Anti-freeze needed?

You need coolant to prevent the water from boiling. Without coolant your car will overheat. A good ratio is 70% water and 30% coolant if your car won't see any freezing temperatures

The only thing to worry about is corrosion. It's been a while since I looked at Water Wetter, but if it has corrosion inhibitors in it, I wouldn't worry.

(Otherwise, I think you can just get a bottle of corrosion inhibitor.)

The coolant protects from rust & lubricates the water pump.

(see below - copied from AJ.com after a search for the word 'coolant')

What
Your engine's coolant or antifreeze is primarily ethylene glycol (a clear, colorless, odorless, viscous liquid with a sweet taste which, unlike the glycerine or alcohols it is based on is quite toxic when consumed), water, and corrosion inhibitors. The ethylene glycol prevents freezing on the coolant in cold weather and since it raises the boiling point of water it prevents overheating in warm weather. The corrosion inhibitor stops the dissimilar metals used in engines from corroding into oblivion.

Why
The thing most people understand about antifreeze is the it keeps your engine from overheating and freezing up. Though that's important, just as important is the corrosion inhibiting properties of antifreeze and most people have no idea about what corrosion does to an engine. We see far more damage and costly repairs due to corrosion than freeze ups and overheating. By far. When coolant loses it ability to prevent corrosion (after about two years) it actually causes corrosion by becoming acidic. Then electrolysis sets up between the dissimilar metals and, just like a battery, one of the metals starts to corrode. It can be the engine block, cylinder head, head gasket or any number of other parts. It's usually the head gasket. A new car will suffer a corrosion related engine failure in 6 to 10 years if the coolant is never changed. This frequently overlooked maintenance is both easy to do and inexpensive.

When
Every two years. Also at around 90,000 miles the thermostat should be replaced.

WaterWetter® is a unique wetting agent for cooling systems which reduces coolant temperatures by as much as 30ºF. This liquid product can be used to provide rust and corrosion protection in plain water for racing engines, which provides much better heat transfer properties than glycol-based antifreeze. 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. Compatible with all antifreezes, including the latest long-life variations.

Click to expand...

WaterWetter & plain water for racing engines. I run Water Wetter with my coolant.

Lems

I have been to the dragstrip and been told by tech that you are not allowed to run antifreeze in your car. is there anything you can run yearround that won't freeze?

the reason for the track rules is to keep E/G off the track.

water transfers heat 2.6 times better than antifreeze. i agree with Adam's sentiments completely - run enough coolant to inhibit corrosion, lubricate, etc. i start off 50/50 and dilute with water as top ups are needed.

There is no "chemical" in water to keep it below boiling where anti freeze does.

stangguy50 said:

There is no "chemical" in water to keep it below boiling where anti freeze does.

Click to expand...

Not completely relevant. When you add antifreeze to the water in your cooling system it will raise the boiling point, this is true. HOWEVER, antifreeze does not transfer heat as well as water. If you run straight water you generally don't have to worry as much about having the highest boiling point you can, as it will run cooler.

89MustangGX said:

Not completely relevant. When you add antifreeze to the water in your cooling system it will raise the boiling point, this is true. HOWEVER, antifreeze does not transfer heat as well as water. If you run straight water you generally don't have to worry as much about having the highest boiling point you can, as it will run cooler.

Click to expand...

Yep, pretty true, you will run cooler so you will be less likely to overheat in the first place. If you do overheat though, it will be more likely to boil over than having coolant, water does run cooler though, coolant is just a fancy term for people to use instead of antifreeze. Sells better.

89MustangGX said:

Not completely relevant. When you add antifreeze to the water in your cooling system it will raise the boiling point, this is true. HOWEVER, antifreeze does not transfer heat as well as water. If you run straight water you generally don't have to worry as much about having the highest boiling point you can, as it will run cooler.

Click to expand...

exactly.

and to add to the quote that Adam was addressing, water does not intrinsically raise the boiling-point like anti-freeze, but the pressure in the system surely does (around 3*F per PSI. 16 PSI cap = around 50*F).

HISSIN50 said:

and to add to the quote that Adam was addressing, water does not intrinsically raise the boiling-point like anti-freeze, but the pressure in the system surely does (around 3*F per PSI. 16 PSI cap = around 50*F).

Click to expand...

Right -- I didn't even get into that. Thanks