What Thermostat have you had good luck with?

[Hemi395]

I'm starting this poll because there are so many reports of bad aftermarket thermostats for our trucks. I have seen many posts on here about how a particular thermostat worked well or failed early, but its scattered all over the forum. After talking with a few members on here including @Wild one and @Ken226, I figured I would see if we could compile that info together in one thread.

For me: I have used a Mopar, Motorad 192 briefly, Milodon 180 (discontinued), a Stant 190 (also discontinued and replaced with Motorad 192), and most recently a Calorstat 192. The Mopar thermostat I have had 0 issues with, it just runs too hot for my liking when I'm towing. The Motorad 192 I didn't have issues with either, but I pulled it just because of the many reports of them going bad in the closed position. The Stant 190 was probably the best one I ran. I still have it but pulled it just because it has about 40k on it. The Calorstat 192 I just put in yesterday and it seems to be doing very well. It keeps temps between 192 and 195. @Ken226 has had good luck with this thermostat as well.

I have a Mishimoto 180 and a Mr Gasket 180 I haven't used yet because I've read mixed reviews on both.

There are also restrictor plates out there but I found my truck ran too cool on those.

I think I got all the major brands that are still available on the poll, but if you have another one not listed that works well, please let us know.

 

[Ken226]

I installed a Calorstat 192 in January when I did a coolant flush and new water pump.

Not many miles on it, since I live really close to work.

Plenty of heat up / cool down cycles though. I drive 5 miles to work, so two trips a day, 5 days a week.

So far, so good. If it ever gives trouble, i'll definitely report back here.

 

[Bigskyroadglide]

My stant is still in the truck. About 25k on it

 

[Wild one]

I'm still using the older Gates thermostats,everytime i swap between summer and winter thermostats,i boil them,so they're clean and then stick them in a baggy and seal them up.

 

[Importfighter01]

I did the best rearch I could on this between all forums with Hemi vehicles. Reports are that Motorad has cornered the market on thermostats worldwide now buying up all competitors (even Gates). I can verify my stuck 1 yr old Gates 180 was a rebranded Motorad. One Challenger owner bought 10 different stats to compare, found all were made by Motorad and rebranded, even Mishimoto. The only non-Motorad one was the Mopar 192 stat. I personally found the best option for a 180 deg thermostat was to buy a Motorad-made stat that does NOT use the common Motorad design. Thankfully when Motorad bought and shuttered Stant in Arkansas years back, they kept making that old SuperStat design, but rebranded as the UltraStat: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0CJSHF1X5?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

Happy to report this stat functions more accurately vs the normal Motorad design. Motorad 180 deg non-UltraStat would crack open at 180 and not fully open til 190. The UltraStat cracks open at 170 and fully open at 180. With my efan running on high with AC on, in traffic it stays at 177. Best with old Motorad non-UltraStat was 186. Get the UltraStat and have peace of mind that your are getting a better design / better built / more accurate tstat vs the poor traditional Motorad design. Hope this helps!!

 

[Hemi395]

I did the best rearch I could on this between all forums with Hemi vehicles. Reports are that Motorad has cornered the market on thermostats worldwide now buying up all competitors (even Gates). I can verify my stuck 1 yr old Gates 180 was a rebranded Motorad. One Challenger owner bought 10 different stats to compare, found all were made by Motorad and rebranded, even Mishimoto. The only non-Motorad one was the Mopar 192 stat. I personally found the best option for a 180 deg thermostat was to buy a Motorad-made stat that does NOT use the common Motorad design. Thankfully when Motorad bought and shuttered Stant in Arkansas years back, they kept making that old SuperStat design, but rebranded as the UltraStat: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0CJSHF1X5?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

Happy to report this stat functions more accurately vs the normal Motorad design. Motorad 180 deg non-UltraStat would crack open at 180 and not fully open til 190. The UltraStat cracks open at 170 and fully open at 180. With my efan running on high with AC on, in traffic it stays at 177. Best with old Motorad non-UltraStat was 186. Get the UltraStat and have peace of mind that your are getting a better design / better built / more accurate tstat vs the poor traditional Motorad design. Hope this helps!!

Is this on a Challenger forum?

Interesting, I have a Motorad 203 Ultrastat that does look like its built decently. Let us know if you end up having any issues with the 180 Ultrastat.

 

[ramffml]

I bought the Stant 48798 and had it installed 2 years ago. It's a 180, and my coolant temps are pinned to 185 summer or winter, unless I get caught in stop and go or pulling a trailer but when there is enough airflow it holds 185.

 

[Hemi395]

Its crazy to me that there are so many issues with wax type thermostats in 2025. These have been around for decades and its a simple mechanical design.

But yet here we are with crappy thermostats.

 

[EdGs]

Too much Chinesium perhaps?

 

[RedSRT4Me]

I've had 2 180 degree thermostat go bad on me. One just recently. They only seem to last about 3 years. I'll have to dig for receipts on which brands they were. Not to happy with them.

 

[mdc1990zr1]

I've had 2 180 degree thermostat go bad on me. One just recently. They only seem to last about 3 years. I'll have to dig for receipts on which brands they were. Not to happy with them.

I've had good luck with Stant units that were made in the USA in the past. GM OEM are usually made in Israel or India and I've had good luck with them. If you can get a thermostat made in USA, Israel or India you should be good. I'm sure they may be re-branded as a NAPA or some other box.

 

[Hemi395]

Calorstat says its made in France. Not my first choice, but it has to be better than Chinesium.

 

[srv1]

Stant 190 from rock auto 6 yrs. ago,still doing it's job,knock on wood.

 

[Sam patterson]

Cummins OEM 12 yrs 200,000 miles

 

[Sam patterson]

Can you sell oem stuff here ?

 

[Hemi395]

Stant 190 from rock auto 6 yrs. ago,still doing it's job,knock on wood.

Man, I wish I had bought 10 of those Stant 190s when they were available...

 

[Hemi395]

First time towing with the Calorstat 190. VERY impressed with it so far. This is the hottest my truck got after pulling a long grade up a mountain. Outside temp was about 80F.

 

[Burla]

First time towing with the Calorstat 190. VERY impressed with it so far. This is the hottest my truck got after pulling a long grade up a mountain. Outside temp was about 80F.

View attachment 569971

Thanks Corey, simply amazing. There are so many lies about thermostats. look at trans temp, eventhough trans is higher meaning working harder, engine oil and coolant temps down. All you did was tune fan start temp and add a t stats? And this is towing heavy. Should be a sticky.

You got to post other test picture of old temps.

 

[Hemi395]

Sorry cell service is terrible where I am now i could only upload 1 pic per post. Here's a screen shot of what it was in April in Virginia on flat highway. It was 90 out then vs 80 yesterday but I doubt 10 degrees made this much of a difference. This was with the Mopar 203 tstat.



Mods since then are the Calorstat 190 tstat, used OEM honecomb grill, and lowered efan temps using HP Tuners.

 

[Burla]

As you can see the oil psi is a nothing burger, just represents his speed he took the pic at. Clearly eventhough working harder better temps.