When I am idling my car to cool down the turbos, after a few minutes my temp guage goes up slightly, however the fans turn on and it goes back down. Is this normal, especially in 90 degree weather? It never goes up while I'm driving, however, it has gone up while I've been sitting in traffic on really hot days. My coolant buzzer has never gone off and I have never even gotten close to the red on the temp guage. Should I be worried?

i noticed that the stock gauge shows something like 9:15 when the engine is running, but with engine not running and ignition on i see a perfect 9:00.



install an aftermarket gauge and enjoy(!) your car

FWIW, my stock gauge reads a steady 8:45... and even before my Fluidyne, I don't remember that it ever got to an even 9:00 O'clock position.

I now have a DEFI 'D' series temp guage. Not sure how exact it is, but I see 185 F. during normal driving. Kicks up to 190 F. occaisionally on the recent 95 degree + days we've had while sitting in traffic, but goes back down when the fans kick on or I start moving.

For reference, I'm stock with 50/50 water/coolant, a miata thermoswitch and the "fan mod". And (knocking on wood) A/C doesn't seem to make much difference.

[quote name='Old Splatterhand' date='Jul 19 2005, 04:07 PM']

i noticed that the stock gauge shows something like 9:15 when the engine is running, but with engine not running and ignition on i see a perfect 9:00.



That seems about right. Getting after market temp gauge will scare you. After you shut the car down the temp will go through the roof 120C on a hot day... Hoping when I install the V mount setup it will help with the cooling...

My stock gauge sits at around the 8:45 mark as well.

My Sard temp gauge reads 84C all the time and rises slightly when I shut her off or when driven hard, but only to about 87C.



I'm sure there's a way that you can get your fans to come on a little earlier?

yes and dont sit there forever letting the turbos cool off. heat soaking everything else.

[quote name='treceb' date='Jul 20 2005, 07:29 AM']yes and dont sit there forever letting the turbos cool off. heat soaking everything else.


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How long do you recommend on average to cool down the turbos?? Is it worth it to idle a few minutes, if the temp guage goes up slightly??

It moves up enough to where its noticably above normal? My FD doesn't move noticably until 112-113C (234-235F) on NPG-R coolant. If you're running conventional coolant and your needle is going up I would investigate.

[quote name='Trevor' date='Jul 20 2005, 10:33 AM']It moves up enough to where its noticably above normal? My FD doesn't move noticably until 112-113C (234-235F) on NPG-R coolant. If you're running conventional coolant and your needle is going up I would investigate.


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Does yours move up while driving or only if you are idling or in traffic? Mine never goes up while driving, but it does when I'm in traffic (on really hot and humid days) or if I"m idling to cool the turbos. Yes i have 50/50 coolant. Do you think a coolant flush would help with adding water wetter?

[quote name='base94montego' date='Jul 20 2005, 10:44 AM']Do you think a coolant flush would help with adding water wetter?


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If you're not sure how old the coolant is, that's probably not a bad idea. Water-Wetter...OK. But as you've figured out, the OEM temp guage is pretty worthless in these cars, really no better than just an "idiot light". Instead of wondering, why not just get a decent aftermarket guage so you know for sure?