Brettmc

What do you run instead...and why.

I'm going to order an alum radiator next week and am thinking of antifreeze alternatives.

Brett :thumbs:

ettev

Unless the old timers were pulling my leg I believe that during hot seasons water is actually the best coolant. Under equal pressure it's supposed to have better surface contact with the cooling components, thus disipate heat quicker.

JMNBRZ

Last thing I heard was unless you're using distilled water and even if you are you might want to add a little antifreeze for their anticorrosive properties. Don't know how much truth there is to it.... just moved to a hot climate so I'm used to having to use the standard mixture

CrossedFlags77

I have heard that if you run 100% water in your radiator that it will start to corrode rather fast. Thats why everyone recommends running antifreeze. I run 70% water 30% antifreeze in the summer. I am going to add Water Wetter once temperatures get above 85*. :chevy

LiveandLetDrive

There are anti-corrosion additives besides antifreeze, anybody know about them? Water is a much better coolant (hence, why we don't run 100% antifreeze) most likely due to it's heat capacity.

-Chris

OHSIXX

I have always used 50/50. :chevy

Fevre

I have to run a little antifreeze for winter storage but run mostly distilled water and a bottle or 2 of water wetter. My alum rad looks almost knew after 4/5 years but i do tend take the eng out every year so the fluid gets replaced about once a year.

BeaterShark

I'm fairly certain Redline Water Wetter has corrosion resistance properties. I have just run water and water wetter, but I now run about 25% antifreeze just to be safe in the winter.

redvetracr

water and water pump lube ONLY for me BUT I don`t have to worry about winter driving. ...redvetracr

Z-man

FYI -

An antifreeze serves two purposes: to lower the engine coolant's freezing point in the winter, and to raise the coolant's boiling point in the summer.

For example, at a 50-50 mixture of water and antifreeze, the coolant's boiling point will be raised to 130°C -- much higher than that of water alone -- and thus further protects the engine from overheating in summer temperatures. (Water boils at 100°C in CA).

Source:
http://www.shell.ca/code/motoring/ti...ze_engine.html

big632

If you want to move to the 21st century. Ck out evans cooling systems. It is the only way to go in any high hp car.It is a substitute for water/antifreeze solutions.Its boiling point is over 400degrees with a 7lb cap.Thus staying liquid longer in the block allowing it to pull more heat out of the combustion chambers.It is exclusively used in nascar where they limit almost all airflow for better aerodynamics.With a water or waterwetter /antifreeze system a high hp car will cause that solution to turn into steam thus not pulling heat away and overheating becomes frequent.I use it in my 1600hp engine with no overheating problems,Without it I would overheat in the driveway.This was with the best radiator waterpump and fans made.Check it out and you will get an education in thermodynamics,I know I did.

Willis

Very true, the downside is that antifreeze holds on to heat much better than water causing the temperature to be hotter in the first place. It protects the water from boiling, but really hot non-boiling water is a problem as well. If your system is adequate for your horsepower needs, then you should have no problem running 50-50. If you do not have enough cooling capacity, the answer shouldn't be to lower or raise the amount of antifreeze in your system. You should check that your system is capable of supporting your needs, and improve if necessary. (aluminum radiator, electric fans, extra shrouding, etc.) I'm not saying that antifreeze alternatives are bad, or that they are a wonder of modern science either. All I'm saying is that engineers have spent plenty of time designing a system to cool your car with a 50/50 antifreeze water mix, taking into account corrosion protection and the like.

Personally, when I get my aluminum radiator, I will be flushing the entire system and running a long life antifreeze/coolant like Dex-cool.

turtlevette

one good thing about water is that the steam blowoff can actually save your engine in an overheating situation. The amount of heat required to take water to a vapor state is very high. The term for it is "latent heat of vaporization". So when the cap alows steam to vent that process is adding a lot of additional cooling to your system.

Z-man

Willis - good points, but you might check this out...

There is a class action lawsuit against GM for Dexcool. I've seen many complaints about damaged autos, especially newer Chevy & GM SUVs. Here's a quote:

http://www.bigclassaction.com/class_.../dexcool2.html

Z-man

Thanks for the info big632. I'm getting ready to install a new radiator for my new engine and this stuff looks pretty promising. Interestingly enough, they say not to install a thermostat!

For those who are interested, I found this site:

http://www.evanscooling.com/main21.htm

isosceles

when I bought my pump from Stewart Components, they said that if I didn't live in a feezing climate I could run water and rust inhibitor. They said tap water is find, but I'm using distilled anyway, just to be safe.
I used Zerex rust inhibitor. It meets Stewart's requirements.

Why? water dissapates heat better than coolant. Got that from their site too. It does cool better in my car.


[Modified by isosceles, 7:19 PM 5/7/2004]

big632

Your welcome z man, turtlevette the whole purpose of this is to not be in an overheating situation, ck out the site z man has supplied. It is very educational.

Brettmc

Evans sounds like some good stuff. $50 for 2 gallons and you might not have to ever change it again.

Brett :thumbs:

lostpatrolman

I have also heard about the problems with dexcool. Supposedly they only occur when the old style antifreeze is mixed with dexcool. The coolant supposedly crystalizes and blocks the water passages. Moral of the story, dont mix coolant types.

Willis

Check out this article. http://www.caranddriver.com/article....&page_number=1