I picked up some water wetter today and a 160* thermostat. My plan is to put the water wetter in first and see if it drops the temp any at idle. I will report back this weekend with the results.
The thermostat (in my opinion) will be a waste if time effort and money. Having the coolant start circulating 160 degrees vs 180 degrees will not change your operating temp after warm up.
Look at it this way…….
A 160 degree stat opens at 160, its still open at 180 and it's still open at 195 (your max temp from post #1).
A 180 stat opens at 180 and it's still open at 195 (your max temp from post #1).
Thermostats really only control your minimum operating temp, not your max.
But then again….. I don't think you have a cooling problem anyway.
195* after 15 minutes at idle is not a problem in my book.
My best advise….. Close the hood and don't worry about it.
