mar3

iTrader: (8)

50/50 is too much. That's the industry trying to sell you a product recommending percentages, remember. If you live in an area that's going to see -34 deg Fahrenheit sometime soon, then that is a good mix. I know I'll never see those kinds of temps down here, so it will never be a good recommendation for my cars to use a 50/50 mix.

I go with 15% Prestone green, 84.5% Echowater purifed H20 and 0.5% other; the "other" being Redline's Water Wetter. I want to try Evan's NGP coolant next in CBird, old Pontiacs being notorious for running hot...

d0 Luck

someone should archive this.. very good discussion going on here

Twitch1

nice info

stilettoman

iTrader: (1)

"You can do it for short periods of time - heck I have used Pepsi, iced tea, and windshield washer fluid in order to get home,"

The following is a true event dating back to the late 1950s. I think it was an Eastern Airlines Super Constellation. The hydraulic system reservoir was inside the airplane, on a bulkhead behind the Flight Engineer. They had a leak and lost all their fluid before they figured out what to do. So after circling for a while, and not able to lower the landing gear the pilot told the chief stewardess ("Flight attendant" had not been invented yet) to prepare the passengers for a wheels-up landing. She was quite concerned and insisted to know why this was necessary. They told her the fluid was gone. She replied "No it is not. We have several gallons of water, coffee and orange juice." She proceeded to fill the reservoir, they lowered the gear and landed. The cost of flushing the hydraulics must have been a lot less than replacing four engines, propellers and all that sheet metal.

Using water only for racing is fine, but I would drain it when you ae not racing. In normal driving, it is very important with a rotary to replace the coolant at least every other year, as the rotor housings will corrode through and you will have a junk motor. It is especially critical on the older rotaries with the seal grooves in the aluminum, because they have very thin sections around the seals. Even if you live in Phoenix and it never freezes, the antifreeze has anticorrosion additives. These additives are expended after a year or two, or after 20-30,000 miles and should be replaced with fresh coolant.

MattG

iTrader: (2)

I have done the same thing with my pinto. I blew a hole in the heater hose, So I by-passed it, but I still need fluid to get back to the gas station a mile up. So I just pissed in that ho right there on I-45! Spit, ****, Dr Pepper anyfluid I could find!

Sad thing I just left it in there when I added new water for the rest of the way home! But I did change it when I got home.

Dan_s_young

iTrader: (1)

Good information I agree it should be archivied.

SCCAIT7

Wow... some of you guys are quite interesting and inventive in your...well I will just say Ideas...

Years ago my Dad worked for Prestone. Still has connections to them... However one thing that I have always discussed with him is how to keep an engine cool during the heat of the summer and keep blocks from cracking in the winter. This is why they created the Ethlene-glycol products most of us use today. They raise the boiling point of water so as to prevent the engine from blowing a head gasket or such...and they also keep the water from freezing and cracking the block.

With that tad of history...I have had a long standing debate with him about the use of "just water"...water with products like "wetter water" and the ideal 50/50 mix. One of the first things that he talks about with just water is the issue of rust and cavitation that is caused while the water is pumped through the system. The rust is the main issue that you have to think about...rust can become a nasty little problem and only grows. Next he talks about the reaction between water and the different types of metals that the coolant comes in contact and the electrical "current" that it creates...this also begins to eat at water pumps and ESPECIALLY allumimun (spell). Anyway- I digress...
When you ask Dad about products like "wetter-water"...this is where the straight answers begin to turn into winding roads... However his main concern is that while the product acts as a lube...it allows the water to move faster...thus not allowing it to fully absorb the heat...now...In theory it make sense...however I imagine someone could explain how the product is designed NOT to do this.
Anyway... just one mans ....old mans....thoughts...

Wow...I can't imagine just running water...seems so harsh...I know in SCCA there are times that we are sitting on the false grid with 5 to go...and that temp guage is just going up and up...There are some guys that their coolant temps climb so fast...they fire the engine with 1 to go...and let the engine warm on the warm up laps...which is troublesome because thats only one lap.....I would be worried...

fishbulb95

Yea my buddy use to do that with his VW.. he had a leak.. and and we needed to get up this hill, and the radiator was bone dry.... Luckily he had a 24 pack of beer in his trunk. Funniest **** ever.

-Matt

trochoid

iTrader: (6)

Very interesting info gentlemen. I do need to add one cautionary note for those emergency roadside repairs. Diet colas, beer, tea and pee will work well enough to get you home or to service. Sugared sodas and teas may cause problems if the sugars carmalize in the cooling system.

SCCAIT7

Talking to Dad a little more... He suggests that while running just water will not make your car run any hotter... you do need to increase the radiator cap pressure. There is something like 2 degree's water temp for every pound of pressure. So a 16 pound cap adds 32 degrees boil over to 212 degree boiling point of water. The main issue is boil over after shut down.... He suggest turning on the fan (electric) during your cool down lap.

capt murph

While this is from the 80's and some things may have changed since then (newer products like 'water wetter'), here is what they found suitable:

From Mazda Competition Preparation and Sevice Manual, Page 23, " Coolant: We do not recommend using antifreeze. For racing engines,we have found clean water to be the most suitable coolant. The coolant should be changed regularly and drained in the winter to avoid freezing."

I still want to bend my shifter like the manual says...go speed racer...

Hyper4mance2k

iTrader: (40)

it's illegal to use antifreeze on any NHRA approved race track. It's damn near impossible to clean up a spill. I've ran staright water in every car I've ever owned. No real risk of freezing where I live. Some times I'll run with watter wetter. Straight water WILL run cooler than water and antifreeze in any combination. Distilled water and water wetter is the best solution available today. Water alone may have a lower boiling point then awater and antifreeze, but it a mix will not transfer heat as quickly as water alone. Go and try it. Next oil change run straight water. then go back to water and antifreeze and tell me what runs cooler. with staright water I run 180 degrees F all the time. with a mixture i run 190-195... I have done the tests. I'm not telling you what I have heard from someone, or read on a forum. I know water alone leaves the possibility for deposits and rust. That's why i recomended distilled water and waterwetter. Again if you are a drag racer and you race on a NHRA approved track if the pop your car durring tech and it's red or green you ain't racing. Lucky for most they almost never check your fluids unless your in a serious class.