100% Distilled H2O for Coolant?

[Trevsaudi]

Ok so apprently water has better cooling properties than (ironically) "coolant" but of course water can freeze. Here's the thing though, i live in boiling hot ass south florida, and it NEVER gets down to near freezing here, should i just flush my coolant and use 100% distilled water?

[ThreePointOhh]

i would say NO! the coolant also prevents against rust....

[Trevsaudi]

hmmm i did not know this, so then 20coolant/80water? ...30/70?

[AudiA4Turbo22]

u can i mean it's not a big deal but at least have some coolant in it.

[Trevsaudi]

thats kinda what i thought, pure distilled water shouldn't cause rust to form, and its an aluminum engine block right? aluminum doesn't rust anyway... hmmm

[onceover]

Run this instead of coolant:
http://www.redlineoil.com/products_coolant.asp

[mxrz]

pure distilled water shouldn't cause rust to form

Ya, in a lab under controlled conditions. It gets contaminated very quickly. One loop of the cooling system inside your engine and it's far from pure.

and its an aluminum engine block right? aluminum doesn't rust anyway... hmmm

You should learn about coolant additives/inhibitors and what they do. Rust is only one of many things coolant helps prevent. I've seen heavily corroded aluminum heads due to a lack of heavy glycol in the coolant. Liner pitting, localized vaporization, engine knock, cavitations... A proper coolant mixture can prevent potentially serious problems and/or premature failure of anything from a water pump to the engine block itself.

[Ver]

I don't get it. G12 Coolant is $20 and and you want to use water?

[doublezero30]

ive heard of some racers using a ratio of about 30/70 or even lower, but i mean...those were stories from my old teacher who drag raced a 1200hp mustang, not a daily driver a4.

[cjonesgo]

by adding "anti-freeze" (g12 for vag cars) you are doing a number of things:

lowering the freezing temp.
raising the boiling temp
preventing rust, oxidation etc. (bearings in water pump are NOT aluminum)
using the proper fluid for your car in case of warranty issue

sure you can mess with the ratio for your region, but i don't think you'll find anyone recommends a pure water coolant.


just my 2¢

[swaigo]

g12 calls for 50/50

[HIERLEVELZ]

g12 calls for 50/50

exactly!

[Das General]

You could run a lower ratio.

[Trevsaudi]

Ok cool, thats what i was trying to find out, i'll probably do 50/50 then or slightly less coolant than water, sounds like coolant is a good thing! and i doubt i'm going to overheat anyway

[dirtybrd]

Water has better cooling properties then coolant, which is really a slang term. Antifreeze is the proper term for it. Down here you can use a 80/20, 70/30 mix water being the higher ratio.

[Trevsaudi]

yeah coolant being the actual mixture of whatever is flowing through the radiator etc. actually cooling the car, antifreeze helping that coolant to not freeze, and i guess protect some stuff, im gonna go with 70water/30antifreeze

[downhillracer]

NO! you can not just run water. you need at least 30% coolant, not only does it prevent rust it lubricates you water pump bearings, with just water your water pump will take a dump fast!

[Trevsaudi]

...sooooo maybe i'll do 65/35.... or 60/40... btw lol @ "water pump will take a dump" ...just rolls off the tongue so nicely.... ..."bro my water pump just took a dump" ha...

[CO AVANT]

I run 75% distilled water and 25% coolant. I live in Colorado and it doesn't freeze. Water has better cooling properties than the G12 coolant itself does. I would mix the G12 with distilled water before putting it into your reservoir. You only need enough coolant to lubricate your seals. Since it's summer you could run 10-20% G12 with 80-90% distilled water and be perfectly fine. I also use Purple ice or engine ice which reduces surface tension of the water allowing the water to conduct heat more efficiently. Thus I have even lower coolant temps now than just using water/g12. Purple ice or engine ice also lubricates the seals well, even 1 small bottle.

I do not like water wetter from Redline and will not use it. I have done heat treated testing in metal containers with G12, water, and water wetter and the stuff does not mix well together at all. Parts separate from each other. I even have pics of my testing somewhere. I did the same testing with the royal purple - purple ice and it mixes very well with the G12.

and honestly if you live where your water is super clean like here in Northern Colorado, you don't even really need distilled water. I personally use distilled water but every mechanic at my local audi/vw/porsche dealership never uses distilled water. I have even sat there and watched them get it from the sink and dump it in a car.

[vdubstreets]

by adding "anti-freeze" (g12 for vag cars) you are doing a number of things:

lowering the freezing temp.
raising the boiling temp
preventing rust, oxidation etc. (bearings in water pump are NOT aluminum)
using the proper fluid for your car in case of warranty issue

sure you can mess with the ratio for your region, but i don't think you'll find anyone recommends a pure water coolant.


just my 2¢

qftt

[infernocl]

VW G12 coolant can lick my butt hole, it's just crappy dexcool. use G05 from chrysler/merc, i think Peak is also G05.

and it's not about the block rusting, the radiator, heater core, pipes, flanges can all corrode. coolant also provides lubrication to the pump.

also don't bother with distilled, dealers never use distilled anyways.

[B6Lovin]

VW G12 coolant can lick my butt hole, it's just crappy dexcool. use G05 from chrysler/merc, i think Peak is also G05.

and it's not about the block rusting, the radiator, heater core, pipes, flanges can all corrode. coolant also provides lubrication to the pump.

also don't bother with distilled, dealers never use distilled anyways.

i see dexcool cars ALL THE TIME at work... not a single older vw (that's running G12) looks NEARLY that bad.

maybe it's the other components in the system are what's making the difference, but i'd like to see some proof of that... if it's true i'll be switching away from G12

[infernocl]

G12 is organic acid technology same as dexcool, they are very similar but just different enough to not mix. G12+ is hybrid OAT like G05 peak/zerex

the newer improved dex stuff doesn't get all nasty either, but still it's dex

[B6Lovin]

G12 is organic acid technology same as dexcool, they are very similar but just different enough to not mix. G12+ is hybrid OAT like G05 peak/zerex

the newer improved dex stuff doesn't get all nasty either, but still it's dex

so switching to the new G05 stuff will be safe for the car... right?
is it going to be any better than G12?

i'm just not trying to fix it if it ain't broke... but i'm also trying to fix it before it is (if it's going to be)

because honestly, dexcool scares me. I won't touch the cooling system of a car at work that's had nothing but that in it before... learned my lesson about that one REAL quick

[infernocl]

if you do a flush you can use G12+ or G05, which is the same thing. G05 is cheaper tho. you can also use japanese coolants such as honda or toyota red, those things last forever.

[O2VW1.8T]

I use the toyota red as i can get a bunch for free from work Its good stuff.