PNYXPRESS

Actually race cars would use an antifreeze/coolant blend if they could. They use straight water because its easier to clean up after a wreck where the radiator gets popped. Antifreeze/coolant is very slippery and leaves a film on the racing surface.

jz78817

Why? They're not worried about freezing, and after a race the engine is drained anyway so corrosion isn't an issue.

PNYXPRESS

Antifreeze/coolant isn't just for freezing. the ethylene glycol enhances the waters ability to absorb heat and also raises the boiling point. this allows them to run more tape on the front of the car without overheating and loosing water to steam.

Water is great for absorbing heat but is boils off at a relatively low temp compared to normal operating temperatures of an engine. This doesn't give you much margin of safety when you start running hot.

jz78817

no it does not. Ethylene glycol has a specific heat capacity (how much heat a material can absorb without raising temperature) about half that of water. I've already said this.

only by a little bit, the boiling point of a 50/50 mix is 223°. The pressure in the cooling system raises the boiling point far more than the glycol. 15 psig (fairly typical car cooling system pressure) raises the boiling point of pure water to 250°.

PNYXPRESS

The boiling point of water is 212°, the boiling point of 50/50 (which is 50% water 50% ethylene glycol) is 223°? Woudnt this mean the glycol enhanced the heat absortion of the water since once it boils off it no longer is absorbing heat?

jz78817

water boiling is absorbing heat, it's just that once it reaches the boiling point any more energy absorbed goes to changing phase from liquid to gas instead of just raising the temperature.

but as I already said, cars use pressurized cooling systems for a reason. for every 1 psi increase in gauge pressure, the boiling point of plain water goes up about 3°F. Cars typically use a cooling system pressure of ~16 psig, so if water at STP boils at 212°F, at 16 psig the boiling point is 260°F*.

so the boil-over protection for your coolant is pressure. The glycol helps a bit, but not enough to where a race team would want to use it. If you lose pressure in your cooling system and it starts to boil, you've got problems that no amount of glycol will fix.

* This is why you never ever remove the radiator cap on a car with a hot or overheating engine. Once you relieve the pressure in the system, the coolant can flash boil violently and burn the hell out of you.

Roy_R

This is what I use, both for the super-charger and the engine....

http://www.valvoline.com/products/br.../antifreeze/42

•Protection for up to 5 years / 150,000 miles
•Approved by Ford and DaimlerChrysler for use in automotive and diesel engines.
•Utilizes hybrid organic acid technology to minimize inhibitor depletion
•Low-silicate, low-pH and phosphate-free formula
•Provides protection against liner pitting and corrosion
•Helps prevent rust and corrosion
•Helps prevent hot weather boil-overs and cold weather freeze-ups
•Protects all cooling system metals, including aluminum

Art161

That's fine for your 2008, but the newer Mustangs require orange antifreeze, not gold.

I have found the Valvoline website not up-to-date, and its tech support to be unknowledgeable.

lexustech48

Lets not forget that PRESSURE in the cooling system is where the real magic is. Its what makes water/coolant have a boiling point of ~265F (most cooling systems). You have a leak= no pressure regardless of mix or coolant used. Also, an improperly purged cooling system can be equally bad.

Fortunately most late model Mustangs features a closed type cooling system so all you have to do is add water/coolant till at full level in tank. Happy boy when I found my GT was setup like this!

jz78817

https://mustangforums.com/forum/8419722-post14.html

https://mustangforums.com/forum/8419863-post16.html

thank you for repeating what I've already said multiple times.