Coolant Additive
My car is running good but I would like to see it run a bit cooler. On the road it registers 180 which is fine. But as soon as I slow down like going thru town or a stop sign, it climbs to 190 and heads toward 200. As soon as I get some speed up it drops back and hangs around 190. I have been reading a lot about the additive called Purple Ice that I sell at NAPA. Seems harmless and works well with aluminum radiators.Has anyone got any experience with this type of additive to bring the running temp down 10-15 degrees? Or should I just put a cooler thermostat in, like a 160?
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Re: Coolant Additive
David------
A change to a 160 degree thermostat is going to do you virtually no good, at all. A thermostat only controls the LOWEST temperature an engine will operate at, not the highest. With a 160 degree thermostat the temps will still go to the 190-200 you are experiencing.
Actually, I don't think that those temps are outside the normal range so, if that's as high as it gets, I would not worry, at all, about it.
As far as the Royal Purple goes, I generally steer clear of "snake oil" additives like that.In Appreciation of John Hinckley -
Re: Coolant Additive
I suppose my gauge could be off too. I checked temps at the thermostat housing with a laser temp gauge and it was around 170ish after a drive. I guess I could keep an eye on it and let it go for now. Just don't want to overheat it and hurt something.Comment
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Re: Coolant Additive
The ingredients of Purple Ice or waterwetter are already present in conventional coolants. More is not better.Comment
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Re: Coolant Additive
There is a "Racing coolant" sold by Valvoline that Navy Seals use in hot climates. Works best with just distilled water and as little antifreeze as possible-has anti corrosion properties but no antifreeze properties. I've used it with good results. Valvoline engineer I talked to warned against others like Royal Purple, wetter water, etc,-said could create air pockets in heads, etc.Comment
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Re: Coolant Additive
The best coolant to use when you need to think about long range corrosion protection on cooling system components that may already be 50 years old is a 50/50 mix of Zerex G-05 antifreeze and distilled water.
The normal coolant temperature range with a 180 thermostat is 180-230F or 195-230F with a 195 degree thermostat on emission controlled engines. Boilover with a 15 psi pressure cap occurs at 265F.
It's the same for modern Corvettes. If the AC is not on I don't think the fan(s) even engage until 230.
A 180 degree or any other rated themostat does not mean that the temperature should be there all the time. The thermostat merely sets the lowest operating temperature. The highest is based on cooling system components condition, operating conditions, and a correct spark advance map. In hot weather, stop and go driving 200-210 is normal, and over 220 is acceptable, but should only occur in extreme condtions if all the above are okay.
If you are driving on the highway in 90F+ weather don't be surprised if the coolant temperature runs over 180, and the higher your speed, the higher the temperature because required horsepower to overcome total drag increases with the cube of speed, but heat transfer from the radiator only increases linearly with speed, so guess what happens?
We just had a thread on this last week and a zillion in the last ten years (check the archives). How many more times do these points have to be made?
DukeComment
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Re: Coolant Additive
David,
I thought your question was interesting and personally the archives are not that easy to navigate thru
and can take hours. It's nice to get a simple fast ganswer on the TDB especially when each situation may be slightly different.
It was nice to learn that some additives are already in the coolant.
DOMComment
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Re: Coolant Additive
"We just had a thread on this last week and a zillion in the last ten years (check the archives). How many more times do these points have to be made?"
Duke.... the answer is written in the wind...Why be so negative ?Comment
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Re: Coolant Additive
Concerning the Valvoline racing coolant, didn't mean this to be a cure all; check other things in this thread first. I used this coolant in a '67 on which AC was added and on a BB with C60 to get temp down a little, add a little "insurance" after I had taken care of the basics.Comment
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Re: Coolant Additive
This may be helpful reading to understand how your Corvette cooling system works, how to diagnose it, and recognizing some of the well-intentioned but totally bogus "internet fixes". Step #1 in diagnosing any cooling issue is to determine if you really have one.
CoolingRestorer2013.pdfComment
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Re: Coolant Additive
Great article John. Anyone who doesn't understand how a cooling system works and should work should read it. I have printed it and will save for future referrence.
Thanks.
DaveComment
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Re: Coolant Additive
I agree the archives are difficult to search, although this subject, is quite easy to find, after reading the answers above I was glad to hear that up to 230 degrees is normal, because now that temperatures here in Victoria are hitting the high 80s, my 67 427 is running at 220, not 210, like it was a month ago.Comment
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Re: Coolant Additive
Interesting article. Kind of makes me want to remove the electrical fan and put the stock fan and clutch back on again.____________________
Bob ImmlerComment
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