Do you have to mix anti-freeze with water? Can it hurt to not mix it?

 

it will hurt your engine if you live in a hot country because prestone has a lower bowling point then water and needs less energy to heat up( so you will end up over heating most of the time).

But in Canada winter are alot better with 100% prestone since it takes much. much much less time to heat up the car even if its a 4 cylinder. But when summer arrives i usualy change back to 50/50.

-RockWolf

 

anti-freeze has no actually cooling capabilities...

its used because it hinders freezing and boiling points.


water would be an awesome coolant alone, but its prone to rust, boiling, and freezing.


a 50/50 or 60/40 mixture is best for california weather. it really isnt that hard to mix the stuff, if you really dont want to do it.... they sell pre-mixed anti-freeze/coolant too.

honda sells some really trick 'blue' anti-freeze/coolant. its special because you can mix it with preexisting coolant.... whether it be the 'orange' type or the 'green' type. you arent supposed to mix orange with green though, as it eats up seals..... or so i am told.

 

I use mostly water in mine, mostly..the radiator looks like ****, no radiator fan either, never overheats even in very hot climate in the summer and im in florida. If i do have a problem though, i got a extra radiator.

 

pure, distilled water and watter wetter from redline seem to work well in my high compression engine here in LA, no overheating.
coolant is beneficial when you are in a cold climate. it lowers the freezing point of your cooling system.

 

For me its worth the extra $7 a jug just to buy the premixed Honda Type II. Its ready to go straight from the jug with no water mixing, and I only replace it once every two years around here.

 

lol you want that coolant to turn into jello?

 

Thanks for the replys. I was asking because i am running 100% prestone right now. I live in Utah, so i guess i will keep it that way until summer.

 

i dunno... why follow instructions???

A. Why is it important to mix antifreeze with water?
Antifreeze contains chemicals that protect your engine against rust and corrosion, as well as freeze-up and boil over protection. Water is required to activate the chemicals in the inhibitor package. Furthermore, adding water to antifreeze actually increases the freeze-up and boil over protection provided. For example, a mix of 40% antifreeze and 60% water provides freeze-up protection down to -10°F and boil over protection up to 259°F. In comparison, a mix of 70% antifreeze and 30% water provides freeze-up protection down to -62°F and boil over protection up to 270°F. However, we do not recommend adding more than 70% antifreeze. This would limit the corrosion and freeze up protection and heat transfer capabilities of the antifreeze.

 

very well said.....

 

I dont know how you can have straight antifreeze if you are living in canada. Antifreeze will not travel very much heat. Water holds alot of heat. I know several people who have put just antifreeze in for the winter. And they had very very poor heat.

I would just do what the company recommends. That usually ends in the best results.