Active Grille Shutters

[Wild one]

Actually you are right, I have never put a 180 in a 2012 or newer vehicle. Used to swap between 180 and 195, winter and summer, on the older Carburated and early fuel injected throttle body vehicles. I have however taken them out of two Rams, 1 Ford 250 and two GMs. In every case they were complaining about no heat on the highway. The increased gas mileage is anecdotal from a couple of the guys that had those trucks, I did not see it myself.

Do what you like, but up here it gets really cold and rarely gets to 80F, so the 180 is no bueno.

I'm up here to,a 180 is livable in the winter,but a 170 or 160 not so much.Although i do know of a couple guys who are running a 160 year round,and one is in Fort Mac,but i also swear he's part grizzly bear,as a 160 in my truck left alot to be desired for heat output at -10C,but the 180 is livable. I ran a 180 in both the wifes last 2 Challengers,i never did tune her 2016,but both easily pull down over 30 mpg,and there was absolutely no change in milege between the stock 203 and 180 thermostats as far as milege goes.MPG has more to do with driving habits then engine temp.I also run a 180 in our untuned 300 in the summer,and there's no change in milege on it either,it'll pull down well over 30 mpg to with a 180.
Not sure about your claim of it rarely gets to 80F,that's only 27C,if you'd said 90F or 34C,i'd agree,but we see 27C fairly often in Alberta,especially if your in the Hat area,lol

 

[ThunderMug95]

I've had better luck with Stant 180's compared to Milodon 180's.The Stant that replaced the Milodon has been in the car for 2.5 years now with no issues

Didnt MotoRad buy them?

 

[ThunderMug95]

Wintery Conditions in Virginia…
Before you ask, yes, I am wearing shorts haha.

 

[Dean2]

I'm up here to,a 180 is livable in the winter,but a 170 or 160 not so much.Although i do know of a couple guys who are running a 160 year round,and one is in Fort Mac,but i also swear he's part grizzly bear,as a 160 in my truck left alot to be desired for heat output at -10C,but the 180 is livable. I ran a 180 in both the wifes last 2 Challengers,i never did tune her 2016,but both easily pull down over 30 mpg,and there was absolutely no change in milege between the stock 203 and 180 thermostats as far as milege goes.MPG has more to do with driving habits then engine temp.I also run a 180 in our untuned 300 in the summer,and there's no change in milege on it either,it'll pull down well over 30 mpg to with a 180.
Not sure about your claim of it rarely gets to 80F,that's only 27C,if you'd said 90F or 34C,i'd agree,but we see 27C fairly often in Alberta,especially if your in the Hat area,lol

Glad the 180s are working for you. When it is -40 and I am doing 120 on the highway, I want a lot more than "livable". Not into wearing parkas and Sorels to drive in.

You are completely right that driving style affect gas mileage more than just about anything else. Idle time also has a huge impact so not having to leave a vehicle idling in cold weather does really help.

We have a 2020 GC with the 5.7 that regularly delivers 30-34 MPG on the highway in the summer, stock 100C thermostat, so I have no trouble believing the Challenger numbers. Winter time however, that same highway trip it usually gets 26-29.

 

[Wild one]

Glad the 180s are working for you. When it is -40 and I am doing 120 on the highway, I want a lot more than "livable". Not into wearing parkas and Sorels to drive in.

You are completely right that driving style affect gas mileage more than just about anything else. Idle time also has a huge impact so not having to leave a vehicle idling in cold weather does really help.

We have a 2020 GC with the 5.7 that regularly delivers 30-34 MPG on the highway in the summer, stock 100C thermostat, so I have no trouble believing the Challenger numbers. Winter time however, that same highway trip it usually gets 26-29.

The change in milege between summer and winter has nothing to do with the thermostat. I throw the stock 203 back in the 300 for the winter.You seem to think a thermostat is a permanent mod,nothing is stopping you from running 2 differant thermostats in a vehicle depending on seasons.Plus swapping a thermostat twice a year,gives you a chance to keep the anti-freeze fresher .

 

[Wild one]

Didnt MotoRad buy them?

That i'm not positive on.The last Stant i bought is going on 3 years ago now.

 

[Dean2]

The change in milege between summer and winter has nothing to do with the thermostat. I throw the stock 203 back in the 300 for the winter.You seem to think a thermostat is a permanent mod,nothing is stopping you from running 2 differant thermostats in a vehicle depending on seasons.Plus swapping a thermostat twice a year,gives you a chance to keep the anti-freeze fresher .

I know the Thermostat has nothing to do with the difference in summer versus winter mileage, that is exactly the point I was making since the stat was the same one.
I fully understand how easy it is to swap T-stats, best I can say is, fill your boots. You obviously see value in still swapping back and forth, I quit doing that 25 years ago. For my purposes the 100C factory stat year round does the job, it obviously doesn't for you. Not something worth spending a lot of time trying to prove one way or the other. Happy New Year. I am out.

 

[Wild one]

I know the Thermostat has nothing to do with the difference in summer versus winter mileage, that is exactly the point I was making since the stat was the same one.
I fully understand how easy it is to swap T-stats, best I can say is, fill your boots. You obviously see value in still swapping back and forth, I quit doing that 25 years ago. For my purposes the 100C factory stat year round does the job, it obviously doesn't for you. Not something worth spending a lot of time trying to prove one way or the other. Happy New Year. I am out.

You started to comment after ThunderMug said the thermostat change was a step towards more modifications on his truck.Little tidbit the majority of tuners reconmend a colder 180 thermostat once you start adding a few mods and tuning it.So maybe you should read the posts a bit better before you comment.

 

[blackbetty14]

Fluctuations are normal, added air could be causing more efficient thermal transfer which the Tstat is opening and closing.

Fun fact about thermostats is the rated temp is not always accurate and it’s best to test the Tstat in a pot of water before installing. I use that method and add salt to the water to increase boiling temp of the water. Then I measure the temp of the water and write down the temp is starts to crack open then write the temp that it’s fully open and then you have an accurate temp range for that specific Tstat. I have purchased 160 and 180 Tstats for multiple engine platforms and I have to test them to set the fan on and off temps accordingly. I had a 160 that didn’t crack open till 170 and wasn’t open till 180. Most 180s I tested opened before 180 slightly but weren’t fully open till around 190.

 

[Mr onetwo]

Stant is no more https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2021/jul/14/vehicle-parts-maker-to-close-after-40-years/ last 2 Motorad tstats had to be returned...defective out of the box.The parts situation is getting pretty grim.

 

[ThunderMug95]

I could very few options for Stants. Every search led me to Motorad. I went with a Summit branded 180. God knows who manufactures that…But its been in for about a month and is functioning properly. Just my feedback for those curious.

 

[Wild one]

I could very few options for Stants. Every search led me to Motorad. I went with a Summit branded 180. God knows who manufactures that…But its been in for about a month and is functioning properly. Just my feedback for those curious.

Is this the one you went with?

Summit Racing SUM-362-180 Summit Racing™ Thermostats | Summit Racing

Free Shipping - Summit Racing™ Thermostats with qualifying orders of $109. Shop Thermostats, Mechanical at Summit Racing.

www.summitracing.com

 

[Mr onetwo]

I think I might try a Gates premium hd from Rockauto

 

[Dean2]

Why mess around, there is little price difference between OEM and these others. At least you know the OEM work and for a long time.

 

[danielmid]

Why mess around, there is little price difference between OEM and these others. At least you know the OEM work and for a long time.

Temp change mostly, and yes there's an entire thread arguing about the effectiveness of that also. I'll be doing the Gates tstat when I do the front end this spring/summer.

 

[Daniel Ortiz]

I've been wondering about that.

Regarding the effect of a thermostat on operating temperatures, my understanding is that they are only there to get the engine up to operating temperatures faster, and that once the engine (and oil and coolant) are heat soaked and all above the thermostat opening temperature, the thermostat is basically out of the equation and it's only the effectiveness of the cooling system (radiator, oil cooler, grille shutters) that have any influence on your engine operating temperature.

How is it that a lower-temperature-opening thermostat lowers your end operating temperature? What am I missing?

 

[danielmid]

I've been wondering about that.

Regarding the effect of a thermostat on operating temperatures, my understanding is that they are only there to get the engine up to operating temperatures faster, and that once the engine (and oil and coolant) are heat soaked and all above the thermostat opening temperature, the thermostat is basically out of the equation and it's only the effectiveness of the cooling system (radiator, oil cooler, grille shutters) that have any influence on your engine operating temperature.

How is it that a lower-temperature-opening thermostat lowers your end operating temperature? What am I missing?

@Wild one can share his exact numbers, but in the Ram the thermostat artificially keeps the engine temp above the equalization point of the cooling system. In a normal engine cooling design your understanding is right on, but Ram decided to spike the temp up a bit for mpg reasons I would imagine.

With the lower temp tstat the engine normalizes lower than the stock tstat allows.

 

[Dean2]

By opening at a lower temperature the coolant circulates through the rad sooner at a lower temp, and thus, assuming you have proper size rad and fan capacity, the engine runs at that lower temp.

 

[Wild one]

I've been wondering about that.

Regarding the effect of a thermostat on operating temperatures, my understanding is that they are only there to get the engine up to operating temperatures faster, and that once the engine (and oil and coolant) are heat soaked and all above the thermostat opening temperature, the thermostat is basically out of the equation and it's only the effectiveness of the cooling system (radiator, oil cooler, grille shutters) that have any influence on your engine operating temperature.

How is it that a lower-temperature-opening thermostat lowers your end operating temperature? What am I missing?

A 180 thermostat will run right around 185F if you have the active grill shutters either removed or the middle slats taken out,while going down the road,even if you don't tune the e-fan to come on earlier,but if you're not going to tune it,leave the stock mechanical fan and shroud in place,and you'll still reap the benefits of the cooler thermostat,whether you do a 180 or 190 thermostat.The trucks have enough cooling capability to run at operating temps even in Death Valley,so you're not at the limit of the rad unless your trying to tow 6,000 lbs of trailer at 70+ mph up a long hill on a hot day

 

[Daniel Ortiz]

@danielmid , I guess I forgot to consider the thermostat goes from fully closed to fully open across a RANGE of temperature. So, say you've been on a highway stretch for an hour, unloaded, and the engine temp is steady at 210 F, the thermostat may still be semi-constricted, thus still in the equation and keeping your temps up. You'd have to know at what temperatures the thermostat (1) starts to open and (2) becomes fully open at.

Huh. It would be interesting to get an old thermostat and run a little experiment on it to see what those two temperatures are. But also completely useless. I'm also just realizing now that water boils at 212 F. That explains why they like to get engine oil up to at least 212 F, to boil off any water that might have made it around the piston rings and built up in the crankcase.