TravisJB Journal

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(btw, sorry travis for the temporary side-issue technical hijack here) I went ahead and called BAT, who are the US distributors for the Mocal plates, and asked them so I could sort this out for sure. What they told me on the phone was this (for the Mocal thermostatic sandwich plates, who knows about other types/brands):

The passageways that flow to the cooler are always open and unregulated. Separately, there is a bypass passageway that goes straight through to the oil filter. The thermostat slowly closes off the bypass passageway as the temps rise. The temp range for the closing-off action is roughly around 5-10 degrees F, roughly centered on 180. Once the bypass is fully closed off (so roughly around 182-185-ish), all oil flows through the cooler.

On the other side of the temp range (when you're down at anything under 175-178-ish) essentially both paths are wide open, it's just that the bypass is the path of least resistance, so "most" of the oil will take the bypass route. But by leaving the cooler path open with a little flow going through it as well, it helps get the cooler system warmed up too, so it's not a sudden temp-shock transition when you get warmed up and close off the bypass.

He said they sell a model that's set for 200F as well, but that they don't recommend it for car applications, and it's mainly marketed at marine/aviation needs.

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