OK so im planning on flushing my cooling system this week and wanna know if its worth it to buy a racing coolant or just use anti freeze and water.... what are some good racing coolants?? also is that water wetter or royal purple ice stuff safe to use with Prestone extended life antifreeze because that's what i plan on using to fill my car with

 

Did you answer your own question, or do you just want to know about the additives?

 

Green stuff.

 

i wanna know about additives and i wanna know if theres something better than the prestone extended life..since pres-tone doesnt make full strength green anymore

 

A well bled, clean cooling system shouldn't need any additives, IMO.

But I hear Redline Water Wetter does some fun stuff.

 

What is a "racing coolant"? Are you alluding to Evans NPG?

http://www.evanscooling.com/

With regard to "racing" (do you mean a car that is dedicated to race use, not driven on the street, and not exposed to freezing temperatures?), water is the best conductor of heat. Use distilled water, a good rust preventative, a good lubricant and a surfactant like Water Wetter. Just remember to drain the cooling system if the car is stored for
the winter in an unheated location.

If its a street vehicle, exposed to winter weather, and occasionally raced, I'd recommend an extended life coolant like Dex-Cool. The benefit of using a surfactant with a 50/50 ethylene glycol coolant mix is questionable.

 

I have used stock orange Dexcool (97ss MM6). It is more corrosive than the green Eth_glycol. I have used it with a Be_Cool Alum 4 core rad on a 383 FI application with a 160* stat. Did not like how it cooled, so, I moved to Evans NPG+ coolant. I had to modify the WP with no thermostat option (requires a by-pass plug). Did that. Also, required a fill location near the top of the WP (made this part also - simple). Evans is great for my app. Engine really runs alot better and has better throttle response/ power due to increased cooling capacity (& 7 psi rad cap). With the larger rad, it took almost 4 gal. $32.50 per gal, so, not cheap. Also, it is a lubricant for all parts in the cooling circuit. Not corrosive like dexcool. Hope this helps. B.

 

z28beast:
I use the Prestone Ethylene Glycol diluted 1:1 with distilled water. The idea of Propylene Glycol (a lower pressure system) is appealing but the cost is too extreme. EG works fine. I also add 1 bottle of Water-Wetter and 1 bottle of Prestone Anti-Rust Inhibitor. Then use pH paper to check for acidity every few months. The mix should have a pH of about 8 (slightly basic), if it's a 7 (neutral) I add another bottle of Rust-Inhibitor. I've changed out the mix twice since the car was new. It still has the original radiator and hoses ... heater core too. Everything works.

 

What is your basis for stating that Dex-Cool is more corrosive than "Green Eth_Glycol"?

What specifically did you not like about "how it cooled" with regard to the specific application you cited?

Green or orange, its all the same ethylene glycol. Only the additives are different.

 

Read this: http://sancarlosradiator.com/dex-cool.htm

 

Interesting, but it does not address the "corrosive" issue. It focuses on sludge or "mud" as they choose to call it. Not everyone gets sludge. It also does not address the "how it cooled" issue, unless there is sludge buildup inhibiting heat transfer. I've never had an issue with sludge or with heat transfer.

 

I never had any issues either but it's most likely because I am a professional mechanic and would never leave it in there long enough to have problems. Seems people that leave the dexcool in for years and years do though. It is my belief that alot of the bad reputation LT1's in F-bodys have for overheating issues and blowing head gaskets due to overheating can be attributed to the fact that they are old, came with dexcool in them and never got the attention they should have due to the fact that GM said you could go 5 years on dexcool. Factor in the fact that if the book says 5 years most people would stretch that even farther, or the car gets sold and the new owner just drives it until theres a problem. My opinion when it comes to engine coolant is make sure it's there and clean. Pretty much anything on the market is going to work.

 

Dexcool has additives that make it more acidic. Seal life can be less in the LT engine, but, gm had their reasons. I was looking to remove more heat for a FI app even with a 160 stat. I also moved the rad forward to provide additional space for less engine heat, and better air flow thru the rad core (Plus an external VAC pump drive). I did some reading (Ray T Bohacz) "cooling systems" (HP book publication). Now that I have used Evans, I don't think I would go back to water-glycol system. It has worked excellent for my app. B.

 

OK bro i appreciate your honest answer!! im prolly going to just add a bottle of prestone a/f flush to my radiator and drive for a few days then just flush and fill with the new prestone extended life coolant.. this stuff is yellow though?? i cant find full strength by prestone anywhere...but anyway after i flush and fill how many bottles of water wetter should i add i have 2?? also where do you get that rust inhibator stuff at?

 

also i live in Michigan...are winters blow so i need something that wont freeze in my garage so i decided to use the prestone extended life stuff....BTW i hate Dex cool, i hate it in my grand prix and when i changed the coolant it looked like peanut butter ughh...there's a law suite against dexcool isnt there?