Unsure if the Mishimoto has the oem type housing.. but I highly recommend staying away from the non oem housing stats. The gaskets will fail... just a matter of time. I went back to the factory tstat until a proper solution is offered.. Can't remember which brand this is but its a 180 degree unit bought from BTR. Unsure which brand they carried.

 

Nashville area tuner...
DBR Performance in Spring Hill, TN. David Brandon is the owner. Just celebrated their 10th anniversary and their shop is first class all the way including their hub dyno.

 

Getting a good 180 stat is most important. setting the fans duty cycle, 20% at 192 degrees, 30% at 197, 40% at 200 etc adding 10 % at each increment setting until you reach 90% or 89.9 per the diablo tuner. If you drain your radiator, you will only get 6 or 7 quarts out, refill with straight water ( I collect rain) and a good water wetter. The only bitch is for the cold months you will need to reinstall antifreeze.

 

The Mishimoto gasket/housing is just like the OEM. All the others I have seen are like the one you have shown. You are right that the others will fail. Two years in, the mishimoto is working fine.

BJ67: Why add antifreeze in the winter? The amount of antifreeze left in the system will protect it to below zero. I don't know about you but I don't leave my Vette outside for long periods of time in weather that cold. My garage stays above 50, always, and when you're driving the engine will stay hot. No need for antifreeze which doesn't cool as well as water.

 

Just to finish out my thoughts on my car running hotter than I liked...from all the research I've done on my 2014 Stingray it seems that the thermostat temp activation on the 2014 is higher than than the 2015 and up. Some additional info I found, that appears to back this up is at my local Autozone, which offers complete housing/tstat replacements. While I don't ever plan on using Autozone parts on my car, I did find that the part number for the 2014 is different from the part number for 2015 and up. Physical appearance of the 2 parts is identical. The only difference appears to be activation temp. The 2014 part number has a 207 degree activation, while the 2015 and up part number has a 194 activation temp. While this alone would not affect the temp the engine will climb to in traffic, it would run cooler going down the road. (I know that a thirteen degree difference is not a lot, but it is enough to show up on the temp gauge as running cooler) This would also explain, to me anyway, why I've seen a few guys with '14 models that say their cars seem to run a little hotter than the guys who have other year models. I have decided to go with a tune (as soon as my warranty expires) to change my fan parameters- like BJ67 noted in his post. This along with a cooler than the factory 207-212 degree T-stat, that is in the 2014 model, will get my engine running the temps that I want it to. Plus, with my warranty out anyway, I could add the cat-less Borla X-pipe (60547) to go along with my Corsa Exhaust when I get it tuned !!! Thanks to the Forum for all the input.

 

 

Sorry to hear that Tariq. The photo you posted doesn't look like the Mishimoto I have. The easiest way to tell is the huge gasket that wraps around the outside edge. This alone wouldn't account for the failure, I just don't think you got a Mishimoto. Maybe it's an earlier version? They have a lifetime warranty . You could get a new one and possibly it would be the updated version?

 

 

Use a 2015 and up factory stat which is 194 degrees

 

I did install the new style (looks like the OEM) Mishimoto in my 2014 Factory Tstat housing. I have not had any issues, yet. It has been in for about a month now.I did also get a factory AC Delco Tstat for a 2015 and up which is supposed to activate at only 194 degrees. My car ran the exact same 220 degrees all the time, and climbed to around 235 with the A/C on in traffic before the fan went to high speed.

 

Thanks BJ67, I did get that 2015 up Tstat and try it. I saw no change in engine temps. I got all the service records with my car and it was not changed prior to me getting the car. So, it should have been the higher temp. I know the previous owner and he told me it was never changed also. I tried several different 180 bulbs to swap into my factory housing and they would not seat properly (wouldn't sit level due to the base of the factory housing having a beveled bottom edge and all the 180 bulbs I found had flat bases). It made the "stem" on the bulb sit up to high and crooked. It wouldn't close all the way and I was afraid it wouldn't open properly. I went ahead and bought the Mishimoto. We'll see how long it lasts.

 

I had the Summit stat with the rubber ring around the edge of the plate for about a year and half and no issues. But you can easily see that the large spring in the housing that sits against the stat plate could catch the edge of the rubber seal a cut it up or rip it off entirely.

So I switched out to a Mishimoto stat but I replaced the bulb with a transplanted 170 bulb from another stat. No big issues doing that. Seemed to hold up well for the last year or so. I was not aware that Mishimoto changed their design along the way. Not sure if I got the new one or the old one.

 

 

Streetk14, Thanks for showing the pics of your bad stat. I hope I end up being one of the guys that doesn't have problems with the Mishimoto. What billet housing did you use? I see you used a LS3 stat-I didn't see anything on the Lingenfelter sight that fit the 2014 up. What was the Lingenfelter part number that you used? I would like to know all this in case I have a problem with the Mishimoto. Any pictures you have of the LS3 stat in that billet housing would be great. Thanks Again!

 

Mishimoto "makes" [sells] garbage and has for years. This is nothing new. They started off as a company just slapping a badge on Chinese knockoff parts for the import market and apparently nothing much has changed.

 

 

 

Sweet setup. I will look them up if/when my Mishimoto craps out on me. I think I would go with the 174 also. My 160 actually seems a little cool. My tach takes a while to show its warmed up. Thanks again!

 

I bought one of the early Lingenfelter 180 stats and when the rubber seal failed, I switched the bulb into my OE stat two years ago and its still working perfectly. I still have the OE 90c (194degree) bulb.