Whats the best coolant mixture

Slow5.0 · Jun 25, 2005

Since i installed heads i have little problem with heat, i don't have overheating it just runs hotter than before
I run 160F thermostat with adjusted fan sfitch by TwEECer but with 160 thermostat i keep melting fan motor connector because it runs at High speed all the time, so i have switched to 180 thermostat

I know there is Red Line Water Wetter but i was wandering whats the best coolant mixture ( watter / antifreeze)
I heard with too much antifreeze will runs hotter because lower boiling points

How about 100% water

jasonlee0704 · Jun 25, 2005

100% water will cool the best but cause corrosion in your cooling system.

I run about 60/40 distilled water/coolant, because I know the water will evaporate from the overflow bottle over time.

HISSIN50 · Jun 25, 2005

Ernan, the above info is right. Water transfers heat 2.6 times more effectively than E/G coolant. I would ensure you have enough cold weather protection (or if running a lot of water, use an add pack of rust inhibitors, water pump lubricant, etc).

Are you having the fan come on ~15*F hotter than the thermostat rating? Otherwise, if the fan's turn-on temperature is too close to the thermostat's opening temperature, the fan will run constantly.

Another option would be a variable fan controller like at
www.DcControl.com

Good luck Ernan.

WHITE94COBRA · Jun 25, 2005

With the tweecer you can bump up the high speed fan temp, for a 180 t stat make it come on at 195, for 160 t stat make it come on at 175. That should take care of the heat problem. If for any reason it keeps getting hot, flush your whole system out with a good radiator cooling system flush and replace it with 60% distilled water, One bottle watter wetter, and the rest with dex cool coolant.

94GTLaserRC · Jun 25, 2005

WHITE94COBRA said:
With the tweecer you can bump up the high speed fan temp, .......

Yeah, why are you wiring the fan to do that when you can set the TwEECer to do so....???

About what temps are you running?

RC

HISSIN50 · Jun 25, 2005

WHITE94COBRA said:
One bottle watter wetter, and the rest with dex cool coolant.

Why would you recommend using that stuff? I have to respectfully disagree 100% about that recommendation (unless you know something I dont).

mo_dingo · Jun 25, 2005

One thing to remember, with aluminum heads, you need something to stop the water from "rusting". That is the coolant's job. Put at least 15% or so.

I run distilled water instead of tap water. So many impurities in regular tap water.
Scott

94GTLaserRC · Jun 25, 2005

mo_dingo said:
One thing to remember, with aluminum heads, you need something to stop the water from "rusting". That is the coolant's job. Put at least 15% or so.

I run distilled water instead of tap water. So many impurities in regular tap water.
Scott

Does AL rust?
I thought that was steel
RC

HISSIN50 · Jun 25, 2005

The shortblock is iron. Waterpump, etc also rust. Toss in some electrolysis and all bets are off.

As Scott said, Distilled water is the only way to go if water in your area is suspect (we live in the desert - I dont want to know what they do to make the water palatable).

One can also use an anode to help with corrosion.

MysteryMachine · Jun 25, 2005

I've always went with and heard to use 50/50

Slow5.0 · Jun 25, 2005

Too late now, i went to AutoZone and bought one bottle of Red Line and i mix with 70% watter/30% antifreeze and one Red Line

With 180F I adjust low speed 188 on/182 off , high speed 196 on/ 192 off

WHITE94COBRA · Jun 26, 2005

Why would you recommend using that stuff? I have to respectfully disagree 100% about that recommendation (unless you know something I dont).

Which stuff are you referring to??
Distilled water?? well thats a no brainer.
Water wetter??? Its proven it cools better than water or coolant alone.
or is it the dex cool????
I had the dex in my car before the heads intake and cam, no heating issues ever, then I put the heads cam and intake on same thing no problems. My old car had the heads off twice the first time was with regular antifreeze, heads were so corroded it was disgusting, put the new heads on and did my normal filling procedure with regular antifreeze, put about 10000 miles on the car totaled it went to get my heads off after the accident and major corrosion again? Now my current car has had the heads off a few times and my corrosion was very minimul with about the same mileage, actually a bit more. It just seems to keep the corrosion way down compared to regular antifreeze. This is MY OPINION, and it has been proven to me, he asked for opinions and some help so I'm just trying to help. Take it or leave it.

HISSIN50 · Jun 26, 2005

WHITE94COBRA said:
Why would you recommend using that stuff? I have to respectfully disagree 100% about that recommendation (unless you know something I dont).

Which stuff are you referring to??
Distilled water?? well thats a no brainer.
Water wetter??? Its proven it cools better than water or coolant alone.
or is it the dex cool????
I had the dex in my car before the heads intake and cam, no heating issues ever, then I put the heads cam and intake on same thing no problems. My old car had the heads off twice the first time was with regular antifreeze, heads were so corroded it was disgusting, put the new heads on and did my normal filling procedure with regular antifreeze, put about 10000 miles on the car totaled it went to get my heads off after the accident and major corrosion again? Now my current car has had the heads off a few times and my corrosion was very minimul with about the same mileage, actually a bit more. It just seems to keep the corrosion way down compared to regular antifreeze. This is MY OPINION, and it has been proven to me, he asked for opinions and some help so I'm just trying to help. Take it or leave it.

Easy bud. Yeah, I was referring to the part you talked about for the majority of the time - the Dex Cool part. It is not something I would do, but you explained why you chose it, and that is fine. I still would not run it, but to each his own.

FWIW, not even cars which come with the stuff often retain it. There have been, ahem, a number of issues about. I would also note that one should flush the system thoroughly if switching, as E/G and that stuff can be quite corrosive when mixed.

In all seriousness, I wonder if you might have experienced an electrolysis issue with the old parts - that is really not normal.

Like I said, I would not run the stuff, but I respect your opinion and simply was unsure why you recommended it. If someone suggests something a bit unorthodoxed, it is not unusual for others to be curious. You very articulately explained why you wrote what you did. Now we know. We cool?

JRPony · Jun 26, 2005

Yes, I agree. Dex-cool has proven to cause a lot more problems then ethylene glycol ever has. After awhile, the dex-cool starts to turn to sludge, starts to cause cooling issues and is then is a nightmare to flush out.

And to answer the original question, in cold weather states, I would use a 50/50 mixture as this ratio has the best freeze protection. In warm weather states, I would use a 70/30 (water/coolant) mixture as this allows for the highest boiling point and also transfers heat very efficiently. I would not recommend using 100% water because you have no rust protection and normal engine operating temp is a little too close to the boiling point of the water.

WHITE94COBRA · Jun 26, 2005

As far as the sludge issue, never had any problems with it, I would however be interested in hearing about it, I'm not opposed to hearing critisizm, in fact thats where we get some of our best answeres. Im about to pull my heads off again to put in the new Ed C cam, so I'll give even more detailed info on my conclusions. This time the heads have been on for about 15000 miles. The one thing I have noticed is that the dex makes the rubber on the radiator cap softer, I have had no issues other than that. I will keep you posted, and if my findings come back negative I will more than happily tell everyone. I only usually write about things that I do myself, good or bad.

P.S. sorry I didnt want it to sound like I was offended,(I wasnt) all opinions are welcome to me.

slo65 · Jun 26, 2005

JRPony said:
Yes, I agree. Dex-cool has proven to cause a lot more problems then ethylene glycol ever has. After awhile, the dex-cool starts to turn to sludge, starts to cause cooling issues and is then is a nightmare to flush out.

thats for damn sure, i work at an oil change place and do coolant flushes daily, dex cool flushes are a pita, if the people go a little tooo long, sludege builds up, looks like mud even when we replace the dexcool by the next oil change it'll look dark again due to the sludge build up from the previous.... bah.... its gross stuff....

Whats the best coolant mixture

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