I have a 96 Z28 and I was about to do a coolant flush and was wondering if one was better then the other for strictly cooling? And is 70/30 water/coolant ok for the summer? Any other tips on getting keeping her cool? I already have a 160* T-stat and a HPP that turns the fans on sooner. Thanks!

 

For maximum cooling, you would use straight water. Although that is bad for a couple of reasons. First it has no corrosion resistance, and second it has no added freeze protection. I would think that 70/30 water/coolant would be fine for summer.

If you really need cooler, then add some redline water wetter.

as far as dexcool vs green stuff....I prefer the green stuff. The dexcool is designed for longetivity, not increased performance.

 

Distilled water, a bottle of water wetter and a bottle of water pump lube which also includes corrosion inhibitors is what I run in the summer. She gets parked in the winter and gets a 70/30 mix of green stuff and distilled water. Tap water has too much crap in it and gunks the cooling system up. Around here distilled water goes for $.58 a gallon so it's cheap insurance.

The 2000 ZR2 Blazer I just bought had to get a $350 acid flush to get the gunk out of the heater core so it would work. Thats 3yrs of Dexcool. Hate to see it after 5yrs. A radiator guy told me Dexcool only lasts 5yrs if used with distilled water after the cooling system is completely flushed with distiller water. After popping the cap on my new Blazer, I believe him. Oh, yeah, he said the factory is too cheap to use distilled water when they fill em. He recommends changing it every 2yrs at the longest. I change mine twice a year and the inside of my 94Z28 radiator is cleaner than my 00 Blazer.

 

I feel the green gycerol i think they call it, disipates heat better. Thats my opinion, i'm not a dexcool fan. I run green.

 

Ethylene glycol (green antifreeze) actually reduces the heat transfer efficiency of water. Thats why water wetter recommends a 50/50 mix or weaker of antifreeze to water so it can work better. I don't know about the effect of Dexcool on the heat transfer ability of water so I'll keep my mouth shut on that. Whatever you use, mix it with distilled water or your cooling system will become less efficient due to a build up of crud in it from tap water. My .02

 

while the crud may reduce the cooling efficiency, sometime especially on older cars, a severe flush will only yeild leaks, as all the gunk that was clogged in the holes no longer reisdes there.

 

Where do you get this waterpump lube? How much is it?

 

I would definitely recommend the Redline Water Wetter. My temp hardly ever gets over 170 with the 160 stat and HPP. Royal Purple has a similar product called Purple Ice I believe. I haven't tried it but probably good stuff too.

 

The green coolant contains much higher levels of silicone, so those of you who think they know more than GM engineers will be replacing your water pumps more often than the rest of us! The Dexcool has high lubrication properties as well, leaving no reason to run water pump lube. 70 water/30 coolant will be just fine for summer usage.

 

Both the conventional "green" coolant and the Dex-Cool "orange" coolant are the same base material - ethylene glycol. Only the "additive" package is different. The advantage of getting rid of silicon in the additives it to get rid of something that can harm the O2 sensors. They also eliminated the phosphorus from the additives for environmental reasons.

I can't think of any reason that the cooling properties of Dex-Cool would be any different than the conventional stuff.

I switched to Dex-Cool and ran it for 3 years in my 94 with no problems. Sold the radiator to a buddy and he said it cooled way better than the stocker in his 95, so it couldn't have been clogged up. Have been running Dex-Cool in the stroker for 3 years now, at the insistance of the engine builder, and no problems with sludge at all. I think GM and Texaco were able to demonstrate that the problem on some of the trucks with sludge was due to a faulty radiator cap design, that allowed excess air to enter the cooling system.

 

Would I have any problems running a 90/10 split of water and dexcool? Then throw in a bottle of water wetter. I will drain it in the winter. The car is for summers only.

 

95_RipperZ -- I get the water pump lube at a local parts place called Hill Piston. They have two stores in my town but they're just a local company. Any good parts store should have it. I don't pull the block coolant drain plugs when I change fluid so I'm probably running a 80/20 or 90/10 mix with the Water Wetter so it'll be fine. I drain the radiator then fill with distilled water, run it for a few then drain again and refill w/Water Wetter + distilled water.

Dexcool sounds better but I won't leave any fluid in my car for 5yrs straight. Oh, yeah, they changed the cap and thermostat when they did the flush, too. They didn't charge me the full $350 'cause I just bought the vehicle from them.