Mustang days are over. Not going to hot rod this thing but I am at 4200 ft here and need all the air I can get.
Thanks guys!!


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The only thing the 180 is really going to do is cause problems with when the PCM turns the fans on and off.

Hi DMZ. :Welcome

Please add your year and trim of your vehicle to your signature line. That way when you start asking questions in other areas of the forum, we all have a better idea on how to assist you. Click on "Quick Links" above, go down to "User Control Panel" and then click on "Edit your Signature" It'* pretty straight forward from there.

As far as the CAI, you have two options a 1) fender well kit or 2) CAI box. I went with a Thrasher Thrasher Cold AirIntake on Flickr - Photo Sharing! .

Danthurs built his own CAI box that replicates the Thrasher box, which draws the cold air from the filter box intake area on the front clip.

You're using Ford experience to mod a Bonneville, so I see how these questions can come up. The PCM actually reads the coolant temperature and works with it. We have coolant and air temp sensors that tell the PCM about temps, and the PCM reacts accordingly. I've noticed with Fords like the 3.0L DOHC and the 3.8L V6 that it'* not so easy, and it'* very weird to me. Put in a 180 thermostat, and you can even get a mail-in flashed PCM to replace your current one so you can have the fans kick on with the new PCM as well as letting the tune make your engine run much better. Tell the people flashing it that you're at high altitude. Links below.

There are absolutely no aftermarket CAI kits sold on eBay that actually are meant to be used with Bonnevilles. It'* just a pipe with a filter. For an intake for your Bonneville, visit intense-racing.com or zzperformance.com for proper kits. They are the ones selling PCMs as well. Good luck, and have fun!

On the T stat, a 180 should actually cause no problems at all except it will hurt MPG'* a slight bit. A 160 would be cold enough to trigger a code for the engine not coming up to temp properly.

If you swap to a 180, most of the time in stop and go traffic, you will not notice a difference because the fans are programmed for 216F and 228F to turn on low and high speeds respectively. Reprogramming the fan temps down to correspond closer to the T stat was one of the best mods I did. It bugged me when coming off the highway to see the temps spike close to 220F.