For a daily driver/AutoX/Track day car, what do you all run in your radiators? Water-Wetter? Plain ole Coolant (what kind, if it matters) Just curious, because cooler is better!

 

I run distilled water with the low-tox Prestone stuff and a bottle of Redline Water Wetter. I use just enough Prestone to get the freezing point to about -5 to -10 F, since the all-time record low in Durham is -5 F. This ends up being about a 70/30 mix of water/Prestone.

 

Well in Fl, im worried more about the heat than cold, obviously. I thought one of the main purposes of the coolant is to keep the radiator from corroding. Would distilled water and water wetter work?

 

Everyone pretty much runs with some coolant, unless rules prohibit it (usually not). Yes, antifreeze is a pain in the *** to clean up, but not even Watter Wetter w/ distilled works as well as coolant/water.

Warren

 

If my memory is correct , water wetter should only be mixed with water, not anti-freeze. I remember reading somewhere that they don't mix well and the anti-freeze could foam up.

 

I don't know, the bottle seems to indicate it can be mixed with pre-existing coolant/water mixtures. Never ran anything but coolant in the Integra, never had any overheating in it.

 

Per redline's web site about water wetter:
Or it can be added to new or used antifreeze to improve the heat transfer of ethylene and propylene glycol systems. Designed for modern aluminum, cast iron, copper, brass, and bronze systems.

Looks like it will be used in addition to antifreeze in my car. The 2 major brands, Zerex and Prestone are both glycol based, does anyone know if 1 is better than the other??

Edit: You all should check out redline's site for a more in depth explanation of the stuff, looks awesome!!
http://www.redlineoil.com/products.htm


[Modified by siisgood00, 11:49 PM 10/15/2001]

 

WaterWetter will work with water and/or glycol-based coolant just fine. As I discovered at Summit-JC last month, though, it will NOT fix a 92k-mile stock thermostat with a mind of its own.

Somebody did a before-and-after-Waterwetter test with a thermometer a year or two ago. They saw a 9 or 10 degree water temp difference in a drag Mustang IIRC, under nearly identical conditions and uses. If I can find that link, I'll post it...

If you are worried about corrosion, remove your radiator and have it tested and pressure-cleaned. This costs around $40 in this part of the world, and it will remove any/all gunk that likes to turn your pretty green coolant into a muddy brown mess. However, this is only really an issue on older cars.

But back to the original question, if you are in FL I would suggest a 70/30 distilled water/coolant mix, with WaterWetter, just like MaddMatt mentioned above. That's about as good as it gets while still providing all important elements of all substances.

Hope that helps,

Jon

 

No, the main reason for the coolant is to improve on the freezing temp and boiling temp of water. Pure water freezes at 32F and boils at 212F (0C and 100C), but when you mix stuff with it -- anything -- you can change those things (something called "melting point depression"). However, unlike adding just salt to the water, which lowers the freezing point, but also lowers the boiling point, the coolant/water mixture (under pressure) has a lower-than-32F freezing point and a higher-than-212F boiling point, fairly effectively covering the ranges that will be seen by the engine. Also, by mixing the water with coolant, if it does get cold enough to freeze, it will not expand as much as pure water does, and so protect the engine somewhat in that respect.

BTW, if you release the radiator cap when the motor is hot, you release the pressure that kept the hot liquid as a liquid, and so the vapor will come spewing out at you.

Karen

 

Duh, i knew that. Thanks for the in depth explaniation.

Well I picked up some water wetter last night and it says it only has a 8 degree improvement when added to 50/50, but a 20!! degree improvement with just water. It suggests a 15% coolant minimum for street cars, so im going to go somewhere between 20 and 30%

 

I guess an 8 degree temp change won't be discernable on the average coolent temp gauge.
Is any of this really necessary if, with a 50/50 mix, your coolent temp gauge is always at the same spot no matter how hot (or cold) it is or how hard you're driving the car? The only time I've seen my temp gauge go past the "normal" point is up long mountainous inclines in 110 degree weather.

 

To play devil's advocate... 8 degrees can be the difference between overheating and warping a head, or simply running very hot and getting off the track to cool down. Especially on modern, high-revving, aluminum block 4cyl engines. For a 7 dollar bottle of funny pink stuff it is definitely worth it IMHO.

Jon

 

Not to throw another kink in the system but has anyone used the Dex-Cool or orther equivalent high-mileage non-glycol based antifreeze? I have heard from a few people that it has better heat transfer properties (hotter radiator but cooler motor). Is there any truth to this?

 

Hmmm I think I'll pick up some water wetter and purge my cooling system for peace of mind.
70/30 seems too much for our winters. I'd hate to have to change coolent every season. What's a good year-round water/antifreeze ratio for our climate? Just 50/50?

 

I did some reading and found that green/gold (Prestone regular) antifreeze is best deisigned for honda radiators, unless you have JDM stuff. They suggested in the article that 60/40 was best mix for all year.

I used wetter water once, I found that it evaperated very quickly. Did however lower my temp needle a couple MM.

 

All true, however water (plain water, no coolant) will keep an engine cooler than a coolant-water mix. Water transfers the heat better than the mixture does. 1996 Cobras have a cooling problem, they tend to overheat easily. A lot of Mustangers run water and water wetter only, no coolant and it seems to help.

Having said that I'd never run less than about 30% coolant. Water Wetter did seem to make a difference on my car, not a huge one though.

 

you said not to run less than 30% coolant, this should be said mostly for those in freezing, or close to freezing environments. Per the lable of water wetter: for street driven cars, a minimum of 15% coolant should be used; mostly said because of the additives and **** in the coolant to protect the metal in the radiator. I was going to run about 25-30% coolant and a bottle of water wetter, but I live in Orlando where I dont see a bit of cold any day of the year.

 

Are you asking too much or too little (70% which)? 60-65% water seems fine for DC. As said, coolant is for extending corrosion, freeze, and boilover protection, it does NOT transfer heat as well as water alone, the gooey factor. 100% coolant does not work either, after about 70% coolant benefits fall off.

Track BMW's tend to run straight water and WW, keeps the track unslick during incidents, some places enforce this. Add a can of anti-rust/waterpump lube and it's fine. Also, doesn't Honda disapprove of silicate based coolants (Prestone green, at least they used to)?

Gary

 

no prestone green is ok

 

Umm, well, I certainly hope no one goes with 70% antifreeze.

 

My Camaro came stock with the dex-cool and I put it in my motorcycle too. My motorcycle runs hotter than it used to now, but I don't know where the temp gauge is reading from. I don't have a benchmark for the Camaro, since it's only ever had the dex-cool.

Karen

 

I use pretty much a 70/30 mix with WW and my motor/radiator has never froze..