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To drill or not to drill - 180 themostat in an NA

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Old 11-28-2006, 06:24 AM
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Default To drill or not to drill - 180 themostat in an NA

Originally Posted by charliemax
".... I wasn't going to believe him and was waiting restlessly to get past the warranty so I could put on an aluminum LIM and Dorman plenum.

The Pontiac guy was great. Seriously, I gave him bare facts and that'* it. I wanted as neutral opinion as I could get from a dealer. He comes back with a grand slam. He gave me a written estimate for @ $750. It didn't itemize, so thermostat and oil change would probably add. I want to put in the drilled 180 as soon as it goes off warranty anyway. "

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Why are you contenplating a drilled 180 thermostat? Your car isn't supercharged. A regular 180 without drilling should be more than adequate. If you drill, you run the possibiliity of not heating up enough.
Old 11-28-2006, 12:23 PM
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I've got a drilled 180 and it sure seems fine to me. My aeroforce has me sitting at 179-180 at cruise...
It obviously takes longer to warm up, but I don't think 5-7 minutes is crazy. It should be easier to bleed any air out of the system with holes at the 6 and 12 position I would think.
Old 11-28-2006, 07:01 PM
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Originally Posted by BillBoost37
Why are you contenplating a drilled 180 thermostat? Your car isn't supercharged. A regular 180 without drilling should be more than adequate. If you drill, you run the possibiliity of not heating up enough.
Purely superstitious behavior by me. I have a single tapped 180 in my '95. I did it when I first did the BC tuneup and realized later I had misunderstood the application. With the tuneup, the stat, a slightly different modified air box, the car is performing great. it is so agile and light underfoot that I don't want to change anything. And it runs nice and cool under summer conditions.

It did it later last winter. If the heat up is an issue in the coming season, i'll drop in a plain 180.
Old 11-28-2006, 07:58 PM
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Why drop in a balanced thermostat and be done with it? Yes I realize that drilling your own is moe economical but a balanced thermostat has other benefits additionally, esp for you heavy footed sc guys and gals.
Old 11-28-2006, 09:33 PM
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(I think it would be good to move the thermostat discussion off to its own thread.)
Old 11-28-2006, 11:43 PM
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Originally Posted by Bugsi
(I think it would be good to move the thermostat discussion off to its own thread.)
Done...original discussion is here: http://www.bonnevilleclub.com/forum/...=750590#750590 in case anyone gets lost in the links...
Old 11-28-2006, 11:48 PM
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Drilled 180'* will benefit an L36 in longevity and reliability as much as it will an L67 in performance. Maybe more.
Old 11-29-2006, 12:12 AM
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Originally Posted by willwren
Drilled 180'* will benefit an L36 in longevity and reliability as much as it will an L67 in performance. Maybe more.
i dont think a drilled 180 will benefit a NA 3800 any more than an undrilled 180...
Old 11-29-2006, 12:22 AM
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L36'*, just like L67'*, like being colder. Mine ran significantly better when it was colder (engine temps not air temps) then it did when it was warm. Going from a stock 195* tstat to a 180* tstat I noticed a good difference. Drilling the 180 would only help that much more. I really don't see a problem with it. Its not completely necessary, but neither is a colder thermostat at all.
Old 11-29-2006, 08:33 AM
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If you do drill, just don't OVERdrill. Make 'em small. The drilled holes help keep air pockets from being trapped.


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