whats the best coolant?

[yellaopelgt]

Is one radiator coolant better than the rest? Should I be aware of certain ingrediants that could be harmful for my car? I understand some of us drive our cars different,but I'm looking for a good street/ Sunday driving type of application. BTW my motor is slightly "warmed up" so I'm assuming it will run a bit hotter and protection is the main goal here.What do you all think?
Thanks,
Joe

[krewzer]

Water Wetter and water

[RallyBob]

Originally Posted by krewzer Water Wetter and water

Not for Milwaukee! Gotta have protection from freezing.

I'm not really all that sure that any one brand is better than another. I've heard horror stories about Dexcool's corrosiveness to aluminum, so I'd shy away from that. My understanding it that only a few facilities manufacture ALL brands of anti-freeze/coolant. Can't confirm that however.

I tend to buy the Sierra brand these days. Supposedly easier on the environment if you spill any. Animals love the smell and taste of anti-freeze but it's toxic to them. It's actually required for rally cars on some rallys that are run on public forest lands for the same reason....a crash that spills coolant won't kill the wildlife.

Change it every two years and all should be well. I usually mix it 66/33, so one gallon of coolant in an Opel plus 2 quarts (+/-) of water and you should be all set.

HTH,
Bob

[OriginalOpelGTOwner]

My Mustang GT has a cast iron block with aluminum heads. Ford recommends their green color coolent which is Motorcraft Premium Engine Coolent. Every 2 years I change the opel GT coolent at the same time I change the Mustang coolent. I use distilled water for a 50/50 mix. I never had a cooling problem.

[Paul]

From a heat transfer and heat holding capacity perspective...

Straight water holds more heat than any mixture of water and antifreeze/coolant. From a heat transfer point of view water with a wetting agent, such as Redline's Water Wetter, will transfer more heat from the surface of the head/block than just straight water or water/antifreeze/coolant mixture. However, for optimal efficiency, Redline advises not to use their product with greater than 25% antifreeze/coolant.

All that being said, since you live in the North and have very cold winter temperatures, I'd just stick with a 50/50 mixture of distilled water and antifreeze/coolant. IIRC this will give best cold weather protection.

[RallyBob]

Originally Posted by Paul Straight water holds more heat than any mixture of water and antifreeze/coolant. From a heat transfer point of view water with a wetting agent, such as Redline's Water Wetter, will transfer more heat from the surface of the head/block than just straight water or water/antifreeze/coolant mixture.

I fully agree. We always used straight water and Water Wettor in our race cars (plus a pump lubricant), partially because of the heat transfer properties, and partially because a lot of tracks want NO antifreeze as spills are as slippery as ice and hard to clean up. But we had to be careful, as here in New England it can easily be 65° during the day and 30° overnight. Enough to 'blow up' a $250 aluminum radiator! Many times I would just remove the radiator cap and drain a little water from the system to allow for expansion if it froze.

But for the street, I want the anti-freeze properties and the lubrication/anti-corrosive properties of the coolant for water pump longevity and to prevent heavy rust in the block.

[Aardvaark]

[QUOTE=RallyBob;188793]Many times I would just remove the radiator cap and drain a little water from the system to allow for expansion if it froze.
QUOTE]
Water expands in all directions when it freezes here in the midwest. Not sure I would trust anything other then a full drain of the radiator and block?

[RallyBob]

Originally Posted by Aardvaark Water expands in all directions when it freezes here in the midwest. Not sure I would trust anything other then a full drain of the radiator and block?

I must've gotten lucky then... Never did bust another radiator. Previous to the radiator fiasco I did have a thermostat housing gasket push out though.

[Paul]

Personally, I use 75% distilled water and 25% antifreeze/coolant along with a charge of Redline Water Weter. This has me covered to 0 to -10*F, which in Arkansas has me covered 9 years out of 10.

[BMWonly]

Most BMW guys recommend the green antifreeze for older cars rather than the yellow. Not exactly sure about the difference, but it has something to do with the BMW aluminum head of an M10 motor. Should not make a difference for our cast iron heads.
Besides, I buy the "Peak" brand, just because of Danica Patrick ....

PEAK Racing Page

[trlmr]

I won't comment on the sierra brand since I've never seen any, but I would shy away from the Dexcool. It will break down after a few years and lately we have had a rash of plugged heater cores. It turns into a gel that plugs small passages. I don't know if it is a result of miles or time but it can usually be back flushed out. Ford seems to make a good coolant as does Zerex. They all are probably fine if they are changed every few years. I'm assuming Yellaopelgt knows better than to use less than a 50-50 mix in Wisconsin. Maybe 60-40 would be even safer. Even in Iowa a 50-50 sometimes turns to slush. I've never heard of a broken radiator or block using it though.

[yellaopelgt]

We have the Seirra brand available here in WI..and my first choice would be Peak as well. I am very aware of the 50/50 mix especially here in WI and usually get the mix to read at about -35 degrees. While the car never sees rain or snow...it gets stored in a garage,but its not climate controlled. I was always under the impression that too strong of a mix, is just as, if not more detrimental as too weak of a mix.I was shopping around yesterday for coolant while picking up a few toys for the Opel and 90% of the brands are a pre-mix of 50-50%. The weather here varies from one extreme to another its 102 in the summer and -30 in the winter,so, durability is of the essence!
During my own research...I've come across the concern that certain brands would react with the aluminum in the radiator fins and basically chemically cause a "film" that reduces the cooling abilities. I'm thinking of just doing the "norm" of -35 and adding a shot or two of the redline additive for good measure.
thanks guys!
Joe

[AZManta]

Originally Posted by RallyBob Not for Milwaukee! Gotta have protection from freezing. I'm not really all that sure that any one brand is better than another. I've heard horror stories about Dexcool's corrosiveness to aluminum, so I'd shy away from that. My understanding it that only a few facilities manufacture ALL brands of anti-freeze/coolant. Can't confirm that however. I tend to buy the Sierra brand these days. Supposedly easier on the environment if you spill any. Animals love the smell and taste of anti-freeze but it's toxic to them. It's actually required for rally cars on some rallys that are run on public forest lands for the same reason....a crash that spills coolant won't kill the wildlife. Change it every two years and all should be well. I usually mix it 66/33, so one gallon of coolant in an Opel plus 2 quarts (+/-) of water and you should be all set. HTH, Bob

Bob, my understanding is that as you approach 100% coolant it doesn't transfer heat as well. I've seen this problem before, at least with the old green stuff.

[RallyBob]

Originally Posted by AZManta Bob, my understanding is that as you approach 100% coolant it doesn't transfer heat as well. I've seen this problem before, at least with the old green stuff.

Very true, pure anti-freeze is worse than a mixture. But I was taught that while 50/50 is acceptable, 66/34 is considered 'ideal' for those climates that may see a broader range of temps. Where I live at least, we can see -10° to -15° in the winter, and 90°-100° in the summer, so I have to allow for those extremes.