65Sickster

I have been reading through the FAQ's, previous posts, and online articles for about an hour concerning the right coolant/water mixture for my car. I have heard a 50/50 ratio recomended (including by Soaring), as well as a 60/40, and even a 30/70 ratio. What ratio would you recomend? And what number is representative of what element - is the 60 in the "60/40" representative of water or coolant?

I have also read people on here suggesting the use of Water Wetter. How and when does this get factored into the ratio?

Thanks in advance!

andrewmp6

i run 50/50 or close to it i use distilled water basicly every gallon of coolant you put in you need a gallon of water to make it 50/50

NorCalTroy

+1 on 50% water and 50% coolant

The Water Wetter is added after you mix the water/coolant. It is just a small bottle that you add to the radiator. Here is a link to some info on Red Line Oil - Water Wetter, there are also different brands. http://www.redlineoil.com/products_c...ubCategoryID=4

rmodel65

ok heres whats up pure water transfers the heat the best but you gotta have some antifreeze to slightly rasie the boining point. also the antifreeze helps to cut back on corrision and its lubes the water pump to a degree.

also never use anything but distilled water in the radiator to also help keep from getting deposits.

i never run 50/50 in my car but it never freezes hardly in south ga probably more like 30/70

JMD

+1 on the 50/50 or close.

What kills me is that coolant manufactures are now selling "pre-mixed" antifreze, that way we get to spend our money on 1/2 a bottle of water!

rmodel65

yeah and its more expensive

Lumbergh

One reason for using a mixture of water and antifreeze is to raise the boiling point and lower the freezing point of the coolant. The mixture of antifreeze and water will have a higher boiling point and lower freezing point than either liquid seperately. Interestingly the curve generated by plotting the boiling point versus the percentage of antifreeze in the coolant mixture looks like a hill with the peak at approximately 57% antifreeze; however, the difference in the boiling point at this maximum and at a 50:50 mixture is only a couple of degrees (really nothing to worry about), so a 50:50 mixture is recomended as it is easy to do (adding equal amounts is a heck of a lot easier than trying to create a 57% or even 60% solution of antifreeze).

The second reason for antifreeze is the protection it provides both to the radiator and the pump. It will reduce the wear on the pump impellers and help prevent corrosion of the radiator as well as help prevent excessive scale formation. A good antifreeze will deposit a thin layer of "scale" on the interior of the radiator that will protect the radiator from corrosion while preventing the formation of a thick layer of scale which will reduce the cooling capacity of the radiator. However, if you want to be extra careful, you can spend a few bucks and use distilled water instead of tap water in the radiator in order to prevent scale formation. This is absolutely necessary in areas where you have moderately hard to hard water.

Brandontyler65

i don't see anything wrong with that at all i think that it is great for keeping it around to top it off and if you think you are getting ripped off cause its mixed with distilled well then i guess you have a gripe with several other companies aswell such as pepsi co and coca cola cause their products contain mostly water and as far as price goes it is $6 a gallon at my store vs 11 for the concentrate so how is it more expensive its almost half and they take the work out of it you just pour and go but hey i guess you have cola syrup and co2 tanks at home for your soda, you shoud buy crude oil and refine it too while you are at it since you are getting ripped and let me know how that works out for you

Soaring

The ratio you use depends on what part of the country you are living in. If I lived in the desert of Arizona I would be running a 30% antifreeze to 70% water simply because water cools better than antifreeze. You do have to run some antifreeze for reasons already cited. If I live in a moderate climate will run a 50/50 mixture just as most folks do. But if I live in a very cold climate I would run more antifreeze than water to get the freezing point as low as I could.

66GTKFB

As you're in LA, 50 percent coolant is max, but 30 percent (ala Soaring) is about min. I would start at 50/50 and as I need to top off, add only water.
Jim