CarPlan Coolant

[Jonathan A]

Im going to be giving my bike a service this week, and the coolant is due for a change…

Does anyone know if ethylene glycol coolant, like this:

https://www.wilko.com/invt/0296722

is ok for an aluminium engine?

cheers
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Hyosung GT650R

[Taught2BCauti...]

Yes - I have been using that one for years, but the full-strength version, rather than ready-mixed - just because I'm too tight to pay that much for plain water!
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Honda Varadero XL125(V8)
www.TheFutureIsHere.eu

[Jonathan A]

Brilliant thanks! It beats the £12 I spent on coolant last time
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Hyosung GT650R

[Fizzer Thou]

If you can measure the ratio of 60% distilled water and 40% unmixed coolant,this will be better for your engine as anti-freeze is not very good at moving heat away from hot spots in the engine.

That and a 50/50 mix is good for countries that have a climate that might go down to -30c - which is not very likely in the UK
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Just talk bikes.What else is there?

Always have a 'Plan B'

[Nobby the Bastard]

[Robby]

Get coolant the same colour as whatever is currently in there - it will be either blue, green or pink. 3 kinds of coolant, 3 colours. They don't all like to mix with each other.

As for discussions on ready mixed vs mixing your own - it doesn't make a difference. If you change the coolant on schedule, it will do the job of cooling the engine, not freezing, and preventing corrosion. There may be some minor differences in corrosion prevention, but they would take about 300 years to be apparent.

[Fizzer Thou]

https://www.challengers101.com/CoolantMix.html

I use a 70% distilled water,25% quality antifreeze and 5% Waterwetter in the KTM enduro and it works far better.

But on the Exup and R1 I use 65% distilled water,25% quality antifreeze and 10% Waterwetter

https://www.redlineoil.com/Products.aspx?pcid=10

But this is my preferance.

For lesser machinery a 50/50 mix will be fine
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Just talk bikes.What else is there?

Always have a 'Plan B'

[A100man]

[iooi]

[Fizzer Thou]

A quick google search found this

'Although tremendous progress has been made in improving the performance of modern day antifreeze/coolants there is still one factor that can reduce their effectiveness – the quality of the water used for dilution! High levels of calcium and magnesium in tap water, that cause furring of kettle heater elements, can also lead to deposits and scale build up in the engine cooling system. If you are in a hard water area it is advisable to use distilled or deionised water in the cooling system rather than tap water.'
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Just talk bikes.What else is there?

Always have a 'Plan B'

[A100man]

OK makes sense - calcium rather than chlorine is the problem element then..

Cheers
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Now: A100, SRX250, XJ598, FZ750, SL1000

Then: Fizz, RS200, KL250, XJ550, Laverda Alpina, XJ600, FZS600, Skorpion, GT 250

[Northern Monkey]

Ethylene Glycol is has properties similar to alcohol. It's also known ethan-1-2-diol.

It has lower conductivity, and lower specific heat capacity than water, making it a less efficient coolant than water, however, it can be used over a greater temperature range than water.
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Fisty: after polishing the tank with the glistenng beads of sweat from my full hot scrotum, I filled the headrace bearings with 10cc of my manmilk

[UrbanRacer]

[doggone]

[Robby]

Even if you use hard water, the anti-corrosion elements of the coolant will cancel it out. It just won't last quite as long.

This is why I tend to buy pre-mixed coolant. It ends up costing me an extra £2/year.

[weasley]