just ordered the fluidyne rad and replacing the junk stocker. cant wait to see lower temps. think im gonna go with the greddy smic. what you guys think about that setup. also i talked to a guy in cali today who is running 100% distilled water in his cooling system...no coolant seems a little scary to me. anyway let me know what you think.

thanks

 

The all out drag cars around here run 100% distilled water. It is very cool, but the reason why you would want at least a little bit of coolant in your system, especially a street car, is that it protects all the metals inside your motor and radiator. 80% water/20% coolant is great for the summer.
Evan

 

thats what i was thinkin 80/20 sounds about right. it seems like if lower temps is what im looking for then a smic would be the way to go also

 

anybody else have any suggestions on this setup

 

I suggest that you remove the radiator by taking it out from under the car. That way you won't have to bend any of your AC lines.

 

I would suggest 40/60 (40 water 60 coolant) just to protect your motor.

 

water damages the seals because of ions. distilling the water removes these ions.

 

I thought the coolant also acted as a lube of some sort for the water pump?

Also- You wont neccissarily see lower temps by just upgrading your radiator. The stockers work fine, untill the plastic end tanks crack. If your having an overheating issue you should try other methods to solve it first, like making sure your ducting isnt letting any air past, and your fans are working..

-Ben

 

Bad idea. Coolant does not transfer heat as well as water. You only need enough coolant to lube the water pump and to prevent freezing. Most FDs will be perfectly fine running 80/20 or 75/25 water to coolant.

 

75/25 here. Well, 50/50 right now while I'm diagnosing problems, but normally 75/25.

 

Look at an open motor that used only distilled water or very little coolant. The coolant inhibits rust, if the passages began to rust and crap builds up it will eat up the seal sooner or later. A rebuilder down here as showed me more than 5 pics of engines he's had to rebuild because of this exact problem.

 

They used tap water in the cooling system most likely. Using distilled water and 80/20 coolant will not promote corrosion in the coolant passages.

 

honestly though how much "cooler" you going to run by adding a greater margin of safety with more coolant? 5 degrees? if that maybe 10? I mean Im not talking about making it DARK green but just enough to smell and help the system. It is possible they used tap water, yet from what I understand if you use distilled water, the lack of minerals in the water cause it to eat (not corrode) the passages.

 

No, that will not happen. Almost EVERY experienced FD owner is running 75/25 or so with no problems. The owner's manual even has specs for a 60/40 mix. Most motors don't make it much past 80k anyway, I'd rather minimize the risks of overheating, especially during track use.

 

For track Id be the first one to run 100% distilled but for everyday I would mix it up a bit because you should not be seeing track conditions everyday.