40% Antifreeze/60% Water (Questions)

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1) Would running a 40% mixture of Peak Extended Life (5yr/150k miles) Antifreeze with 60% distilled water be okay for New England winters? I know that the freezing would be something like -8*F with this mixture.

2) With a 40% antifreeze/60% water mixture, would the anti-corrosion chemicals not be sufficient? I am thinking about adding half a bottle of Zerex anti-rust just to make sure it is sufficient.

3) Lastly, is the "acidity" of this mixture too high? (As antifreeze/water mixtures are supposed to have a slightly basic pH, something around 8-10 I think it is.) I know that water has a lower pH than antifreeze, so I was wondering how low the pH can get before damage is done to water pump bearings, radiator, etc.

Any help appreciated, many thanks!!
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It might allow you to "get by", but why take a chance. Run 60% antifreeze and 40% water and be happy. I run with coolant on the rich side and I don't live where we have New England cold. I like a margin of safety.

There is no benefit to running the coolant mixtre on the lean side, so why do it?
 
quote:

Originally posted by Big Jim:

There is no benefit to running the coolant mixtre on the lean side, so why do it?


A car cools better at a given temperature with a "leaner" coolant mix.
 
quote:

Originally posted by XS650:

quote:

Originally posted by Big Jim:

There is no benefit to running the coolant mixtre on the lean side, so why do it?


A car cools better at a given temperature with a "leaner" coolant mix.


And it warms up quicker
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Whatever perceived or theoretical extra cooling capability advantages accrue from a lower antifreeze concentration are eventually trumped by the risk of accelerated corrosion in the cooling system as the corrosion protection chemistry breaks down. Any development of corrosion buildup negatively impacts engine life since corrosion functions as an insulator which results in higher local temperatures at engine hot spots. I'll take my chances with longer term corrosion protection over alleged short term enhanced cooling any day. Automotive cooling systems are already over-engineered to compensate for a full 50/50 dilution, anyway. Those who still disagree with my opinion are cordially invited to test the validity of their claims in their cars' cooling systems.
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quote:

Originally posted by Ray H:
Whatever perceived or theoretical extra cooling capability advantages accrue from a lower antifreeze concentration ....

Whether it's a theory or real depends on your knowledge and experiance in cooling system development.

To a dog, 2+2 is a theory.
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quote:

Originally posted by Ray H:
Whatever perceived or theoretical extra cooling capability advantages accrue from a lower antifreeze concentration are eventually trumped by the risk of accelerated corrosion in the cooling system as the corrosion protection chemistry breaks down. Any development of corrosion buildup negatively impacts engine life since corrosion functions as an insulator which results in higher local temperatures at engine hot spots. I'll take my chances with longer term corrosion protection over alleged short term enhanced cooling any day. Automotive cooling systems are already over-engineered to compensate for a full 50/50 dilution, anyway. Those who still disagree with my opinion are cordially invited to test the validity of their claims in their cars' cooling systems.
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Hence the reason I am adding Zerex Super Protector to my mixture to compensate for the lesser amount of antifreeze corrosion protection.
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quote:

Originally posted by Chuck1986:
Hence the reason I am adding Zerex Super Protector to my mixture to compensate for the lesser amount of antifreeze corrosion protection.
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You're on the right track
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I've had around 35-40% antifreeze in my Geo Metro for about 6 months now. Haven't noticed any real difference compared to the old coolant. It rarely goes below freezing here though.

Instead of running 40/60 and losing sleep, even with a bottle of protectant, why not just run 50/50 and forget about it?
 
A 40/60 mix is NOT enough for New England winters, especially northern New England. Use at least a 50/50 mix, and I recommend either a 55/45 or 60/40 mix. Trust me. I lived in the middle part (going south to north) of Vermont between 1971 and 1981. It sometimes got down to
-30 F or colder and once got down to -40 F. Temps of from -10 F to -20 F are common.
 
I monitor the Ph of my antifreeze water mix with Ph test strips. The vulcanizing process used on rubber hoses leaves a little residual sulfur which gradually acidifies the water. When the PH drops below 8 or so, I add some antifreeze to bring it back up. So far it seems to be working, I'm using Dexcool and distilled water in an LT1 engine which is Al heads on an iron block and the stuff looks like red Koolaid. I change out half the stuff every 2 years.
 
My car is stored in a garage during the winters...although I dunno how much warmer that is than the outside.

I've decided to go the safe route and simply drain one quart of my current mixture out and add a quart of full-strength antifreeze, before putting my car into storage for the winter. That should give me very close to a 50/50 ratio.

And a random question: What pH do you think guarantees maximum water pump life? Does it like it completely neutral (pH 7), or does it like it slightly basic? I theorize that a completely neutral pH of 7 would keep the water pump in best condition, since a basic or acid pH would have those reactive OH- or H+ ions "running around," perhaps feeding off water pump components!
 
I did a computer model about 25 years ago where given a radiator and engine with the ability to change the amount of coolant flow, heat transfer into and out of a radiator and engine and coolant antifreeze concentration. It showed that the final temperatures did not vary with antifreeze concentration. The time to get there was different although not a whole lot.

Just out of curiosity I did another simulation a couple of months ago. The results were the same. Obviously I remembered nothing about the previous program and the results were the same..so its unlikely that they are wrong.

Bottom line, concentration doesn't matter. What does matter is the size of the radiator. So even though the coolant can pick up more heat in the engine (lower concentration antifreeze), its slow to give it up into the radiator.

The program is written in QBasic if anyone is interestged.
 
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