i have a s4 turbo and when i warm it up. the temp gauge barely moves...is this normal? or is it suppose to mark halfway.

 

Barely moves, like the needle doesnt budge at all? Or barely moves, like gets about an 1/8th inch above the C mark? Halfway is a little hot, you want it to be like 1/3 up on a s4.... or lower than that.

 

mine sits in the blank section right before the line begins at 1/8th. At this temp my car is usually around 165 - 180 degrees. Once mine reaches half way that means turn the car now!! Even half of halfway is getting to hot for mine. A buddy of mine has the same series car, with the same series motor, and a big koyo radiator. His temp hand stays at halfway all day long, so im not sure if they are all different or mine is jacked up. I just got used to the way it reads and went from there.

 

For reference, or not really... my stock gauge at halfway up is around 195f per my haltech/after market water temp gauge. 195 is nothing to worry about, especially when it's not moving up after that. Unless you see it quickly climbing after 6/10 of the way, you shouldn't worry.

 

put in an aftermarket gauge.This will tell you what the actual temps are,rather than the "half way is good" method.
Mazda cheaped out on their gauge cluster,,it is more like the Idiot lights.
and we all know what idiot lights are like,..they Come on AFTER the engine is Toasted!

 

To be fair, the above statement is only valid for the S5 gauge. The poster seems to have an S4 which has a linear gauge. Mine is @ 178* per rTek when the needle is at 1/4 and about 195* @ 1/2.

If your gauge doesn't get over 1/8 you might have a thermostat thats stuck open, which would cause the engine to take much longer to get up to temp. Couple that with the fact that ambient temps are dropping in most parts of the country and perhaps thats the issue....or part of it.

 

well im new to the rotary game, and when i let it warm up it sits about 1/3 or maybe SLIGHTLY lower than that, i was wondering if that was normal for an rx7.

 

for an s4,yes.
But,As I said, If you are looking at a Gauge that says 'C' on one end and 'H' on the other,it is Not telling you Temp In Degrees.
That is why I suggest a Real Temp gauge..one that actually reads temp in Degrees.That way you will have More of an Idea of what Your Engine is Doing/performing like.
Sharingan Mentions he has an RTEK.The Only RTEK that monitors the temp is an RTEK 2.1.
The 2.1 is programmed by Palm pilot,and it allows you to Get "numbers" off of some of the stock sensors and relay it to the Palm pilot for view.

 

Dude, I live in Texas, and with my thermowax (brand new) it still tends to idle high because I have an aftermarket radiator. The cooling configuration is rather efficient stock, and if you upgrade it, it is almost overkill.

I have to really beat the **** out of my engine to get 195*f.

 

^^^ put a turbo on it and see if you have to try so hard....