[2018ZL1]

Originally Posted by travislambert

Absolutely! Be sure to check your car and order the studs if you need them.

Many of the 6th Gen Camaros come with the studs from the factory. I've owned four 6th Gen Camaros. Three of the four came with the studs in the thermostat housing. I'm not sure why some have them and some don't, but that's the reality of it.

The OEM studs are somewhat expensive for what they are. To include the studs with every kit would unnecessarily inflate the price. By offering the studs separately, it helps to keep the base cost lower.

That's interesting! I did look them up and was kinda shocked at how much they were!

[TurboC3]

Originally Posted by travislambert

I know this thread is a little old, but here's a nice guard solution to protect the thermostat housing in the event of a supercharger belt failure.

https://www.udaddy.com/products/gen-...-housing-guard

Attachment 1153239

Thank you, just ordered one! Much better option for me.

[Caerus]

Originally Posted by travislambert

I know this thread is a little old, but here's a nice guard solution to protect the thermostat housing in the event of a supercharger belt failure.

Thanks again for bringing this up. Nice solution for a potential problem. My ZL1 has studs, so really easy install.

[travislambert]

Originally Posted by 2018ZL1

That's interesting! I did look them up and was kinda shocked at how much they were!

The biggest issue is volume. Over the life of a product, you might only sell 100 of somethinglike this. You have to be careful not to compare the pricing to something that is mass-produced. Not to mention, literally everything cost so much more to make now vs just 4 years ago.

Places that offer CNC machining charge a premium for small batches because it takes so long to setup tooling paths, etc. A volume of 100 gets the price down quite a bit, but yeah, it's still expensive. There's also the risk when you have 100 made that you might only sell a portion of them.

[ZLRob]

I think the guard being sold is a cool solution to a potential issue without a doubt, but running a plastic housing as a whole like the factory outfitted these cars to do is an impending issue as a whole which should be dealt with.

I prefer a billet unit offer a plastic because billet won't crack the same way a plastic one would under normal driving conditions and especially under track usage.

[Broooster]

Originally Posted by ZLRob

I think the guard being sold is a cool solution to a potential issue without a doubt, but running a plastic housing as a whole like the factory outfitted these cars to do is an impending issue as a whole which should be dealt with.

I prefer a billet unit offer a plastic because billet won't crack the same way a plastic one would under normal driving conditions and especially under track usage.

Billet housing in the future, once my warranty expires. This guard should work great until then. I would hate to give GM a stupid reason to void warranty work because of a different thermostat, and you know they would try.

[travislambert]

Personally, I was nervous about using an LS-based aluminum housings on an LT-engine. The geometry is quite a bit different and I've heard of folks having issues with their thermostats after installing them. I haven't seen it personally, but the guys at Katech have and they don't use the aluminum LS housings on LTs anymore. I've had multiple engines built by Katech. They explained the details of the LS-LT thermostat mismatch issue to me, but honestly I don't recall exactly what they said, and I don't want to misquote them.

If someone would make an aluminum LT thermostat housing, that could be a cleaner end result than the guard but more effort to install. The guard solves the problem and maintains the OEM thermostat. To me that's a win-win, but to each their own.

[XXX ZL1]

Here is my Too High PSI billet housing. Top notch unit.

[arpad_m]

Originally Posted by travislambert

I know this thread is a little old, but here's a nice guard solution to protect the thermostat housing in the event of a supercharger belt failure.

https://www.udaddy.com/products/gen-...-housing-guard

Thank you for the tip, Sir. I ordered one and will post about my experience. Had to order the studs, too, because my thermostat housing came with bolts instead of studs...

[mlee]

Originally Posted by travislambert

...

[ZLRob]

Originally Posted by travislambert

Personally, I was nervous about using an LS-based aluminum housings on an LT-engine. The geometry is quite a bit different and I've heard of folks having issues with their thermostats after installing them. I haven't seen it personally, but the guys at Katech have and they don't use the aluminum LS housings on LTs anymore. I've had multiple engines built by Katech. They explained the details of the LS-LT thermostat mismatch issue to me, but honestly I don't recall exactly what they said, and I don't want to misquote them.

If someone would make an aluminum LT thermostat housing, that could be a cleaner end result than the guard but more effort to install. The guard solves the problem and maintains the OEM thermostat. To me that's a win-win, but to each their own.

I don't see how geometry is an issue on the thermostats so I'd really like to hear what Katech has to say about that. I used an AC Delco factory GM 186* thermostat on initial install and it has been working just stellar ever since. I just made sure coolant was up to level, vehicle comes up to temperature proper temperature, and fans are working and everything just works.

If people have been having issues it most likely has been due to thermostat brand issues because I believe a lot of people use Motorad and similar knock off brands those have been known to be made with inferior components and be faulty right out of the box. All for the sake of trying to run a 160* or 170* temperature which is why I went factory Corvette temperature on mine from the LS7.

[arpad_m]

Originally Posted by arpad_m

Thank you for the tip, Sir. I ordered one and will post about my experience. Had to order the studs, too, because my thermostat housing came with bolts instead of studs...

So I installed this guard today, see the pictures below. Easiest installation ever despite having to replace my bolts with studs I ordered with the guard. Fitment is absolutely perfect and the part looks OEM. Another potential bullet dodged

(Yes, my engine bay isn't clean. I'll take care of that later.)

[travislambert]

Here is my ZL1 1LE with the thermostat guard. The engine has the Magnuson 2650 with a 92mm upper pulley (slightly larger than the standard 90mm upper pulley).