OEM Thermostat vs Aftermarket Febi, Motorad, Gates etc

[BristolE30]

Hi guys,

On the hunt for a new thermostat, and just wondering if you think for this part it is worth paying the £70 OEM price vs the £20 aftermarket price? Usually buy BMW parts, but due to the simplicity of this part it has me wondering...

Appreciate any experience or thoughts on the aftermarket ones.

Cheers,

Jo

[Foe]

I used Cotswold on here in the sales section. It was better quality than the one that was in the boot as a spare.
There is that saying, you pay for what you get.
Not sure if it applies to everything, but for the majority.

[Brianmoooore]

The OE thermostat fitted to E30s and the E36 and E34 models was actually one to avoid. They suffered from one side of the bridge piece that holds the wax capsule fracturing, so that the valve closed at an angle, letting coolant though when it should be closed, causing slow warm up and cool running when lightly loaded.

[MyOtherCarIsAnE30]

Hi guys,

On the hunt for a new thermostat, and just wondering if you think for this part it is worth paying the £70 OEM price vs the £20 aftermarket price? Usually buy BMW parts, but due to the simplicity of this part it has me wondering...

Appreciate any experience or thoughts on the aftermarket ones.

Cheers,

Jo

I went with the Febi part and have had no problems, its been on for a year.

[BristolE30]

The OE thermostat fitted to E30s and the E36 and E34 models was actually one to avoid. They suffered from one side of the bridge piece that holds the wax capsule fracturing, so that the valve closed at an angle, letting coolant though when it should be closed, causing slow warm up and cool running when lightly loaded.

That's interesting! Guess that answers this question then. Thanks Brian.

[Steve]

Just to add, the last thermostat I bought, had a tiny ball bearing in it, which made it hell of lot easier to bleed.

Like this one -

[reggid]

wahler brand

[BristolE30]

Went with a Febi one, opened the box and turned out to be a Calorstat. Working well so far.

Old Thermostat looks like this:

What is that stuff!? It’s rock hard.