Quote:
Originally Posted by TDIwyse
As another data point... changed my thermostat this week. Previously the car would warm up to ~172-176F, unless in town stop and go driving, where it might get to mid 180's. New stat car warms up to ~186-190F. ......
I'm curious if those posting significant fuel economy benefits from changing their thermostat could describe their before/after coolant temps, and plot hand calculated mpg results over an extended period of time before/after their thermostat change? That would give some interesting comparison to see if the trend line significantly changes.
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If your car was reaching 172-176 (77-80 C), your thermostat was most likely fine. All i could get my car to was 60-63, doesn't matter how'd i drive. No hand calculated MPG's but my tank with similar driving styles and routes used to last me ~570-650kms max. After the replacement, on winter fuel, i hit 780Kms on the tank, which is quite noticeable.
Now within 10-15 minutes of my drive to work the temperature rises to 80+ C easily, and car drives and behaves differently. Tranny is more smoother. I have been driving this car for over 4 years now - everyday. I can feel the difference in behavior. May be it never got out of warm up cycle ever (never in closed loop)
Another thing that i can relate to this is glow plug controller/glow plugs. Mine failed last winter, which caused me to monitor temperature. According to BMW training document, the glow plugs also work intermittently if your engine isn't warm enough - as a result low temps = overworked controller and plugs hence leading to failure.