Coolant additives, which one is best? A review

[tmcphail]

Water wetter does work. I run it and have for many years.

 

[AZGT]

Do NOT use 100% water as the antifreeze (poorly referred to by most) is better referred to as a coolant system conditioner with one of the benefits being that it protects the system from freezing.

In the desert the main reason for the antifreeze is to raise the boiling point of the water. I wouldn't run 100% water in the GT - it is basically always at the boiling point.

 

[californiacuda]

"HOW STUFF WORKS", says that 70% antifreeze raises the boiling point to 235 deg F, and that the pressure in the cooling system of 14 to 15 lbs/in raises the boiling point another 45deg.

280 deg to boil the coolant, WOW!

 

[AZGT]

"HOW STUFF WORKS", says that 70% antifreeze raises the boiling point to 235 deg F, and that the pressure in the cooling system of 14 to 15 lbs/in raises the boiling point another 45deg.

280 deg to boil the coolant, WOW!

In the desert the main reason for the antifreeze is to raise the boiling point of the water. I wouldn't run 100% water in the GT - it is basically always at the boiling point.

True. The pressure cap is what keeps water only system from boiling all the time.

 

[cobrar1339]

In theory maybe, but you will blow coolant well before you reach 280deg. Been there done that many times. Lots of other ugly things will happen before this as well.

The pressure in the cap is supposed to be lower than the next weakest point in the system. A balance between the boil and blowing a hose, gasket, radiator seal, etc. Take an old poorly maintained car and put on a new cap, other things start to get leaky.

 

[SYCO GT]

Black Ice - I put one bottle of Water Wetter with the Supercharger coolant & 2 bottles in the Engine coolant. I'm running 20% anti-freeze to distilled water. It has been working well on the road & track.

Ed

Can I just add the specified amounts of Water Wetter without flushing or removing the existing factory level coolant? (Assuming that it is not overfilled with coolant mix to begin with).

Or do I need to remove 12 ounces of coolant for every bottle of water wetter that I add?

 

[Fubar]

What a timely thread. Two weeks ago I ran at the Little Talladega Grand Prix coarse and I had horrendous over heating problems. Previous to this I ran at Road Atlanta with some long straights (alot of 3rd & 4th gear 130-145 mph)and a totally stock engine. However when we put it on the dyno (475 rwhp/456 tq) it was very rich in the higher rpm's and as a matter of fact it was blowing orange flames on the straights. At RA the outside temps were about 80 degrees and the engine temp stayed between 205 & 210.
Before my run at Talladega I had the Kennie Bell snout with the 2 3/4 pulley and the GT Guys &Jerry's super flash tune. The A/F mix was corrected and the dyno result was 600 rwhp/567 tq. a hugh difference.
That weekend at Talladega the outside temps were 95+ and the track was short and tight 2nd & 3rd gear, 110-120 on the one long straight. Once the temp got over 200 degrees it kept on going to 235. I had to back off the higher rpm's and sometimes came off the track early, couldn't even finish the 15 min. session.
The next day I had a seasoned driver take me around in my car and he said that with all the torque I would be better off shifting between 3000 & 4000 rpm and the car would be more controllable in the tight turns. He was absolutely correct and it did manage to keep the temps down to 205-210 and ran faster laps.
Naturally with the higher temps I felt the power go away as my boost was way down because of the engine management. I was dissapointed that the GT did not have a better cooling system to handle those extreme conditions.
I contrast I went around with another driver in his stock Cayman S and he drove the sh*t out of that car. In fact he shredded one of his tires after 1 1/2 days. Ironically even though he was constantally in the rev limiter his temps were never higher than when he would be crusing the freeways. That really impressed me. I also took a Lambo Gallardo and a Lotus out for a few laps and they did not experience the over heating problems. Am I the only one experiencing this? Would I benefit from these wetting agents by adding them to my current 50/50 mix? Thanks,
Flash :cheers

I have had the same problems you mentioned. That was with the stock set-up. I have sense changed to 20% mix with 2 bottles of water wetter. I have also added the Accufab hose springs. I have not been to the track sense all of these addition but I don't expect much of a change. I suspect that the GT is prone to overheat unless you make major changes to the cooling system. I have not tried using the lower RPM torque to keep the engine cool... new idea, thanks.

On the Porsche, although I don't think it was extremely hot it should have been somewhat stressed. I would guess the temp gage is a "dummy" gage and only tips in to the red when things are already to hot.