water temp - 170/180 or 200/210 range ?

[1965LONEWOLF]

whats the best water temp to have a 3nd generation ? i had 200/210 and i put on a new thermostat and i cut off the two little brass things and now its reads about 170 - 180 , is that good or should i be running it hotter ? i'm taking my diesel guys opinion but have a bet going with my brother-in law:-{}

 

[CUMMINZ]

06's have a 190 degree thermostat. No other one is available in my area. My 06 warms quickly to that 190. That means my egts climb quickly. When I hit the bottom of a grade I am already at 190 degrees. Add a 95 degree day and a heavy load... Factory says 190 is fully open at 207 degrees.



I only see a small movement in my gauge in the dash. Don't think your computer is fooling anything.



I removed my thermostat last week before I began my vacation. . pulling in 85 degrees this week my dash guage just barely moves off the second mark on the left. My a/c air is much cooler... I don't have an egt guage but I would betcha my egts are cooler. My engine has not missed a lick. With a 190 we don't see the whole picture. If we had 160 or 180 thermos we would see the temps up and down to match our egts ups and downs.

 

[Mark1si]

I think the only problem with a cooler temp on the 3rd gens is the torque management. If the CPU doesnt see a set temp it wont fully fuel. On the autos anyway.

 

[jmadison]

engine temp. and exhaust temp. are not related. a diesel engine's coolant temp. should be around 190-200 degrees. the more fuel that is given a diesel is what makes egt's rise. it is like a furnace the more fuel to give it the hotter it gets. in a diesel engine most of the heat build up goes out the exhaust,were a gas eng. the coolant absorbs the eng. heat. the hotter the ambient temp. the better a diesel runs. if your eng. coolant temp is not at 190-200 the efficicency of the eng. is reduced. the coolant system in a dodge ctd is well engineered to handle the cooling of eng. at any load. it is the fuel you put to it that makes hight egts. thats why when you add a power box,they advise you to install a etg gauge for the extra fuel that gos in. remember the more fuel higher egt. hope this helps

 

[1965LONEWOLF]

jmadison , it runs just as good today as it did the the last 10,000 miles , i am just trying to figure it out if its better or not , if you see in my signature you'll see i have alot of add on things , fuel,chip, new turbo last week , it seems to go just as good as it did at 200' , i thought at 180 it would be better all the way around,

 

[jmadison]

lone wolf,just though that the info i gave you was just to give you food for thought. it is really up to the individual if him or her feels what works for them. you only know what works for you is trial and error. i was'nt trying to influence you, just a little insight.

 

[Signal73]

the ford guys used to switch out to a 203 deg thermo. Something about better combustion with higher temps..... scratching my head

 

[Alan Reagan]

the ford guys used to switch out to a 203 deg thermo. Something about better combustion with higher temps..... scratching my head

With a diesel engine, you do get better combustion and efficiency at higher temps. Not as much energy is wasted on causing combustion when the fuel is already near it's flash point.

 

[rbattelle]

With a diesel engine, you do get better combustion and efficiency at higher temps.

I agree. Ignition delay and rate of pressure rise both decrease with higher jacket temperatures.



Just my opinion.



Ryan

 

[JHardwick]

I removed my thermostat last week before I began my vacation. . pulling in 85 degrees this week my dash guage just barely moves off the second mark on the left. My a/c air is much cooler... I don't have an egt guage but I would betcha my egts are cooler. My engine has not missed a lick. With a 190 we don't see the whole picture. If we had 160 or 180 thermos we would see the temps up and down to match our egts ups and downs.

Don't get stuck in traffic with this arrangement ... ... ... . you'll look like old faithful or moby dick!

 

[JHardwick]

whats the best water temp to have a 3nd generation ? i had 200/210 and i put on a new thermostat and i cut off the two little brass things and now its reads about 170 - 180 , is that good or should i be running it hotter ? i'm taking my diesel guys opinion but have a bet going with my brother-in law:-{}

Close to the same situation as CUMMINZ.



Guys who race small block chevies on small round tracks will remove the t-stat and replace it with a spacer with a hole in it. Pretty similar to what you have here ... ... ... ... just don't get caught in a low air flow situation!

 

[JHardwick]

The coolant has to sit some to heat-soak in the engine and heat-sink in the radiator ... ... ... ... 190*-210* is perfect for the Cummins!



Water constantly rushing through the motor may be leaving hot spots due to cavitation even though the overall coolant temp is lower.



1965LONEWOLF has a little better setup than CUMMINZ by reducing flow some, but an operational t-stat is the best.