Hey guys
I figure its about time I change the coolant. What antifreeze do you guys use? does it matter?


Thanks.

 

What model year is your car? As long as you don't have FL22 coolant (would be written on your radiator cap) you can use any old brand.. Just don't mix FL22 with the "regular" ethylene-glycol antifreeze..

Set mix depending on your climate

Water wetter helps if you have issues with heat

 

04 rx8?
So any band is ok? dont need some special stuff from mazda

 

With an 04 I don't think you'd have FL22.. I have an 04 and use Prestone cos that's what they had on sale at the auto place.. Make sure you mix it with distilled water, not tap water! Or just buy the 50/50 mix..

There's a good DIY on here for changing the coolant. It's pretty quick if you use the rad drain screw + the bolt to drain from the engine block. Look at the DIY for my custom SST to prevent spillage

 

https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...hlight=coolant

That has the best Mixes for all types of Use

 

Can I put Mazola in it ?

 

Only if it's synthetic Mazola.

 

I use the standard nasty for the environment green stuff.

As a word of warning to anyone who has any aspirations of building a new motor with new teflon encapsulated water o-rings, the environmentally friendly orange or blue stuff will quite literally melt the o-rings with the first use! Ask me how I know!

 

Hmm ... I need to write them a letter and tell them that Im looking for a "Synthetic Mazola" for my cooking needs ...

 

How you know ?

 

In that instance you would Use Water Wetter or Just a different variation of Coolant?

 

Thanks Fred, Great tip. I'll bee keeping that in mind.
I have the good old nasty green stuff already sitting in my garage, so no worries.

 

joke aside, I have like 5 gallons of those *regular environment killa* stuff in my garage. Weather is getting warmer in NYC (like 40-50 ish) and if theres no snow or rain in the morning tomorrow, Im gonna drain the old stuff out, new stuff in with oil change.

 

Just use the regular stuff. The other stuff is so bad on the aftermarket water seals that just filling the system up with coolant will dissolve the seals. You don't even have to start the engine. It's that bad! Dissolves on contact. It's fine on factory seals but that doesn't mean I want to use it.

 

Umm.. what is the chemical composision of these multicolored stuffs? I believe "normal" antifreeze is ethylene-glycol. Is this the "green" stuff? In that case what's the other stuff made of?

Oh, and what's the advantage of the aftermarket o-rings?

 

The teflon encapulated o-rings are reusable. They are also more resistant to heat. There have been horror stories about them but I have typically found that they are due to improper installation. The new seals are a bit more tricky to install than the factory Mazda seals. I've used them and like them. I know other people that hate them though.

I'm not sure what the other antifreeze is but it's biodegradable. You can pour it down the drain (legally).

 

So these new o-rings would give you a little more protection against overheating? (What I've heard is the first thing to go when the engine overheats is the o-rings.

 

Yes and no. The seals themselves are typically better at withstanding heat than the stock seals. However if you've overheated the engine and the aluminum housings themselves warp a little bit, which is typical, they can't help you. The stock seals should have a small metal insert which goes near the exhaust side of the engine to help insulate them. The aftermarket seals don't need these. On the 3rd gen RX-7's, the stock seals didn't come with these and failed easily. Rebuilds included the shields later on as did newer versions of the engine in later year model cars.

 

still on the Evans NPG-R and no issues for me, no boilover etc. like I used to have on the ethylene glycol

it's not for everybody though, I do all my own service so no worry of anyone dumping water or other glycol coolant into the system

 

Cool.. As always, thanks for the education

 

Evans should be fine. It's just the environmentally friendly antifreeze that autoparts stores sell that causes problems.