What % of water and cooland do you run? I have heard 45/55 all the way to 30/70 coolant to water mixtures.
Some people swear by water wetter also ans others claim its a waste of money.
I was just wondering Mainly how do you keep your fd cool? And any trick to help do so.

 

i have a 50/50 mix right now. i havn't bought a alum. rad. yet but i'll be going to water wetter when i do. also use the search there are tons of threads about which is better.

 

%100 Evans zero pressure (it's a choice thing)

 

For what kind of driving? Street or road course?

If it's just for street driving; first thing is to make sure your cooling system is actually working properly. i.e. make sure your caps are sealing good, the cooling system is burped, the thermostat is functioning properly, the hoses are in good condition, radiator fans are coming on at the proper times, etc...

Next, replace the AST and radiator with good aluminum ones. It won't necessarily help with better cooling (unless the fins on your stock radiator are all torn up), but it will reduce the possibility of the stock plastic parts from cracking due to heat and age.

Block up the sides around the radiator to make sure that air cannot escape around it. Lastly, don't stick a FMIC in front of it unless it's something like the Apexi which sits high enough to create some custom ducting underneath it to bring air directly to the radiator.

 

My tips (all my opinion here...not the end all or anything)
- Good cap (13 psi or 16 psi if you feel like pushing it with conventional coolant)
- New Mazda T-stat
- NPG-R coolant
- remove the AST (get a 94-95 T-stat housing with an FC bolt-on neck)
- Koyo radiator
- Seal everything around the radiator with medium density foam
- Check the undertray and seal up any spots where air can escape
- Get control of the fans somehow and turn them on at 97-98C (I use a PFC and datalogit)
- Re-wire the fans so that they go straight to high at the specified temp
- Big oil coolers with a T-stat (I run dual 34 row RE coolers)
- Get oil and water temp gauges to keep tabs on everything
- Stick with a SMIC

Other reccomendations that may/should work but I haven't tried:
- Vented hood
- Remove the fog lights of you have them
- Get the "shark mouth" mod to open up the front end


I'm sure there's more reccomendations that that but that's all I have off the top off my head. I know some people will disagree with my reccomendations but I can give you some reasoning for the controversial things. NPG-R is a personal thing. That's been beat to death. I can add that NPG-R is thinner than NPG+ so it's a little closer to conventional coolant in viscosity. I would only remove the AST if I was running NPG of some sort. Once you burp NPG you're not going to get any bubbling/air in the system so there's really no reason to have an AST. I've had no issues since I got rid of my AST. Personally, knowing that the stock T-stat isn't full open until 95C I would never turn my fans on at 86-87C like some people do. It's just wearing out the fan motors and robbing you of HP. There's no reason to be concerned with temps until you hit 96C...especially with NPG. As far as re-wiring the fan control system for "high only" goes that's one of the best mods I've done. When the coolant temp hits 207-208F its very settling to hear the fans crank up and see the temp drop like a stone within a minute or so. When its 105+F outside low speed was completly useless and medium wasn't good for a whole lot more. Like I said...awesome mod...should have done it a long time ago. Big oil coolers are nice to have. Some people say the 34 rows are complete overkill but I still see hot oil temps (185-190F) in stop and go. Hey...I'm better off that I would be without them! Plus I can run 5W-30 year around since the oil stays cool. The SMIC thing is just insurance. If you get a FMIC with the right core design (and duct it properly) the IC core will flow enough to keep the radiator in business. Problem is making sure the core you get flows well. Some of them flow horribly. A SMIC is just the simple answer. I have an ASP medium and charge air temps are still pretty good. Last night they were about 84F when it was 66F outside. That's with the IAT in the stock location.

 

In texas i use a 1/4 dexcool coolant with 3/4 water and one bottle of redline water wetter

 

^why do you run dexcool? thats gm antifreeze?

where do you get npg?

 

Ummmmmmmmmmm I believe NPG is the Evan's coolant, they have several types. Jack

 

Mine is just a mostly stock street driven R1 (dual OEM oil coolers). This past summer, even after getting into boost on a 100+ deg day, I never saw above 205 F., which quickly dropped at cruising....
Miata (now FC) thermoswitch
Flushed and fresh 50/50 green stuff added with distilled water
Fluidyne radiator
Alum. AST
Foam in the gaps on the sides of radiator/AC condensor
About once a year or so I also try to comb out any bent fins on the coolers and take care to keep everything clean.
FWIW: related to cooling, but mostly for underhood temps I've also done the 'Fan Mod" and wrapped my DP.

 

Trick i found, pull of the weather stripping at the back of the hood. No water can get it, and all the heat goes out. I lost 7 degrees because of it. Try it.

 

The base of the windsheild/back of the hood should be a high pressure area. How would that vent from under the hood?

 

This is true, wasn't going to say anything but I have to admit he's the first person to ever show a decrease in temerature (7 degree's is peanuts) for a decrease, might give it a place to go when parked though.

 

I use a meziere water pump

temps stick around 80-85deg. cel boosting.

 

Have you got any pictures of this setup ? ? ? I so want to do this but hated all the stuff it messed with to mount it. Jack

 

you live in MO? what kind of heat problem are you having exactly? 50/50 is fine for street driving. are you tracking the car? i use water wetter, cant say it helps, cant say it doesnt.

if you are racing you might consider an upgraded oil cooler. im sure you already have a large radiator right?

 

????

 

http://www.evanscooling.com/

 

so how easy is it to switch to evens? And has anyone ever ran into problems using it?
The info on the web site just kinda sounded like an infomercial, saying how nothing on earth is better ect. I have just never heard anything about it so im kinda leary. any feed back on this product would be great.
Also who all carrys evans coolant (besides evens web site)?

 

Yeah...I've gotta admit, their site is "infomercial-like."

You've got to make sure you get all the old water out of the system before you switch. Good idea is to buy their "prep fluid" which absorbs the water but it's $25 a gallon (and you need 3). Another (cheap) option is to fill the car with straight coolant (no water) and drive it for a few days carefully. Use regular green antifreeze if you're going to NPG-R and for NPG+ use "Sierra" brand antifreeze. The antifreeze will absorb whatever water is in the system and the left-overs will be compatable with the NPG.

Expect slightly higher temps with the NPG...in the neighborhood of 1-4C. When its under 70-75F my car still runs 85-86C when moving so it's not a huge difference if you live where its moderate temps. You'll see the increase more when its hot out...like 90+F. Really nothing to get excited about though when you think about the massive amount of overhead you gain. One major pitfall is if you don't duct your radiator properly the NPG will point it out in the form of MUCH higher coolant temps. I learned that the hard way on my Stealth. Another thing to keep in mind is the hot expansion rate is much higher than a conventional coolant mixture. It's fine though because the FD comes with a big enough overflow. The only thing I don't know about is the guys that run zero pressure in the system though...you would think they would see an even larger overflow.

You know...we've beaten this to death on the forums. You can find some more info and differing opinions by searching for the terms "NPG or NPG+ or NPG-R".

 

I'm running the stock radiator with a mix of water and antifreeze (50/50) and I have my fans set to come on at 90C, 95C, & 100C respectively, via the PFC. My temps usually average about 90-95C on a hot day.

Joe

 

pics can be found here, too big to upload

http://www.nopistons.com/forums/inde...howtopic=54972

 

I have a stock motor and turbos:

Stock Mazda radiator with custom ducting inside the nose to seal it to the nose inlet.

Stock plastic air guides in the sides of the nose opening removed (makes inlet bigger).

Aluminum AST.

Stock thermostat.

Miata (or FC) thermoswitch.

90% water / 10% coolant in the summer. In the winter I run 50%/50%.

No temp issues until I'm under boost for several laps at the race track in 100 degree weather. That will be cured when I start switching to an under drive pulley for track day as I only have temp issues under extended high RPM use when the pump cavitates. As long as I keep the revs around 6500 I have no temp issues.

Water runs cooler than antifreeze. Doing nothing but changing the coolant ratio will bring big drops. Sealing up the inlet will bring even bigger ones.

 

Yeah...if you're going to use conventional coolant run the minimum amount of antifreeze for your climate.

 

1. Fluidyne Rad running 70/30 distilled water/regular green antifreeze. Radiator is properly sealed to nose.

2. Motor has KDR ported water/oil passages.

3. Dual CWR oil coolers. These made a HUGE difference, even w/ water temps.

I live in hot-*** Virginia, generally 90+ and muggy all summer. Plus I track the car in the summer. I've don't usually even cap 100C water temps even on track. Fans rarely come on on the street unless i'm sitting in traffic.

 

how do the dual cwr coolers compare to the stork r1 (what i have) dual coolers?

trevor, where did you get that chart? its a bit small and i cant seam to enlarge it.