It has been debated whether or not it's okay to put a "cooler" thermostat in or just completely leave it out. It's also been debated whether or not the Earth is round. Well, the Earth (I'm sorry to say) is in fact, round. Back on track, our cars run more efficiently when they are at operating temperature. Something the engineers did for optimum fuel economy and performance. No, they didn't just draw a temperature reading out of a hat and match it to a car. Our 192* T-stats are matched according to the best overall operating temperature for our cars. It has been proven that running your car too cool will wear out engine parts quicker, sludge the oil and reduce fuel economy. Think about it like this; if you try to cook something in the oven before it's reached the pre-set temperature, how well do you think it will cook? Same goes for the combustion chamber. When it's below operating temperature, it won't burn that air/fuel mixture efficiently. This, in turn, can leave deposits in the combustion chamber, on valves, pistons, etc. Obviously, your car won't blow up if you break this rule. This is just something to think about next time you look at that 160* t-stat.
So, keep your stock t-stat in and warm your car up before you drive it (or at least as much as you can) for optimum performance and efficiency.
