cooling system additives

[Ty T.]

I was wondering if anyone has any input on the cooling system additives that break the surface tension of water and claim to make your car run up to 20 degrees cooler. I've got a 58 that heats up to about 205-210 when idling for a while. It has never boiled over, but I'm doing a parade this weekend and thought it may be good insurance. Looking for pros or cons from the pros.
Thanks in advance for sharing your knowledge!
Ty Truax

[Mike E.]

Re: cooling system additives

Bought one bottle once--found it about as helpful as the magnet you put on your fuel system to align the molecules in the fuel for better gas mileage. It made no difference in my 62 at all.

[Wayne K.]

Re: cooling system additives

Ty,

Redline makes a product called Water Wetter for helping systems run cooler. I think it was originally ment for racers running straight water as straight water is a better heat transfer than antifreeze. I don't think it should be considered a cure for a not up to par cooling system but it may help some. I don't think it can do any damage.

Wayne

[Steven S.]

Re: cooling system additives

I used the Red line product in a C-4. It made a difference in water and oil temps, not 20 degrees though. If I remember correctly, it was more in the 10 to 15 range.

[Jack H.]

Re: cooling system additives

Here's the 'secret' for your parade drive, Ty... Do NOT let the engine idle for long periods of time! As you see the temp climb and it starts to approach the red zone, hit the accelerator and bring engine RPM up a 'scootch' to draw more air through the rad and cool 'er back down. You won't need to bump 'er much, RPM above, say 1500, is OVERKILL. Just goose 'er a bit and hold 'er there and you'll see the temp gauge start to fall back to a comfortable level.

I went in a parade about 5-years ago where a local Covette club was positioned in front of our RMC NCRS group. During 'line up' the other guys were talking privately about how to deal with stop/go overheat stress and their club 'expert' told 'em to shut the engine down and only start it up for periods when the parade line was actually moving. WRONG!

Yep, shore nuf, one guy with a '59 blew his rad cap 2 blocks before the reviewing stand and another member of their club blew the rad cap on his '61 DIRECTLY in front of the reviewing stand! The NCRS guys with straight axles who'd been trained to manually 'bump' the engine above idle cruised the whole length of the parade without a hiccup!!!

[Ty T.]

Re: cooling system additives

Thanks for the feedback boys! I'm not sure if I'll try any of this stuff, but I will follow your advice Jack and keep my idle up.
Ty

[Eugene B.]

Re: cooling system additives

Gents,
This has been an interesting post and I have enjoyed each entry. Thing is: If there was a "magic" solution that lowered operating temperature 20 degrees, wouldn't this be compensated for by the thermostat?

After all, if I'm using a 180 degree thermostat, it's going to control the temperature to approximately 180 degrees. Assuming the fan clutch, etc. are operating properly.

Regards,
Gene

[Wayne K.]

Re: cooling system additives

Ty,

Along with Jack's line of thinking if you can stand the heat put your temp control on hot and fan on high. This will also draw heat from the system.

Wayne

[Donald T.]

Re: cooling system additives

I tried 40 below. I can't remember who makes it, but it's supposed to cool operating temps by up to 40 degrees. I think the key word in their marketing is "up to". I don't think it helped all that much. You can try changing the coolant mix from 50/50 to 75% water / 25% coolant. Water actually disperses heat better than antifreeze.

[Robert C.]

Re: cooling system additives

Nothing works. I've tried them ALL. Waist of time and $. Time for a call to Mr. DeWitt. I guarantee you a 20-30degree reduction.

[Ty T.]

Re: cooling system additives

Could you give me a little more info on Mr DeWitt? And thanks again boys for chiming in, I really appreciate it.

Ty

[Donald L.]

www.dewitts.com *NM*

[Verle R.]

Re: cooling system additives

Ty,

I did everything to my 57 that was overheating while driving down the highway, waterpump, new core in original radiator, new hoses, new thermostat, water wetter, little antifreeze. It helped some but did not cure the problem.

I finally broke down and ordered a DeWitts aluminum reproduction radiator. Setting side by side with my original (correct) radiator it was almost identical. Installed, it would be quite difficult to distinguish from original.

It cured my overheating problems. The car now runs "on the thermostat" even in 100 degree weather.

Take the leap.

Verle

[Ty T.]

Re: cooling system additives

Thanks again, boys.
Ty