Hello! For awhile now I had an issue with my car getting way to hot . My radiator was to blame due to all of the damaged fins and what not. So instead of buying a stock radiator, I got the Mishimoto one because I also had a coupon. I installed it, also replaced my thermostat with the Mishimoto one because it was a kit. My car recently popped a code "P0128" which means my car is either taking too long to warm up or isn't warming up enough. So with this I bought a bluetooth dongle for my car and downloaded an app. The app said my radiator temps were around 140-145F . Now this seems low because I think most cars run at 160-185F. From my understanding, if I put the stock thermostat back in that would do nothing because the thermostat does not play a role in radiator temperature. Also, I do believe it doesn't really matter what your radiator temps are, but your oil temps. I do not have an oil temp gauge but I do have a oil pressure gauge. The oil pressure appears to be the same as before. Basically my question is how bad is it running at these temps and will it damage anything in the future? Thanks a ton guys.

 

Swap an OEM thermostat back in. Engine Coolant temps are taken from the back of the engine which are different than your radiator coolant temps.

It's not that you'll cause damage but rather you'll be running at sub-optimal conditions if you constantly below OEM dictated operating temp -

 

Well, technically speaking, you CAN damage an engine running sub-optimized temps over a long period of time. Two main reasons, oil temp never gets high enough and there is more friction present in a cold engine and secondly, when the oil isn't hot enough, moisture and acid can build up in it causing long term damage.

Neither are particularly harsh harm but if nothing else, a cold engine also gets suck gas mileage.

 

valid points -

 

I will go ahead and put the old thermostat back in. Hopefully this helps. Thanks

 

^keep us posted on what you find

 

Remember that oil's properties are at their optimal point at engine normal operating temperatures. Sensors are engineered to operate within certain temperature ranges. Not all cars will trigger a CEL with a low temp thermostat but a VQ will do this apparently. The whole "mad tyte low temp racing thermostat" fad is shrouded in misinformation about the basics of engine cooling. In 98% of applications the OEM thermostat will suffice for getting the engine up to temperature.