DmcL

thinking of fitting an aftermarket stat in my 06 WRX and have just googled 3 potentials and wondering if anyone has experience with any of these.

1 - Tridon high flow 77c
2 - ZeroSports 72c
3 - Cosworth 68c

the car is a daily driver with minimal mods at present and made 256bhp/262lbft a couple months ago on a dyno. only mods at present are panel filte and 3" catback but will be adding more in future as well as tuning of some sort. i know an aftermarket stat is not necessary at the stage im at but it would add a little extra peace of mind and is something cheap-ish that i can fit now and forget about.

the cheapest seems to be the tridon, followed by zerosports then at a fair bit more you have the cosworth stat (im thinking part of the bigger price difference is the name alone).

i know with a cooler stat you can have longer warm up times as well as reading that some people find temps are a bit on the low side when driving normally over about 60mph or so.

given the price and the fact that it opens at standard temp id be inclined to go for the tridon high flow stat as it supposedly opens at standard temp but flows 30% more when open to aid cooling without the drawback of a lower temp stat.

what im wanting to know is am i right in thinking the tridon stat would be my best option (assuming its not a gimmick and doesnt flow more then standard) for a DD with plans to increase power to something betwen 300-350bhp if not more further down the line. second to the tridon id think the zerosports 72c stat would be the next best option as its also not too expensive and isnt too far below the standard temp whereas the cosworth 68c stat seems like it would be geared more towards an engine seeing track driving and/or with big power generating additional heat.

anyone any first hand experience with all or any of these 3 stats?

JDM_Stig

iTrader: (3)

Ive always found these to be a waste of time, something to spend your cash on when your bored,
Once your car is up to temp your stat opens, if your driving the car it isnt opening and closing to keep it at a precise temp, its open and flows water, so I just dont see what you gain besides a colder heater matrix for longer when you first drive it.

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

Agree with the above.
The idea of the stat is MAINLY to get the engine up to temperature as quickly as possible. If it sticks open, the engine never really gets warm enough and will run rich.

DmcL

yea i get that but once the engine making heat either due to hard running/hot temps or both extra cooling ability would prevent temps from rising further if there is more heat being generated than what the standard cooling system can remove from the system.

this is why im thinking mainly about the tridon stat as it opens at the standard temp but will flow more when it is open so it wont affect warm up times and shouldne over cool the engine like in some scenarios with a lower temp stat.

53

iTrader: (41)

Mine ran 10 degrees cooler across the range with the Zerosports fitted. Gone for the Cosworth with my new car If you monitor temps you can see the difference.

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

But do you want it to? Isn't the engine set up to run at the higher temeratures?

And, out of interest, what were you monitoring, water temperature, or engine (oil) temperature?

DmcL

id bet he was checking water temp.. the engine as standard owuld be set to run the temp it normally runs but once u get into modding and start doing things to increase power and subsequently heat then cooling upgrades start being needed.

given that any actual evidence of the cause of ringland failure on the EJ's seems to stem from combustion chamber temps climbing too high either by driving too hard, sustained high speed driving where the TMIC becomes ineffective or bad tuning/mods leading to knock/det. all of those scenarios harp back to rising combustion chamber temps and this is precisely why im looking at thermostats sooner rather than later because im not quite up for forged internals yet nor do i have the money for them if the engine went bang so im looking at higher flow or cooler stats as a preventative measure. on the flip side though i dont want a stat that allows the engine to run too cool either as that can have its drawbacks as well..

so on that bombshell i would rule out the cosworth stat from the start for what i want as it would be lower than necessary and have more potential drawback than the other two i mentioned, also its f-in expensive compared to the other two as well. im just not sure if i would be better opting for the standard temp but higher flowing when open tridon stat or for the zerosports stat which will run a little cooler but 6 degrees probably wont have much if any negatives.