Summer coolant temps?

[Sam Gideon]

Does anyone else have issues with their cooling systems creeping over 185F in summer heat?
I've noticed that in when the ambient temperature goes north of 95F, then my coolant temperature will go to 195-198'ish or so.
Usually it's a rock solid 185F, but I'm just trying to get a read on what's normal and what's a potential cause for alarm with these aftermarket thermostats.

Thanks!

 

[Unholy707]

Stock is a bit over 200. What do you have, a 180 degree thermostat? I see 195 at the top end of the track on a 90 degree day. Are you sitting in traffic? Tuned? Fans running? 195 isn’t too hot. Get to 225 and you have problems. I have a 180 degree, they actually open at 185

 

[Unholy707]

I had a 160 go bad and my temp got to 225. Scary stuff. Was able to get it home and let it cool off. Swapped in a 180 I had and haven’t had problems since, that’s was years ago

 

[1971demon]

I had a 160 go bad and my temp got to 225. Scary stuff. Was able to get it home and let it cool off. Swapped in a 180 I had and haven’t had problems since, that’s was years ago

Musta been...car hasn't run in YEARS

 

[Linda's Hell Cat]

@Sam Gideon What Brand Thermostat are you using?

How is the air-conditioning feeling?


~Linda

 

[Unholy707]

Musta been...car hasn't run in YEARS

Stay in your lane.

 

[Sam Gideon]

Stock is a bit over 200. What do you have, a 180 degree thermostat? I see 195 at the top end of the track on a 90 degree day. Are you sitting in traffic? Tuned? Fans running? 195 isn’t too hot. Get to 225 and you have problems. I have a 180 degree, they actually open at 185

This is good to know and what I was looking for in terms of comparison.
I'm the 2nd owner and bought the vehicle with the parts installed and according to the seller, he had installed a Mishimoto 180.
I only see temps go above 185 when I'm idling in traffic on a particularly hot day or when I'm traveling at 70mph on a hwy with the A/C on a very hot day. The fans definitely turn on as the temps will drop a few degrees when it gets above 185, so it's definitely TRYING to mitigate the temps, I'm just trying to get a better understanding on the hardware and what's considered "normal"

 

[Unholy707]

I would go with an HHP 180 degree thermostat. I put mine in 6 years ago and haven’t ever had any problems. A whipple 160 degree went bad after 4 months and almost cooked my engine. I had to replace the seal around mine when I just cracked the thermostat housing open a few months ago but that’s it, stock size gasket from autozone

 

[Unholy707]

Once the ambient temp outside gets above 95 you’re going to see higher temps with things, not much you can do about it. If it gets to 200 I’d replace it with an HHP unit

 

[Sam Gideon]

@Sam Gideon What Brand Thermostat are you using?

How is the air-conditioning feeling?


~Linda

According to the list of tuning/aftermarket parts given to the dealership by the previous owner, it's a Mishimoto 180. I haven't inspected it myself, but I don't have a reason to suspect otherwise given that under normal conditions, the displayed temp of 185 is indicative of an aftermarket thermostat and PCM tune.
The A/C blows ICE cold when in use, it actually makes me feel kinda bad: here I am sitting in comfort while the poor beast is sweltering. I know that's what it's SUPPOSED to do, but I tend to have an increased amount of mechanical sympathy for my vehicles which is why I never beat on them. There's probably something wrong with me when it comes to the bond I have with my machines....

 

[Sam Gideon]

Once the ambient temp outside gets above 95 you’re going to see higher temps with things, not much you can do about it. If it gets to 200 I’d replace it with an HHP unit

Thank you! I'm going to look into this because I was contemplating replacing the thermostat regardless just so I could know 100% what's under the hood.

The waterpump started failing shortly after I bought it, (possibly due to the mechanical stresses imposed by having both a 2.85 upper and a Ripatuned "Incognito" lower installed) and I replaced the pump with one from HHP.
Everything has been running perfect since then with no leaks or squeaks. (I also had the Incognito removed at the advice of Dusterhoff tuning)

 

[Unholy707]

I’m not sure that anyone has seen any kind of failure due to the incognito. It is fast easy power, but I wouldn’t run one due to the additional weight. I’ve gone back and forth on it. It wouldn’t add anymore mechanical stress to the water pump, but it would spin it faster. Same with the alternator and AC compressor. Curious why he recommended removing it

 

[1971demon]

Stay in your lane.

Why...I'm always a couple hundred yards ahead of you..

 

[Sam Gideon]

I’m not sure that anyone has seen any kind of failure due to the incognito. It is fast easy power, but I wouldn’t run one due to the additional weight. I’ve gone back and forth on it. It wouldn’t add anymore mechanical stress to the water pump, but it would spin it faster. Same with the alternator and AC compressor. Curious why he recommended removing it

The previous owner had built it to run e85, so it had the components installed for that. Since my intention was to only run pump gas, when I sent dusterhoff a log, he advised that the 2 pulley combo would be beyond the limits of pump gas so he advised me to remove the incognito and re tune to be on the safe side.

This was also around the time i stumbled upon some forum post talking about potential mechanical issues with the incognito. Since it does spin the components it's connected to faster than their intended speed, it stands to reason that premature wear might occur. I thought that was interesting and made a mental note of it. Not long after I found a red puddle on my garage floor and saw my waterpump was at fault. (~38k on the odo) Was that because of the pulley? Was it just a shitty oem part that tends to prematurely fail on these things? I'll never know for sure, but I choose to look at it as a "Huh. Well that's definitely interesting..." moment.

My long term goal for the Trackhawk is reliability. I don't race it, hoon it, drag it or do donuts with it. I took out the stupid Eibachs and put new OEM springs back in because the ride was TOTAL shit (especially with the 22" run flats I bought it with) and now I can actually FEEL the dynamic suspension system working as it was intended when cycling the modes on city streets.
Nothing lasts forever and I don't place a lot of faith in American engineering/manufacturing when it comes to cars, so while I do love the Trackhawk, I tend to be a little more cautious when it comes to potential issues when they arise.

 

[Unholy707]

Why...I'm always a couple hundred yards ahead of you..

And you wonder why there’s no members on here. This guy is asking for help. Keep your nonsense on the general threads

 

[Unholy707]

The previous owner had built it to run e85, so it had the components installed for that. Since my intention was to only run pump gas, when I sent dusterhoff a log, he advised that the 2 pulley combo would be beyond the limits of pump gas so he advised me to remove the incognito and re tune to be on the safe side.

This was also around the time i stumbled upon some forum post talking about potential mechanical issues with the incognito. Since it does spin the components it's connected to faster than their intended speed, it stands to reason that premature wear might occur. I thought that was interesting and made a mental note of it. Not long after I found a red puddle on my garage floor and saw my waterpump was at fault. (~38k on the odo) Was that because of the pulley? Was it just a shitty oem part that tends to prematurely fail on these things? I'll never know for sure, but I choose to look at it as a "Huh. Well that's definitely interesting..." moment.

My long term goal for the Trackhawk is reliability. I don't race it, hoon it, drag it or do donuts with it. I took out the stupid Eibachs and put new OEM springs back in because the ride was TOTAL shit (especially with the 22" run flats I bought it with) and now I can actually FEEL the dynamic suspension system working as it was intended when cycling the modes on city streets.
Nothing lasts forever and I don't place a lot of faith in American engineering/manufacturing when it comes to cars, so while I do love the Trackhawk, I tend to be a little more cautious when it comes to potential issues when they arise.

Very nice! What year is it? Sorry if I missed your introduction post. The newer vehicles have quality control issues. My 2015 hasn’t skipped a beat, and I race it/it’s pretty well modified

 

[Sam Gideon]

Very nice! What year is it? Sorry if I missed your introduction post. The newer vehicles have quality control issues. My 2015 hasn’t skipped a beat, and I race it/it’s pretty well modified

It's a 2018 that I bought in '23 with around 36K miles on it, I'm the second owner.
As much as I loved the concept of the Trackhawk, I knew finding a preowned one in good shape would be a challenge. However, when I went to look at this particular one I was actually stunned at its condition so I called my wife and told her I'd be stupid NOT to buy it..... The dealership had a parts list made by the previous owner and put me in contact with him in case I had questions, etc.

It's a ridiculously awesome and stupid vehicle made from 100% pure Unnecessarium, but I adore it and am glad it exists <3
However, I don't have delusions of it being somehow superior in terms of overall quality engineering when compared to other vehicles in its class just because it's got this legendary motor under the hood.
Dodge did put some good R&D into it overall, which I appreciate, but it wouldn't surprise me at all if some components and hardware are prone to failure earlier than normal due to sub-standard engineering or build quality.
(then again, the platform was derived from Mercedes if I remember correctly...)

Anyway, it's my first hellcat and my first American car in over 30 years.
I've only had it for 2 years and I am still learning, so I welcome any and all advice from those who know the platform better than me!

 

[Linda's Hell Cat]

Curt Dusterhoff is who brought E85 Tuning to the Hellcat platform. I think you have the rightTuner to help you with the reversal to pump gas.
Did you also change the injectors?

Have you asked Curt to look at a log from your recent Tune? If there is a problem with the Tstat he will see it.