like Tim sez, the cooling system, including the rad and the water pump, was designed to have that "restriction" in place - in addition, the reason for thermostats is to prevent the engine from running too cool not keep it from running too hot - if you decide you don't want a stat, rip the guts out of one and put the case back in [like a large holed washer] so that restriction is there, in a year round warm climate that is sometimes the practice, at least in Arizona way back it was
the stat stops the water circulation until it reaches the specified temperature, then opens to allow flow, if the rad works too well [or in winter] and the coolant drops below that temp, the stat starts closing again - there should be a fairly close temperature range it will keep the engine running, which is the temp that the engineers determined it works most efficiently, most power with best mileage
and if you hafta sit long enough for it to get to 198, shut it off for that dead time, save the gas
Bill
