Here is some stuff that raises an eyebrow with me..

It is hot as hell here in Texas right now, if I tossed in a 160* would not my thermostat pretty much stay open all the time not allowing the coolant to cool off via the radiator? Also many people seem to lose some MPG's due to the cooler T-Stat.

Would it be smarter to upgrade to the HD 34" rad and a 180* thermo? Would my LS1 fans be enough to keep the 34" rad cool?

How wide is the stock 1500 radiator?

I think that is all for stuff that is perplexing me, lemme know what you guys think.

 

i think the stock radiator is 28 inches wide.not sure about the ls1 fans.tbyrne is running i think 295 flexalites. ask him and see. also parish8 was running a 34. maybe he can help more.

 

I know its a drop in for the stocker, I can probably pick one up for $100-150 from a local boneyard. I would assume the 34" rad and a lower temp thermo would cool fine in this heat...

 

You may be worried about nothing.Is your truck overheating now?probably not.a 160 thermostate will open and stay open in any climate.Now if you replaced a 4.8 with a high compression 427LS1 then you might have a radiator issue to deal with.