Waterless Coolant

[Lenny]

I'm watching Wheeler Dealers and Ed is working on a Triumph TR6. He is replacing the Coolant with Waterless Coolant.

It sounds pretty good:
1. Doesn't have to be changed
2. No water, no Corrosion
3. No Water, no pressure, he opened the radiator cap while the car was hot and running. It doesn’t boil over.

Jay Leno's Garage Says "It's environmentally friendly, increases your fuel economy up to 10%, prohibits engine corrosion - and will probably last longer than your engine! Jay's been using Evans Waterless Coolant in his vintage valuables for 16 years now."
http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/extras/car-care/waterless-engine-coolant/index.shtml

Waterless Coolant FAQ's http://www.evanscoolants.com/evans_waterless_engine_coolants_faqs.html

So what about using it in our cars?

[Michael]

I'm all about progress and technology advances, but I always get leary when the words "environmentally friendly" get used to describe something. As one of my general rules of thumb, I think whenever you gain a "eco friendly" advantage, there is a trade off, and that usually means putting something at risk.

What I'm saying is if it works with no ill effects, then great...just make sure it works with no ill effects first.

I used something called "water wetter" in my cooling system of my Talon autocross car. It did work very well.

[WelmoedJ]

I had the original coolant used by DMC in my car.
The car has an aluminum block and cylinder head, so anything good and usable in that environment could be used.

My car now has what the VW group uses in it's cars: VAG G12+ (the red coolant).
Contrary to the blueish/greenish coolant (covering everything in the system for protection) it only "sticks" to those parts that seem to develop "rust".
It has a better freezing point and it doesn't need changing as often as the regular stuff.
It is in the car for over 3 years now without any degradation.

The only con is that the system needs to be flushed entirely before filling it up with G12+.
Remains of old coolant do not harm but only lower the degree of protection.

[chenderson2k]

This was discussed before but I can't remember if it was on this forum or the old one.

Anyway, waterless coolant is a little bit silly. They brag about being able to put it in your car and never replace it for life but the reality is it will never prevent all problems.

If a component such as your radiator or water pump starts leaking your fancy coolant will be compromised and could either leak out of the car or need to be replaced due to to contaminates.

Don't forget that your rubber coolant hoses need to be changed out once in a while too. It's not an everyday thing but someday you will new to replace those hoses if you haven't already. I'd much rather not have to worry about contaminating coolant that I paid $50 a gallon for.

A high quality coolant such as Prestone can be had at Walmart for about $10 a gallon. You can get coolant even cheaper if you are willing to mix your own.

Is rather drive around with a risk of losing $30 than a risk of losing $150.

[David T]

Check out the price on waterless coolant. Also consider you must fill the system with it, not mix it half with water. That means about 4 gallons. You could use ordinary premium anti-freeze and change it every year and probably save money. Especially if you had a leak. Also consider what happens if the car ever needs service. Will the shop save every drop and reuse it or will they through it down the drain? Overheat the car and watch that expensive stuff disappear.
David Teitelbaum

[chenderson2k]

I managed to find the threads that discussed this.

http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?2683-I-ve-waited-long-enough-coolant-flush-process-begins-today&highlight=evans+coolant

http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?2735-Evans-Waterless-Coolant&highlight=evans+coolant

Whatever you do, don't replace your coolant with gasoline like Steve talked about doing. He can be an idiot sometimes.

[opethmike]

I managed to find the threads that discussed this.

http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?2683-I-ve-waited-long-enough-coolant-flush-process-begins-today&highlight=evans+coolant

http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?2735-Evans-Waterless-Coolant&highlight=evans+coolant

Whatever you do, don't replace your coolant with gasoline like Steve talked about doing. He can be an idiot sometimes.

Be nice to yourself.

[StainlessSteelDream]

"The product is comprised of Ethylene Glycol, Propylene Glycol (anhydrous) and a small bit of additives. Thermal capacity of their product is around 0.66, which compares (unfavorably) with greater than 1.0 for water with antifreeze added. This is why they sell a higher volume pump for corvettes; the higher flow allows them to compensate for the smaller thermal capacity of their product. Likely, the product would work well in a cooler climate; perhaps not so well in the hotter parts of the country."

Quoted from another car forum discussion.

[DMCMW Dave]

"The product is comprised of Ethylene Glycol, Propylene Glycol (anhydrous) and a small bit of additives. Thermal capacity of their product is around 0.66, which compares (unfavorably) with greater than 1.0 for water with antifreeze added. This is why they sell a higher volume pump for corvettes; the higher flow allows them to compensate for the smaller thermal capacity of their product. Likely, the product would work well in a cooler climate; perhaps not so well in the hotter parts of the country."
Quoted from another car forum discussion.


In other words this is about the same as running 100% Prestone in your engine without adding any water to it. There is always a compromise.

TANSTAAFL

[Nicholas R]

Depending on your coolant level, you can take the cap off of our system without boiling over. If you cooling system doesn't leak and isn't plugged up, you can run your system unpressurized and it will still cool just as well. The only reason we pressurize the system is to reduce the potential of boiling but if your system cools properly, your coolant should never get hot enough to boil. I know several owners that run their system with their coolant bottle caps in the "vent" position and operate with no issues at all.

Also as far as what coolant to use; GM says dextron so I use it. Probably makes no difference but oh well...

[David T]

The reason the system is pressurized (or at least it is supposed to be!) is to raise the boiling point and prevent foaming. A mixture of 50/50 water and ethylene glycol pressurized to 15 psi won't boil till it gets to 256 degrees F. Running an unpressurized system is only necessary if it leaks. Running "straight" ethylene glycol, the boiling point is actually lower than that of water. There is also more to anti-freeze than just ethylene glycol. There is an additives package that includes anti-foam, corrosion inhibitors, leak sealers, pump lubricant, PH buffers and other things. I prefer the green Prestone. I check it every year for strength and PH and I change it around every 5 years.
David Teitelbaum

[DMC_10987]

After reading the linked article, https://www.norosion.com/evanstest.htm , I am done considering switching to Evans Waterless Coolant! I especially am concerned about the increase of normal engine operating temperature, loss of horse power, need for higher octane fuel and the need for custom fan activation settings. If you don’t have the patience to read the whole article, there is a nice summary of their findings at the bottom… scroll there first.
Will learn-up on the benefits of the No-Rosion product, https://www.norosion.com/ , but for now … I’m happy with good old 50-50 anti-freeze! The No-Rosion web page: https://www.norosion.com/tech_coolant.htm , is an interesting read. Let me know what you think about this product?

Driving the DeLorean Dream... VIN 10987
Gordon