Nulon One Coolant

[JBT]

What do we think of this product? http://www.nulon.com.au/products/Cooling_Systems/One_Coolant?gclid=CLu796Chs9UCFZcGKgod-owLTg

[93_Clubman]

JBT, you'd likely do this as a matter of course, but Nulon website mentions a total flush is required, I guess especially if going from green to orange/red coolant:
Notes: 1199 = Total flush required.
http://www.datateck.com.au/lube/NulonAu ... idNote1199

[JBT]

Yes, spotted that and also intend to do a complete flush anyway.

It caught my eye being 10 year stuff rather than 4 year (green). MX-5 is coming up for its first coolant change from Mazda FL22 at 10 years.

[Regie]

Id still change coolant at 5 years maximum. its a 20 min job

[SuperMazdaKart]

I havn't tried that one, but I do use Nulon Ultra Cool in my cars when I change coolant.

It doesn't have any ethylene glycol antifreeze in it so it cools better, but also isn't good for freezing snowy regions. Which is probably irrelevant to many of us. Also safe for race track use too.

[Luke]

I have been recently doing some research on what Coolant to use in the NC to replace the Mazda FL22.
The original stuff is hideously expensive. The best you will do is about $20 a litre for the concentrate.
First off ignore colour as OEM and aftermarket colours seem to mean absolutely nothing. Its just dye.
From what I have found mainly from Mazda USA tech bulletins and various Mazda USA forums is the Coolant needs to be Borate and Silicate free.
All the spec finders I have tried on the Australian sites point you to the wrong coolant. They all tell you to use a coolant that has Borate or Silicate in it. Go figure. This also applies to ND's or any MZR or Skyactiv petrol Mazda Motor.
US Miata sites also suggest this is the case for NB's as well as their original coolant did not contain Borate or Silicate.


I have been conversing with Penrite and their only suitable one is actually their 7 Year Blue Coolant if you require antifreeze. No Borate, or Silicate.
I have to wonder why the mechanic has put the Red Penrite in my NB as it has Silicate in it. It is actually called Si-OAT coolant! I will have to question them about that as they are supposed to be the experts and I gather that is what they would put in the NC as they don't sell anything else.
After my Penrite discussions I decided will be refilling my SE with the 10 tenths race coolant myself. It has no Glycol so no antifreeze capability which does not matter for me. It is supposed to cool better for hard use vs the Glycol based coolants.

I would be asking Nulon a few questions before using that Yellow one coolant.
There website and product data sheet are very flash, but don't really tell you anything about the mixture in that coolant.
It seems like their 8 year Blue Coolant would be the correct one as well. Silicate and Borate free according to the data sheet.

MSDS sheets are normally useful for chemical related things, but as I have found most of the ingredients are considered harmless in coolants so don't even get listed, so you have to ask the manufacturers specific questions.

[JBT]

Thanks Luke, that's very valuable info.

[Locutus]

I havn't tried that one, but I do use Nulon Ultra Cool in my cars when I change coolant.

NOT suitable where anti-freeze/anti-boil coolant is specified. Use Nulon Long Life Concentrated Coolant (LL) for anti-freeze/anti-boil protection.
...
Where a vehicle manufacturer particularly specifies the use of anti-freeze/anti-boil coolant with glycol it is essential to use it as some engines suffer from localised "hot spot" boiling and require a glycol coolant.

Use only ethylene-glycol-based coolant.

While the overall efficiency of the cooling system is much higher with a non ethylene glycol coolant, the lower thermal conductivity of a glycol based coolant prevents hot spots from forming inside the engine block. Liquid cooling only works when there is direct liquid to surface contact, however micro boiling of coolant in the hottest parts of the system can create a vapour layer which insulates those parts from being cooled, which causes those parts to run even hotter - it's a viscous cycle (no pun intended).

When I used Nulon Ultra Cool in the past, I could hear the coolant start to boil a minute or two after shutting the engine off.

[Mr Morlock]

I must confess I am confused reading this- some direct contradictions about using Nulon Ultra Cool- cooling starting to boil on switch off would not fill me with confidence. Many of us certainly have no formal training in about such matters and like many things rely on spin from manufacturers.We know already that oil can be a spin thing and often based on no real data. For my standard road going NB P2 what should I be using for the next change?

[Luke]

I must confess I am confused reading this- some direct contradictions about using Nulon Ultra Cool- cooling starting to boil on switch off would not fill me with confidence. Many of us certainly have no formal training in about such matters and like many things rely on spin from manufacturers.We know already that oil can be a spin thing and often based on no real data. For my standard road going NB P2 what should I be using for the next change?

Well you shouldn't go wrong with Mazda Coolant if you don't mind paying more. FL22 is supposed to be OK to use in all their older 90's cars as well.

From my research the only thing I am confident about is having the requirement of no Borate or Silicate.
From what I have looked at so far there are these 2 options.
7 Year Blue Coolant from Penrite
8 Year Blue Coolant from Nulon.

Valvoline sites is a shocker in Australia. They only sell one coolant, Zerex G05. So instead of being honest and saying don't use it they just recommend it anyway. In the US they actually have one called Japanese formulation.

I think the problem actually may be that most of the lube guides are using datateck which must not have the correct information in it for our cars.
The NC is way out as it says to use coolants that are for mixed metal systems. Ie Nulon or Penrite Green long life coolant for brass, copper, aluminium, cast iron etc components.

The best bet is to ask the manufacturer like I did with Penrite before deciding on which way to go. Keep in mind they themselves may not know about the Borate or Silicate free issue if they just look up their own site.

[hks_kansei]

The main important parts for an mx5 are anti corrosion, and a coolant being safe for aluminum heads.
Which most coolant for sale covers.

Many dealers, mechanics, and home users have been happily using standard old glycol coolant in MX5s, 323s, Lasers, 626s, and all manner of other cars that use the Mazda B family of engines for the past 30 odd years.

[Mr Morlock]

Thanks Luke and HKS . I will take on board the comments and check before I refill

[hks_kansei]

I would probably say the water uwed to dilute the coolant is more important than the coolant is, as far as longevity goes.

distilled/demineralised water will reduce the buildup of calcium or other sediments compared to regular old tap water (the previous owner of mine must have used tap water for years, as my first water pump had one exit nearly totally clogged with deposits)

[Luke]

I agree about the water as well. Forgot to mention that as I did buy that with the ten tenths coolant to mix.
Another reason I will be doing it myself this time as I know tap water went in last time.
I bet a lot of mechanics out there just use tap water.
The guys that changed my Falcon radiator actually used premix which is good. I was surprised and asked if they do that all the time. The answer was yes as they specialised in LPG systems and could easily see the build-up of crud to the system components that had coolant flowing through them.

Pricing up premix against buying full strength and water at non discounted prices is much the same.
But usually the bargains can be found on full strength during sales. But we are talking like $10 here.

[hks_kansei]

Yeah, lpg systems are especially fussy when it comes to coolant because of the gas converter.

Because the gas is fed to the conveter as a liquid, and then becomes a gas in the converter, if there isn't a supply of warm/hot coolant it will freeze up the converter and stop the gas supply.


I had to borrow an old falcon a while ago that did that, it kind of worked well since it had a coolant leak.
If the coolant dropped too much the lpg converter would freeze up and cut the engine before it had a chance to overheat and warp the head.
Not by design, just a weird happy chance occurance.

The car was still a piece of garbage though.