What is the absolute best radiator coolant?
What is the absolute best coolant you can find in Taiwan?
Do you dilute it with distilled water or do you run it neat?
radiator coolant, popularly called anti freeze because of its resistance to freezing temperatures is often produced from Ethylene glycol. It is always advisable to mix it with water for a number of reasons, especially when considering that it will ironically turn flammable at 115 C. You don’t want that spraying all over your engine bay at high temperature, that’s for sure! Oh, and don’t drink it either!
It is practical not just as anti freeze but also as an inhibitor of corrosion, especially around steel cylinder liners and other iron/steel components within the cooling system as well as also maximizes heat transference within the cooling system, improving average engine running temperature and even distribution of heat.
An anti freeze tester is usually used to measure the correct level of glycol based anti freeze in a system.
A typical mix will be approximately 1 part water to 1 part anti freeze. Too much anti freeze may actually raise the freezing point of the water.
Aww but it looks so yummy!
Thanks, what makes one anti freeze stand apart from another as a better product?
not sure if you can find it here…but…redlineoil.com/products_coolant.asp…I swear by it. I had a race car running this with cheep antifreeze…managed 5 consecutive dyno pulls and the temp never broke 140. Thermostat was set to 160 and fans kicked on at 163. Ive used it in other cars and it keeps things cool. “water wetter” is what you need to find of any brand".
if you are thinking of AntiFreeze for the purpose of preventing the water in your system from expanding I dont think the temps get low enough here to make one brand stick out form the other.
But if its corrosion you are thinking…I would recommend whatever the manufacturer put in your machine to begin with. And dont mix your blues/greens with your oranges. Evans makes good coolant. Doesnt boil until after 350degs if I remember correctly.
[quote=“PunishmentNow”]not sure if you can find it here…but…redlineoil.com/products_coolant.asp…I swear by it. I had a race car running this with cheep antifreeze…managed 5 consecutive dyno pulls and the temp never broke 140. Thermostat was set to 160 and fans kicked on at 163. Ive used it in other cars and it keeps things cool. “water wetter” is what you need to find of any brand".
if you are thinking of AntiFreeze for the purpose of preventing the water in your system from expanding I don’t think the temps get low enough here to make one brand stick out form the other.
But if its corrosion you are thinking…I would recommend whatever the manufacturer put in your machine to begin with. And dont mix your blues/greens with your oranges. Evans makes good coolant. Doesnt boil until after 350degs if I remember correctly.[/quote]
Thanks man! 
That water wetter looks awesome 
From what I read you can just dump it into your radiator with whatever is already in there hmm?
Hmm… Should I be adding a little coolant to my scooter? The mechanic said just clean water, but I wonder about the anti-corrosion/ lubrication attributes as well. It does seem to be running a bit hot lately.
Adding ethylene glycol based anti-freeze does not improve the performance of the cooling system any. So, if you are overheating with plain water in the system, you are going to overheat even after adding anti-freeze. Look for weak spots elsewhere like leaks, cap that doesn’t hold pressure, blocked / dirty radiator, dying pump, sticking thermostat, dead / dying fan and so on. Adding water-wetter will help but it makes a very small difference overall.
[quote=“redwagon”]
Adding ethylene glycol based anti-freeze does not improve the performance of the cooling system any. So, if you are overheating with plain water in the system, you are going to overheat even after adding anti-freeze. Look for weak spots elsewhere like leaks, cap that doesn’t hold pressure, blocked / dirty radiator, dying pump, sticking thermostat, dead / dying fan and so on. Adding water-wetter will help but it makes a very small difference overall.[/quote]
yea look for things listed as COOLANT rather than ANTI-Freeze. Especially for the Summer monhs, no need for preventing freezing if the temps dont drop low enough.
as for corrosion, somethign that will be better than just tap water is if you can find distilled water. Ive worked on cars for quite some time, and ive never seen a HUGE issue when using jsut distilled water versus distilled water/coolant or antifreeze combo. There are gains, but nothing I would concern myself with TOO much. Just to a cooling system flush once a year before you “winterize” your ride, aka add antifreeze, and you will be jsut fine.
agreed on the water being sufficient to keep everything cool. Unless you are racing, there really is not NECESSARY t use those things I listed above and as the above person said would be a good indicator that something is going bad or already has gone bad.
good luck to you!
Adding ethylene glycol based anti-freeze does not improve the performance of the cooling system any. So, if you are overheating with plain water in the system, you are going to overheat even after adding anti-freeze. Look for weak spots elsewhere like leaks, cap that doesn’t hold pressure, blocked / dirty radiator, dying pump, sticking thermostat, dead / dying fan and so on. Adding water-wetter will help but it makes a very small difference overall.[/quote]
Seconded. If its running hot then there is some other problem.
Anti freeze is supposed to be added to maintain the system and increase its longevity. If your vehicle has never had additive in it then there is also a likelihood that there is a build up of rust in the system which after time could block the radiator and reduce cooling efficiency or also the efficiency of the cabin heater (which you should operate once in a while to keep it free and working).
Overheating faults in order of approximate commonality:
- Stuck thermistat. (Replace)
- coolant leakage/lack of coolant in the system.
- Faulty radiator cap.
- Faulty thermister (can cause inadequate starting and stopping of the electrically driven radiator fan.)
If your vehicle is overheating on the move, then to reduce the engine temperature, assuming you have enough coolant in the system, you may try turning your cabin temperature up to the maximum, turn the interior fan on to maximum setting and open the windows to keep you cool. The cabin has its own radiator and can be used to assist the engine’s in times of emergency.
If stopped at the side of the road with an empty cooling system a seized engine and no additional water or tools, try a trick I think I thought up. Pop the bonnet/hood, locate the water feed pipe to the windscreen/windshield washers, pull it off and feed it into the radiator top. Operate the windscreen washers until your system is somewhat replenished. It may just get you off the freeway and save you a whopping towing fine. Worked for me!
It wasn’t my car of course, but someone who offered me a lift. :aiyo:
Oh, and don’t go pulling the radiator cap off when the system is super hot, you’ll only have a small explosion of hot steam in your face and up your arm. Use a thick bundle of cloth to smother the cap which will help to contain any steam and hot water which may burst outwards. :no-no:
Pure disstill water will probably be best bet. Adding anti freeze is likely to lower the fluid’s thermal conducitivity in exchange for rust protection and freezing explosion.
An US company called Evans sells non-water based coolant which has boiling point at 369F. This would reduce bubble size on the heating surface to improve heat transfer.
But with that kind of cost, you can use the $ to fix your cooling system for even better improvement
Yeah if you have pets be careful leaving radiator fluid around. One tablespoon is enough to kill a dog or cat. Radiator fluid is really sweet too, so pets love it. Hey, sounds like an easy way to get rid of that annoying neighborhood dog to me. 
The ethylene glycol is poisonous to animals and us. Usually results to kidney failure.
Back at home I was a huge fan of the redline waterwetter products. My old 63’ Plymouth Sport Fury always ran hot, especially in the Arizona summer. The waterwetter seemed to help.
For ultimate cooling I think distilled water + water-wetter would perform the best. Again, there is no anti-corrosion in this mix and things like electrolytic corrosion between steel and aluminum components can still occur even in distilled water. It just takes longer. Of course it does not get cold enough to freeze the water in a cooling system in Taiwan’s climate so mixing less anti-freeze than recommended is acceptable. A few % anti-freeze doesn’t lower the boiling point of the coolant by much but provides enough protection from corrosion.
You learn something everyday. I was sure that coolant/anti-freeze was actually better at cooling the engine than just water. I thought just water would get too hot and the engine would overheat. Good informative thread.
marboulette
Found Water Wetter
tw.f5.page.bid.yahoo.com/tw/auction/e32329746
on label it shows a comparison of temperature under testing:
glycol/water 50/50 228F (i think its 8)
glycol/water 50/50 + water wetter 220F
Water only 220F
Water + Water wetter (dunno the ratio) 208F
Sounds like the last option is for me, then I can get maximum cooling + corrosion protection. If you know the ratio let me know then I can do the math on what the cost will be.
I know its not such a massive improvement but its better at least, if the cost is not too bad.
from redlineoil.com/products_coolant.asp
· Reduces rust, corrosion and electrolysis of all metals
· Provides long term corrosion protection
· Reduces cavitation corrosion
· Complexes with hard water to reduce scale
from redlineoil.com/products_coolant.asp
· Reduces rust, corrosion and electrolysis of all metals
· Provides long term corrosion protection
· Reduces cavitation corrosion
· Complexes with hard water to reduce scale[/quote]
I meant with a straight water-wetter. I wasn’t aware of this product from Redline, so thanks for bringing it up. FWIW I like Redline products a lot. They have a great shockproof gear lube for which they are famous in the Subaru community.
I 12 ounce bottle of water wetter treats 11-15 litres of water
I got 11 bottles ( one carton has 12 bottles and I just used 1 ) of water wetter with me…will let them go cheap if anyone is interested…
had to get one carton because that was the min the dealer was willing to give me…
yea man love the water wetter it has umm “made” me money at the drag strips back home a few times because sometimes a few secs of waiting on things to cool off can mean the difference between making the last run of a night or not!..and the redline gear oil is the only thing that can keep a stock GM rearend together into the low 11’s! Ive tried this to prove it hah ;0)
It has also been said some people sell coloured water as coolant. That could be quite an effective ploy since water is a better coolant than the glycol based stuff they would be faking. And it would take some time before you realised there was corrosion in your system.