I always use premix 50/50, so I never have to use tap water; faster, cleaner.

All my vehicles use Walmart SuperTech 50/50 premix green, 5 year. Never had a problem. Each year I drain the rad (not the system) and refill with fresh to maintain proper PH.

 

Tap water contains minerals which will form deposits once system is hot. Better to use distilled water, but in a pinch tap water much better than no water!! Just get a flush soon to prevent issues, as smallest passages in heater core is where these deposits tend to form, and heater core is PIA to replace.

 

Is it best to use the Toyota pink solution 50 50 for this car's cooling?

Yes.

 

Best is relative. I prefer to use Asian P-HOAT coolants in all Toyotas I service. For a more complete list of recommended coolants, check the maintenance thread:

http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/1...01/837553-official-3rd-4th-gen-maintenance-thread-all-you-ever-wanted-know.html

Personally I find Toyota coolant to be way overpriced. I would prefer to use the less expensive and/or locally available options like Zerex Asian, Pentofrost A1, or Reochem OEM Premium Pink or Red. Which option you choose (Pink or Red) isn't important.

 

Toyota long life here is about $22/jug this is good value and significantly cheaper than the OEM equivalent coolants at the local auto parts stores.

 

That's pretty good if it's in fact concentrate Toyota LLC. Over here, LLC is around $32 plus tax. SLLC is around $18 plus tax.

Pentofrost A1 (red equivalent) costs $26 plus tax for concentrate while Reochem is only $21 plus tax for concentrate.

There is absolutely zero wrong with the aftermarket P-HOAT coolants and I would wager that at least one of them is the same coolant as OEM.

 

If you must use water, it's not a bad idea to get distilled water from the grocery store. Cheap insurance.

 

I would only use tap water if you are flushing the radiator/coolant system, but even then a gal of distilled water from Walmart shouldn't break the bank. If you do use tap water in the system for flushing only, I'd recommend filling up and draining once with distilled water.

For me? I use strictly distilled water unless I'm flushing out the radiator/coolant system after I drain all the coolant , but refill with distilled and drain/refill a few times after that.

 

I'd stick with distilled water. Coolant isn't something you change every 5K (like engine oil), so you don't want any contaminants in the system. Its about $2-3 for a gallon of distilled water around here, so in my opinion, worth it.

As for the coolants, I just stick with OEM red, because its cheaper to buy the concentrate + distilled water than the premix. Premix runs $17 and Toyota red is $26 here in Canada.

 

I'd stick with distilled water. Coolant isn't something you change every 5K (like engine oil), so you don't want any contaminants in the system. Its about $2-3 for a gallon of distilled water around here, so in my opinion, worth it..

Your distilled water is expensive. It's about $1 USD for a gal of distilled from Wal-mart. The local brand distill we have runs about 3-4.

 

Distilled water in my neck of the woods is about 80 cents/gallon. I use Zerex Asian Formula for my Toyotas (50/50 premixed) and get it at O'Reilly's for $12.