Thanks Redmr2red, I've already got the whole service manual PDF.
 
I ended up getting a bottle of Nulon red for the simple reason that it comes in a 5L bottle so I only need 1 instead of getting 2x 4L bottles of Toyota red and having 3L sitting around for 2 years. The Nulon stuff is meant to be good for 5 years / 250000km so we'll see how it goes. Also picked up a bottle of Nulon radiator flush and ran that through before flushing. System must be pretty clean though because the old coolant came out bright pink with no crap through it. I refilled with tap water for a flush but sun went down so I'll have to drain it tomorrow and refill with fresh coolant.
 
I didn't end up getting any extra additives. Figured I didn't have any cooling problems before so no need to risk it.

Nulon says 5 years but I'll still do it every 2 years. Even if the colour doesn't change the effectiveness of inhibitor in the coolant may have reduced. Although I have nothing to back that up lol. Sounds like your car had a good previous owner, consider yourself one of the lucky few...
@Ethan: I have 50/50 mixture, no additives like reddtarga here will no temp problems so you might need to take a look at your system lol. That being said I have heard good stuff about water wetter. But as the old saying goes, if it ain't broke...

Yeah I probably won't keep it in there for the full 5 years. Maybe 3 or 4 max. But it is a bloody pain the ass to change the coolant so I am tempted to not touch it again for 5 years.
 
I've been pretty lucky with this car, mechanically. The previous owner seemed a little dodgy but he definitely looked after the car. Engine runs nice, no tarnishing or gunk looking down the oil filler hole or on the dipstick. Cooling system nice and clean. Even the gbox oil the car came with was perfect. Only started getting some grinding after I changed it and I can't seem to find the ideal gbox oil again.
 
Anyway, after I'm done with the coolant, all the fluids will be brand new so car should be happy. Did the gbox oil yesterday and engine oil today while the coolant was draining. Just as well coz I've got a Circuit Club track day this Saturday hehe.

If you think simply maintaining the coolant is a tedious chore, you have no idea what I went thru for the Beams...

I use Nulon red. Does the job IMO.

THE COOLANT ITSELF IS CLEAR the red colour is just a dye.
changing ever few years is a good practice, but many put it off due to the nature of the job.
i havent touched mine in a few years.
 
for maintenance the best thing apart from flushing and refilling is to drain some coolant out and add the concentrate straight in without diluting to makeup the amount you drained out, or dilute at a lesser ratio with water, say 25-75, this is another reason to get the toyota red coolant as there will be some left over and you can use that every few years to improve the coolant corrosion properties, without srainign the while coolant out
i have no backup evidence for this, just something i have done a few times before
 
if you want the engine to run cooler get a higher rated pressure/radiator cap rather than diluting the coolant too much. by reducing the amount of coolant concentration your allowing the water to get to the boiling point faster, but also reducing the corrosion properties of the coolant and also allowing water to freeze faster (not that its a problem here in australia)
cheers

^Getting a higher pressure rad cap puts more pressure on the whole system which is not a great idea. Can cause more problems in the long term.

The only problem it will cause is if you cooling system hardware is ****, its really only meant for track use though so the engine can run a bit cooler than nrmal but people do it for the sake of having a name branded radiator cap for looks (nothing wrong with that either)
cheers