I love all the brain storming guys! Thanks.
A reminder of my specific circumstances though. This car will be fairly modified by the time I get to this modification.
Car:
- 1993 Toyota Tercel
- 1.5L gas engine with an insulated block for super fast warm up
- modified 5 speed transmission
Trans Oil:
- Synthetic 75W-90. I'm not willing to test different oils due to using a modified transmission. I don't want to toast it.
Other:
- I will be using a 1000W block heater at home.
- The car will likely be equipped with an electric water pump. This allows me to turn the pump on when plugged in to preheat the trans using the block heater as a trans heater.
- Other methods of warming up the car faster are being considered (using exhaust heat, etc.)
I love the simplicity of a wax thermostat. The only thing I'd worry about is overheating the transmission. It wasn't designed to have 180F coolant being pumped into it. It doesn't have active cooling. Thus, I'd like to have a way of stopping the coolant flow once the trans gets up to 180F or so. Also, remember most of my trips in the car will be under 10 miles, but the car also has to be able to go on trips of much more than that and at freeway speeds.
For those with an automatic trans, this would probably work perfectly though as the trans cools itself via the radiator anyways. You'd just let the trans soak up the heat before it gets to the radiator.