View Single Post
Old 05-15-2009, 11:07 PM   #14 (permalink)
theunchosen
Master EcoModder
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Cookeville, TN
Posts: 850
Thanks: 1
Thanked 5 Times in 5 Posts
The coolant is easy to do. A big misconception is higher boiling point is better coolant. . .which might be true but its heat capacity and transfer are usually more important.

Water is not likely to get boiled off if you run straight water. It absorbs heat from the engine and reaches a higher temp faster, but then it also dissipates heat to the incoming air faster as well. The radiator runs at a slight pressure increase that allows the boiling temp of water to be up from 210(212 theoretical but most of the time its 210) to about 215-220. So if you toss say 10-90 anti-freeze and water it cools much much more effectively as long as the temps stay below 212 and then it starts edging back towards anti-freeze as temps rise because water starts to boil off.

I think Water wetter is mostly an alcohol micture. The idea is its an interstitial compound that fits between the water molecules in "empty" space. So instead of just heating 8 water molecules per volume you heat 8 water molecules and 2 alcohol molecules. Also has additives that raise the overall boiling point to help out there.
  Reply With Quote