Coolant or water wetter?

[MattTerror]

I wanted some thoughts and opinions on this befor i actually go and do it. I was going to drop in a 160 degree thermostat and distilled water and a water wetter mix. But like i said, i wanted some feedback befor I actually go through with it. Any experiances, prof. advise would be helpful. This is obviously a summer time mix only.

 

[xzeror]

I heard that it finds even the smallest of leaks

 

[jetjock]

Why do you feel that would possibly be better than the stock thermostat and a normal coolant mix?

 

[MattTerror]

I've heard that a cooler thermostat and a water wetter mix runs the car cooler. Perhaps the mix I speak of is intended for track use?

 

[hvyman]

160 degree stat will delay full warm up times keeping the car in cold start enrichment mode.

Use a stock Toyota t stat and use Toyota red with distilled water.

 

[MattTerror]

thank you for the advice. not to side track but better than starting a new thread. Any certain type of oil recommendations? It has 150k on it. and the previous owner doesn't remeber if he used full synthetic or not. now that i think of it. do they even make full synthetic for the type of oil it takes? 20W50 is it?

 

[3p141592654]

You know, this site has a whole section on oil....


http://www.supramania.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?108-Motor-Oil-Lubricants-amp-Filtration

 

[MattTerror]

You know, this site has a whole section on oil....


http://www.supramania.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?108-Motor-Oil-Lubricants-amp-Filtration

Thank you. ^^

 

[hvyman]

And no if the engine is running good use 5w30

 

[Nick M]

20/50 oil and water wetter. But its the car not the owner.

First, the cooler thermostat doesn't run cooler. Even if the gauge says so. That 160 is when it starts to open, that is the minimum temperature it will maintain. Not the maximum, the minimum temperature. The heat will not transfer to the coolant as well when it is moving. Just like if you hold your hand to something hot versus just brushing it. Get the idea? So the gauge shows not warm, but that is the coolant, not the engine which is still operating at 4500 degrees or so of flame front.

Most engine wear occurs at start up. You want low resistance to flow (resistance to flow is high viscosity). Does that make sense?

 

[IJ.]

Most vehicles will have a natural equilibrium point cooling wise based on ambient temp/load/airflow/coolant type/mix and so on, my Mk3 at heavy load/550rwhp was 91c +- 2c, my current project is close to the same as it uses much the same size/construction/brand radiator, no amount of cold T Stats Magic fluids will change this.

A colder stat "may" allow a lower starting point before a maximum effort pull and might just get you through before things overheat if there's something not right in the cooling system but it's a bandaid and as mentioned may just keep the engine in cold start enrichment..

 

[MattTerror]

Thank you every one for the great information.

 

[Dan_Gyoba]

If you want the car to run cooler get a better radiator. The radiator is the primary factor in determining how much heat the system can get rid of. If you have a good enough radiator, the thermostat can (as you want it to) actually close from time to time.

The thermostat's job is to keep the car at proper operating temperature. Unless you have a really good reason to change that operating temperature, it's best to leave it where it's designed for.

It is true that water holds more heat than glycol, and therefore can act as a more effective coolant, but you want to be really sure that the water is distilled, and that you don't leave it in there for long, since it will pick up oxygen (And we all know what water + oxygen + iron means, right?) The water wetter is supposed to have the anti-corrosion compounds in it, but those are of somewhat limited effectiveness. Also, expect a shorter lifespan for your water pump, since the pump is primarily lubricated by the glycol in the regular coolant, and it WILL wear faster. Most of the people that I know who use water wetter will still run glycol in the cooling system, but at most 75/25 to the water side.

 

[Canuckrz]

If you want the car to run cooler get a better radiator. The radiator is the primary factor in determining how much heat the system can get rid of. If you have a good enough radiator, the thermostat can (as you want it to) actually close from time to time.

Don't forget that underpan that everyone just seems to undervalue and chuck out.

 

[MattTerror]

Great info guys. So i'll be sticking to OEM fluids and T stat for now. I do plan to rebuild or swap in the future.

 

[te72]

If you want the car to run cooler get a better radiator. The [strike]radiator[/strike] fan is the primary factor in determining how much heat the system can get rid of. If you have a good enough radiator, the thermostat can (as you want it to) actually close from time to time.

Fixed that for you. Even the best radiator in the world won't prevent overheating if your fan can't pull enough air through it.

 

[Nick M]

There are other coolants you can use that are not over priced like Toyota factory red. I hate to say it, but that price is absurd.

 

[Canuckrz]

Realistically how often do you change the coolant? For the sake of $20 vs $10, I'll take the piece of mind anyday.

 

[jetjock]

There are other coolants you can use that are not over priced like Toyota factory red. I hate to say it, but that price is absurd.

This. As PT said there's one born every minute.

.......

Lots of misinformation in that post.

 

[IJ.]

On a suggestion from JDub I've been using Zerex g05 coolant mixed 50/50 with demineralised water in both my cars and couldn't be happier!