Thermostat bleed hole importance?

[EcoCivic]

Originally Posted by hayden55

1uzfe guys are using thermostat bleed port restrictors to increase total flow through the thermostat instead of the bleed port which increases cooling. I imagine you will see something similar. Although, i don't know if I've ever heard of anyone completely blocking it off. In my head blocking off the bypass will give you weird warm up and temp control until the thermostat opens.

https://adapt-lab.com/product/coolan...ss-restrictor/

I didn't block off the bypass, the coolant is still free to circulate through the block. I just blocked off the tiny bleed hole in the thermostat.

[EcoCivic]

After a bit more driving, the warmup time doesn't seem to have improved by enough to be noticeable, but heat retention after shutdown does seem to be slightly better than before.

Something definitely changed because the top of the radiator no longer noticeably warms up with the engine after plugging in the block heater. We haven't had stable enough temperatures yet to compare coolant temp rise over ambient, but it does seem to be a bit better.