Temp. guage, most say not to trust the temp guage as an accurate reading. So I agree.

I was driving it pretty hard this week (As well as a fellow member here, No7Yet) ... anytime we pushed it hard, it would increase in temp FAIRLY fast. Although, at idle, it will stay reasonably low where it is suppose to be...

Is it one of the few I have in mind...

1. bad thermostat
2. bad temp guage (and if so, should I get a aftermarket one, as well as the others)
3. fan is not working as well as it's suppose to?(switch to elec. fan instead of stock fan?)

Or?

Just like yesterday at the autox..It was fine, but when I got on it hard it would heat up pretty fast. Especially after one incident at the autox, when I spun out but just before I spun, the temp was increasing - and stalled after I spun...but when I turned it back on, and went in the pits, it was decreasing back to normal...

Hm, it's kinda worrying me, I REALLY don't want to blow my motor or anything like that....

 

have you properly bled the air out of the system? s4 you use the upper rad cap, s5 there is a plug on radiator
I'd try doing that first. I'd also change the coolant and flush it good.

I dont think it is thermostat, but replace it w/ mazda one if you would even consider it to be the problem.

Water pump cavitation only happens for extended high rpm running (from what i understand), but underdrive pulleys might help.

As far as the fan goes, it should be harder to turn it when the engine is warm. Thats what the clutch in it is for. If it doesnt do that, then maybe an electric one would be a good idea.

 

What’s with all the cooling problems recently? Oh wait, Northern Hemisphere summer... Possibly; replace it anyway, it’s cheap. Mazda only! Probably not, but an aftermarket one is never a bad idea. Autocrossing is fairly low speed stuff, so maybe. Is there any difference between the resistance of the fan’s clutch when hot or cold? If not, it’s stuffed and needs to be replaced. An electric fan won’t cool any better than the stock one, but does have some other advantages.

Does it get warm when you drive it hard at speed? Do some WOT 3rd gear pulls (say 50-80mph) one after the other and see if the temp rises. If it does, it’s probably a blocked radiator of corroded water pump.

 

my 2 cents: first check the tension of your fan belt, then replace your thermostat with a factory one. if those don't fix it give me a call, if you still have my number.

 

Ok, had Brian Smith (Sledgehammer) drive my car last night - as predicted from the advise of NZ'Vert.. redlining it from 1, 2, to 3rd gear, it heated up pretty quickly. We went back to his place.. and he checked under the hood in necessary places. Said the belts were somewhat loose, and checked the fan. If I remember correctly, he did mention to get another fan.. cause it could be the problem...

I'll do that , but my first question is, should I replace the fan belt, factory thermostat.. and see if that takes care of the problem?

and josh, I need your number again, as it got washed with a few things in the dryer.

 

do the cheap stuff first (ie the belts) then if thatdoesnt fix it take another look and go from there. But always do the cheap stuff first. May get lucky.