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Coolant & Antifreeze Explained
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Author:  oilman [ Wed Mar 02, 2011 2:52 pm ]
Post subject:  Coolant & Antifreeze Explained
Coolant and antifreeze is a topic we are asked about on a regular basis, and often causes confusion; types, colours, service life etc.

Perhaps the most frequent cause of confusion is what the difference between anti-freeze or coolant is. Basically, they’re the same product (although the term “coolant” could just be applied to plain water; see below!)

To help clear some of the confusion up on the more technical details of antifreeze and coolants we enlisted the help of Martyn Mann – Technical Director, Millers Oils UK - who has provided the information below.

Not all antifreeze / coolant is the same!

Coolant can be plain water; water is a very effective coolant but would not protect against sub freezing temperatures or protect against corrosion inside the engine. The use of antifreeze protects against both problems.

Antifreeze not only suppresses the freezing point of your engine coolant, but provides good corrosion protection and increases the boiling point during use.

Most commercial antifreeze formulations include a glycol (to suppress the freezing point and raise the boiling point), corrosion inhibiting compounds and a coloured dye (commonly orange, green, red, or blue fluorescent) to aid in identification. A 1:1 dilution with water is usually used, resulting in a freezing point in the range of minus 37 °C to minus 42 °C, depending on the formulation.

There are two basic types of coolant available today dependent on the corrosion inhibitors used:

·inorganic additive technology (IAT)
·organic additive technology (OAT)

Inorganic Additive Technology

This is the traditional coolant based on inorganic additives and is called inorganic additive technology (IAT). It is a tried and proven chemistry that provides a fast acting protective film. The additives deplete and the coolant needs to be drained and replenished every couple of years. This type can be used on all mixed metal engines with components including steel, cast iron, copper, brass, aluminium and solder without any detrimental effect.

Organic Acid Technology

The newer OAT coolants work differently than the older silicate based IAT coolants. Aluminium and ferrous metals form a surface-layer of corrosion in the presence of moisture, even with the little bit of moisture in the air. OAT coolants prevent this metal-oxide layer that protects the surface against this corrosion. Inherent with their design, the OAT coolants last longer than the older traditional IAT coolants. This category of antifreeze cannot be used in systems containing yellow metals.

A couple of questions and answers.

Why are coolants different colours?

Coolants/antifreezes are coloured so you can visually see them; colour intensity can be an indication of over dilution. The different colours are non specific to the different types of antifreeze. The manufacturer can dye the product any colour they want. The colour is no guide to the actual type of antifreeze type and the label should be read before use.

What is best for performance use?

It is always best to use the engine manufacturer’s advice. If engine contains yellow metals [copper and brass as in older vehicles] then the long life products based on organic technology should not be used. As a general rule, most modern engines require the long life organic antifreezes.

Is there any advantage to using concentrate over pre-mixed coolants?

None other than the user may want to use the pre-mixed product due to ease of handling or cost and visa versa.

Can concentrate and pre-mixed coolants be mixed?

A simple answer is that you can, however do not mix IAT and OAT antifreeze together.

So, there we go. Hopefully this information has been useful, if you have any further questions not covered here please ask and I will try to get the answer.

With thanks to Martyn Mann and Millers Oils.

Cheers

Guy and the Opie Oils team.
Author:  Midnite [ Wed Dec 14, 2011 11:50 pm ]
Post subject: 
so other that Toyota red over priced coolant, what is a good coolant for a 1990 import st185?
Author:  Gary ST165 [ Thu Dec 15, 2011 12:36 am ]
Post subject: 
way i see it, is all over priced glycol water,

went round all the local motor factors and halfords and tescos looking for something costing less than £20 for 5 litres FFS ! etc


and i ended up with the best price and discount at my local toyota, having probably used a few quid driving between them all :lol:
Author:  Sunny [ Thu Dec 15, 2011 10:37 pm ]
Post subject: 
Hi,

long time ago i had a very interesting talk, in short

-----

to transport heat good and safe the liquid must have a high specific heat capacity, anti-freeze doesn't have this and dramatically reduces the heat carriage
-> no one ever had developed a better liquid as de-mineralised water, if you use distilled water check the pH-value (can be acid and agressive)

the old water anti freeze mix is vented out of air so re-use it if it is clear from dust and oil -> rust can build just there where air is

in summer it is possible to drive pure water and 20ml sonaxon (or G109 from BASF) for rust protection, can also be used in the intercooler but just with one soup spoon of it -> or it will began to effervescence

-----

for myself i drive a 1:1,5 glycole:water mix with 2% millers extra cool in both the intercooler and engine cooling systems, tested to -18°C absolute fine for me

greetz
Author:  Meurz [ Thu Dec 15, 2011 11:32 pm ]
Post subject: 
Tbh I don't find Toyota Red overpriced? For a few quid I fill my jerry can at the dealer and so far I have never experienced any problems. Not in my dd P8 nor (while tracking) my CS. Dunno about buying smaller bottles though, that'll probably be more expensive.
Author:  Midnite [ Mon Dec 19, 2011 10:32 pm ]
Post subject: 
What i mean is something thats not going to eat the engine from the inside out.

Previous owner refilled with Ford Blue Glycol and it reacted badly.

More than likely caused the second head gasket failure, to my good fortune !

However it did take me 5 or 6 long flushes of the system to get rid of the fur build up the kept coming back, probably a reaction to a non phosphated anti freeze.
Author:  dale [ Tue Dec 20, 2011 11:12 am ]
Post subject: 
always ran toyota red forlife and after 128k miles i have had no problems, my brothers engine ran forlife too and when it came apart for a forged build at 90k it had perfect waterways so forlife along with the odd flush out appears to work wonders on our engines and at £15 a tub it isnt too bad on price so forlife for me all the way
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