That's an excellent question. Unfortunately, no one here can answer that question for you. In fact, no one at Mazda or at a dealership will give you a definitive answer until and unless you have a problem that involves engine cooling. And even then it may be an arbritary ruling not based on good hard evidence as to the cause of the problem. One service department may rule one way and another just the opposite.

Personally, I think there is enough margin in the cars with the dual oil cooler system to easily accommodate a screen that has 65-70% open spaces. (That may not be the case with those cars with single-coolers.) After all, Mazda almost certainly designed in additional cooling capacity to accommodate for impact damage to the cooling fins over the life of the car, and if the screens minimize that damage, it should be a wash.

As I recall, the RB screens, for example, are 70% open mesh. You might want to e-mail RB and ask them your question. I'm sure they will give you their opinion, which is probably better than what you will get anywhere else.

Of course, they can argue whatever they care to argue, but in the end they will need to justify their position with some sort of supporting evidence. For example, let's say you install a very restrictive set of screens, like 15-30% open area in the mesh, on your A/C condenser/radiator and oil coolers. And your engine dies as a result of overheating (their finding). They do the calculations on the amount of air passing through the screens and rule that it was the restriction on airflow that caused the overheating. In that case you will probably pay for a new engine.

So in the end, you must use your own judgment and make your own decision on whether or not to add the screens. If you have a good insurance company and good comprehensive coverage in your policy, road debris damage to the coolers/condennsers should be covered. But if you don't, you should seriously consider adding the screens in my opinion.

 

Thanks guys for the info. I am looking into the Hymee option now. Sorry of this has been a repeat of other threads but I am new to this forum and this was the first thing to hit me (literally :-) ) The screens look great. I, too, am concerned about the warranty aspects so I might invite my dealer to participate in the mod. I am intrigued at how UK Black got the AC condenser repair done under warranty as I am about to enter that debate with my dealer.