Coolant Recommendations?

PurpleBeeper said:

and to answer another question.... yes, some coolants on the market are guaranteed for 1,000,000 miles now (Peak's Final Charge heavy duty coolant).

1. Water does not break down in an engine
2. Ethylene glycol slowly breaks down into formic acid and glycolic acid. Neither of these are good, but levels only get into the danger zone when using some recycled antifreezes.
3. Corrosion inhibitors are what wears out the fastest. Ask a semi-truck drive about "SCA" (supplemental coolant additives) which replace sodium nitrite and or sodium molybdate dihydrate.

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If water does not break down what do you call it when it steams @212°? Also how is the common man to know what parts are rated at the correct pressure to match the type of coolant mix in his radiator? Most of us never put a thought into it, we trust that what the car comes with is correct but what about years later when you change it yourself? From all my research the actual proper way to use regular old coolant is to match it to you engine with parts rated for such potential pressures. I think we've all seen that upper radiator hose grow like it's pregnant before it pops lol ,my experience was a high speed run from a left turn to 120 mph and for whatever reason either my high flow pump worked to well that it sucked the lower hose closed and caused the temps to go so high so fast the the water green mix steamed and built pressures so fast that the only relief was a freeze plug, and it released all right all over the road. Since those types of fun romps are usually on my agenda when I take my car out on weekends I liked the fact that the evans has no pressure. Like I said to each is own and everyone's configuration is different and where we live is a factor as well.

bigmanjbmopar said:

If water does not break down what do you call it when it steams @212°? Also how is the common man to know what parts are rated at the correct pressure to match the type of coolant mix in his radiator? Most of us never put a thought into it, we trust that what the car comes with is correct but what about years later when you change it yourself? From all my research the actual proper way to use regular old coolant is to match it to you engine with parts rated for such potential pressures. I think we've all seen that upper radiator hose grow like it's pregnant before it pops lol ,my experience was a high speed run from a left turn to 120 mph and for whatever reason either my high flow pump worked to well that it sucked the lower hose closed and caused the temps to go so high so fast the the water green mix steamed and built pressures so fast that the only relief was a freeze plug, and it released all right all over the road. Since those types of fun romps are usually on my agenda when I take my car out on weekends I liked the fact that the evans has no pressure. Like I said to each is own and everyone's configuration is different and where we live is a factor as well.

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What kind of lower radiator hose did you have? I thought all good ones (gates, ect.) Had wire spiraled through them to prevent their collapsing. I have a high volume pump that will be instaled on my 440 (someday). I certainly wish to avoid the same debacle you went through.

BeeKool said:

What kind of lower radiator hose did you have? I thought all good ones (gates, ect.) Had wire spiraled through them to prevent their collapsing. I have a high volume pump that will be instaled on my 440 (someday). I certainly wish to avoid the same debacle you went through.

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When I put this 440 together, at the time I didn't have a car to put it in lol so I just ended up with a pump housing that has the inlet on the passenger side, later research says these were used on some AC cars, heavy trucks etc. So when I got my RR I had to get a radiator that had the outlet on that same side which created a situation where the hose is somewhat shorter than normal and kicks off at almost a 45° angle at the bend it was vulnerable to collapse and I didn't even think about it. of course it takes a disaster to wake up to all the possible failure scenarios. As of now I have a stainless steel spring in that hose so there is no risk of collapse now but of course with no pressure it shouldn't be an issue anyway but the insurance is a piece of mind. FYI got the spring for $5 shipped forgot the website but you can get them on summit or ebay just google it heres Earls on summit https://www.summitracing.com/parts/...i3WK3jMkVCwamC8vAbKQkDAA50xYqSdmyxxoC1Mvw_wcB

Make sure it's for the lower hose.

The question of which coolant is best.....is on going with many contributors ssying what they use is best solution/product....very much akin to thr old adage that "mom loves me best "....is Evans propylene glchol better than ethylene glchol (dexcool) or just water with additives.....you pay your money and take your choice....most claims are not really substantiated but merely opinions..do your own homework....its like the arguments about engine temperatures....how hot is too hot, what is the best temp, etc.
Bob Renton

fyi- Evans uses roughly 2/3 ethylene glycol (poison) + 1/3 propylene glycol (not poison). Their patent is based upon testing that showed that this blend "won't kill you if you drink it" basically. For what it's worth, it is based on 2-ethylhexanoic acid (2-EH), nitrate, tolytriazole and molybdate. All of these chemicals are "corrosion inhibitors". 2-EH is basically "1/2" of DexCool (2-EH & sebacic acid), so to speak, and Evans is not actually "water-less" since it does contain some water.

As for "corrosion inhibitors", those are definitely metal-specific. If you have aluminum heads/block/water pump (no iron), then you're antifreeze doesn't need to protect iron from rusting since the engine doesn't have any in it....make sense? So, the blend of corrosion inhibitors used by OEM's is developed to match the metals present in the cooling system for that specific engine. The effectiveness is determined by a whole group of tests (ASTM D3306) established by the American Society of Testing & Measures, D-15 committee. I am a member of that committee. Also influencing antifreeze formulation is regional laws. For example, in Europe, you can't use any phosphate (main ingredient in "Peak Green"), so European formulas don't have phosphate. In Asia, they don't use silicate (another ingredient of "Peak Green"), so Asian coolants don't contain it. Both European & Asian OEM's found different combinations of corrosion inhibitors that protect the metals they use in their engines.

Much of the ASTM D3306 testing is done on aluminum, iron, solder, copper, brass and steel. (e.g. ASTM D1384 & ASTM D2570, both pieces of ASTM D3306). In D1384, the coolant is over-diluted (1:2 instead of 1:1) with water AND that water contains a specified amount of two corrosive salts AND the coolant is heated AND air is bubbled through it. All of this makes for a very corrosive environment. Little pieces of each of the metals I listed is weighed to the nearest 1/10th of a milligram, subjected to the test, & the metal test pieces are re-weighed. Any weight they lost is due to corrosion, so the less weight the test pieces lose, the better that coolant's corrosion protection is for that particular metal.

Ethylene glycol & propylene glycol do not transfer heat as well as water does (they're less efficient due to lower thermal conductivity), so Evans doesn't cool the engine as well as water (or 1/2 water & 1/2 ethylene glycol) & the engine runs hotter.

The advantage of Evans is that it doesn't boil at 212F. (side note, at 15 psi at sea level, water boils at 250F & lower temperatures in the mountains). Though ethylene glycol & propylene glycol boil at much higher temperature than water (no " boil over"), but that doesn't keep your engine from running "normal" at 230F or MORE if you're racing. So, how much temperature did the Chrysler engineers design our motors to run at? (180F-190F). Is 230F OK for your heads? Your block? Your hoses? What about 280F? What about 350F? My goal is to keep my engine near the 180-190F mark, as designed, to keep it lasting as long as possible.

Regarding Water Wetter & Royal Purple/Lucas Super Coolant (those last two are IDENTICAL except for the dye), testing showed that Water Wetter provided good corrosion protection EXCEPT it chewed up aluminum. Royal Purple/Lucas did well on aluminum too in testing.

747mopar said:

Thanks for the inside info, just proves my suspicions were correct all along. Same goes with a lot of oils with Valvoline and others offering Auto Parts namebrand oils cheaper.

I've only ever ran the conventional green antifreeze and never had a problem.... if it ran hot I addressed the real problem instead of turning to some voodoo coolant. 185 all day long all year long because my radiator, fan and tune is up to it.

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Another buble burster here" I have run green antifreeze all my life, (71 yrs. old) , I have never changed antifreeze in anything from farm tractors to 426 hemi`s, and never had a problem. The dodge pickup I JUST RECENTLY TRADED OFF HAD NEVER HAD THE COOLANT CHANGED, OTHER THAN ADDING SOME, FOR 15 YRS! I did use the kind that will mix w/ either kind,(orange or green).. I remember my dad changing it one time in a super C farmall tractor, but don`t remeber why.