when iam driving around my FD i get anywhere from 92 to 99 c and then seems to hang around 95. I was going to change my thermostat, just wondering if i should just get the stock one? or the will the ralliart one fit on our car? or is there any aftermarket one i can get that opens earlier. I figure with that changed since i have the koyo radiator i should be fine. I was also planing on doing the fan switch mod, but i have a power fc so i guess i will wait until i tune the car to mess with the fans then. Also last question about the underbelly, it seems that my koyo which is behind my greddy front mount is not geting enough air. I looked all around and dont really see where it would get air from, it seems that the underbelly would block any air coming from under the car. On here it seems most people say it helps air get to the radiator. is that true? I dont know the last time the thermostat was changed, cause i forgot to ask the owner. So i figure i would do that anyway and see if it changes things.

 

bump, is the petit one good? Sorry for the questions, i just got my FD...and iam scared shitless. I Love the car so much, and i really dont wanna do anything without asking you guys first.

 

Its a consensus from most people here that if your going to change your thermostat go OEM ONLY.

 

There really is no reason for an FD thermostat to "open earlier". Once your coolant has reached proper operating temps for the engine, your cooling system does the rest. Opening the thermostat earlier will have no meaningful effect on your engine's running temps.

 

iam going by mazda and grabbing one. Now another noobie qestion, i searched the and looked at the manuel and cant find anything on how to change the thermostat. I mean i have done it on other cars i owned, but this is my first rx7 and i wanna be extra carefull. Can you guys point me in the right direction?

 

Page E-14 of the workshop manual or you can search here. It's pretty easy to do, there was a thread about it a couple of weeks ago.

https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generation-specific-1993-2002-16/thermostat-removal-560841/

 

ya i just changed my rad to koyo today cant tell too much difference as my fans dont go off wen they are suppose to it sucks ***!! my fans go on and off for bout split second and then stay on and then go off by the time fan comes on again my temps r like near 100Celius i got figure out whats causing this any1 know? sorry to jack the thread!! anywayz ya its pretty easy to change t-stat

 

i guess do the fan switch, or set it up through your pfc if you have one. That really helps. But i mean when iam driving my car it doesnt really get up to 100c its always like around 95 or 93...somtimes goes up to 98 but just for a few secs. From what i found from looking around, the fans kick in at like 105c. So i really think after changing my tstat i should see like 85 to 90 c. We will see, ill be doing it in a few days.

 

ya i think i ll change my theromswitch today

 

Don't forget to set the thermostat so that the jiggle pin is in the 12 o'clock position. This allows air to flow through making it easier to burp.

Oh, and I hope you bought a new gasket for the tstat too.

 

So let me get this straight. If you have a PowerFC you can program when the fans come on?
Does this totally take the place of putting in the FC thermoswitch then?

 

I believe you have to have a datalogic in order to change when the fans come on.

 

i went right to autozone and they had 2 thermostats available 1 was stock replacement the other was a stock replacement but opened earlier so i got the 1 that opened earlier and everything worked perfect

 

ya you need the datalogic to make the fans turn on earlier. So when you go get the car tuned, thats when you have them set that for you. Unless you have 500 bucks to spend on the program. I know people who the did the fan mod on other cars and burned up there wiring. So dont try it unless you are sure of what your doing. Thats why i have not done it yet. So do i have to burp the system after i put in the tstat?

 

Yeah, you'll probably lose quite a bit of coolant so you'll have to fill and burp.

 

Please don't use a non-OEM thermostat. I've heard of quite a few people who overheated soon after installing parts-store brand thermostats.

-s-

 

do you guys think i should just flush the coolant while iam at it?

 

If it's two or more years older, go ahead and flush it.

 

i didnt ask the guy how long its been since he did it, so i figure ill just flush it out. So the best mix should be 70/30? and should i use distilled water?

 

Yes! Use distilled water always. All the minerals and stuff that tap/spring water has is gone from distilled water. And that stuff will solidify in your rad and cooling system over time. Wouldn't hurt to add a water pump lube too while you're at it. As for the mixture ratio.... That's subject to debate but I would think 70/30 would be fine in SoCal.