STi Water resevoir Antifreeze

Dec 12, 2003 9 Replies

In freezing climates what does the manual reccomend as anitfreeze in the sprayer resevoir?


STi has an intercooler sprayer. I am hoping to get an STI early 04, so now I am also wondering what do they recommend.

Thanks,

--Dan

Can't you empy the tank?. I imaging washer fluid on the intercooler would stink and gum it up.

If it's that @!#$ cold I'd worry more about keeping the car on the road than whether I'm getting "optimum boost".

-- Dominic Richens | snipped-for-privacy@alumni.uottawa.ca "If you're not *outraged*, you're not paying attention!"

the manual recommends you leave it half-full. a shameless plug: if you're considering getting an sti, be sure to visit here:

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i'm moderate the mid-atlantic forum, among others. give a holler if you need anything. i don't frequent usenet much any more.

a quote from the manual:

- Use only pure water for refilling. - In cold weather (when you do not use the intercooler water spray), keep the tank half-empty in case the water freezes. A larger amount of water could break the tank if it froze.

i just use distilled water and for winter will keep it half full. some folk are adding windshield washer fluid or other crap. i don't see why; there's no need to spray in the winter.

4MLA1FN wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

No need to spray in the winter? Gues you've never driven the day or two after a snowstorm behind a truck! I use three time as much washer in the winter as in the summer.

He's talking about the factory intercooler sprayer, not the windshield washer sprayer. The STi has an intercooler mister to keep the intercooler closer to optimum temperatures in the summer months (or any month that it gets hot for that matter). I think all of us here would agree that plain water in the windshield washer fluid container would be worthless.

"WRXtreme" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@corp.supernews.com:

Oh, okay. I guess I missed that part!

i agree the half-tank recommendation is a half-assed workaround.

my garage has been staying above 40F this season (about 10 above outdoor ambient) but if we get a cold spell my plan is to

  1. siphon as much as possible of the water out of the tank
  2. press the button until the line is empty

i also agree there is no reason to use the sprayer in freezing weather. the water could conceivably warm the intercooler!

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