Best coolant?

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I tried searching but I couldn't find anything..

But I did find that Peak Global Lifetime and Dex-cool are sought after.

I found this on my RAVE manual.
Quote:
Use Havoline Extended Life Coolant (XLC), or any ethylene glycol based anti-freeze (containing no methanol) with only Organic Acid Technology (OAT)
corrosion inhibitors, to protect the cooling system
 
For Euro engines, G05 is best match. For Asian and American engine, Peak Global Lifetime is the safest coolant to be used. Other than these 2 over the counter coolants, OEM coolants are safe choice too.
 
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
For Euro engines, G05 is best match. For Asian and American engine, Peak Global Lifetime is the safest coolant to be used. Other than these 2 over the counter coolants, OEM coolants are safe choice too.


Don't you consider Ford and Chrysler American engines? They come from the factory with G-05.

I would stick with G-05 unless the engine called for no silicate antifreeze.
 
Total confusion- how the auto industry allowed this mess to develop is beyond me. they need some form of consensus (sp) standard. I am surprised they dont make there own light bulbs, all different
 
Can anyone explain why an Asian engine made from aluminum and iron needs a no silicate antifreeze and a Chrysler engine made from aluminum and iron needs a low silicate (G-05) antifreeze?
 
IDK. This is antifreeze stuff is confusing. Peak Global Lifetime seems to be the best for my engine.
 
Coolant technology has independently evolved in Japan, North America, and Europe. The engineers who created these technologies studied and cited each other's patents but developed their respective approaches based more on practical experience than on theoretical models.

For the past few decades, nearly all automobile engines manufactured in Japan have been made primarily of aluminum. In North America, most engines are still made from cast iron, although aluminum is rapidly gaining market share. In Europe, aluminum has been dominant for decades but not as dominant as in Japan. (For example, the ubiquitous VW/Audi 2.0T engine has a cast iron block.)

Aluminum and iron have very different corrosion properties and require different antifreeze formulations for optimal performance. In particular, aluminum fares best with a "low pH coolant" with a pH is in the range 7.8-8.3 while cast iron fares best with a coolant pH in the vicinity of 10.5. The Japanese quietly started using a form of HOAT (hybrid organic additive technology) in automotive applications over 15 years ago. (A HOAT coolant uses a combination of inorganic and organic additives.) They never relied on silicates because their coolant technology was specifically developed for aluminum engines. In this context, silicates were unnecessary and undesirable because of their abrasiveness (which attacks water pump seals). Japanese engineers also avoided borates (a form of inorganic additive) because they are abrasive and less effective than phosphates.

In North America, coolant technology evolved primarily to support cast iron engine technology but it also needed to accommodate some aluminum engine parts including the occasional use of aluminum blocks which first appeared in the early 1960s. (Buick introduced an aluminum V8 in 1961 but ceased producing it in 1963 and subsequently sold it to Rover. According to Wikipedia, one of the reasons GM dropped this engine was radiator clogging caused by coolants ill-suited to aluminum.) North American automotive engineers determined that they could accommodate aluminum engine components by adding silicates to their standard coolant originally developed for cast iron engines. The abrasiveness of the silicates was not much of an issue given the assumption that water pumps (and perhaps cooling system hoses) would be replaced at regular intervals.

In Europe, aluminum blocks have been widely used for decades, which has pushed coolant technology along a path much closer to the Japanese model than the North American one. European engineers also developed a form of HOAT technology (using benzoic acid as the organic acid) about 15 years ago but they used silicates and borates in the inorganic additive package. European automotive engineers reportedly had some negative experience with phosphates reacting with the tap water in some European locales. In addition, phosphates acquired negative environmental associations, so the European automotive industry developed and promoted phosphate-free coolant technology. As a result, European coolants have historically used borates (which are abrasive) in preference to phosphates.

North American automotive engineers apparently recognized that Japanese HOAT coolants were superior in aluminum engines to North American coolants. In the mid 1990s, chemical engineers at Texaco developed a new purely organic acid technology (OAT) called Dex-Cool with a low pH (presumably targeting aluminum) and a much longer life than than conventional North American coolant (and somewhat longer than the Japanese and European HOAT coolants of the era). Unfortunately, the formulation of Dex-Cool was based primariiy on laboratory experiments rather than practical experience; hence, it not surprising that Dex-Cool encountered major problems in real world usage after GM adopted it in 1996. It would be fascinating to hear the inside story of how and why GM embraced Dex-Cool technology.

Japanese automotive engineers strongly opposed the use of 2-EH (ethyl hexanoic) acid, the primary additive in Dex-Cool, because it attacks some compounds used in many engine gaskets. But Japanese engineers appreciated the long life of the Dex-Cool additive technology and revised their HOAT coolants about five years ago to rely primarily on a similar OAT package (based on organic acids other than 2-EH acid). The complementary inorganic additives in Japanese coolants, which reportedly provide more immediate corrosion protection than OAT, still include phosphates.

More recently, european automotive engineers have recently updated their HOAT coolants for longer life as well. In Europe, Glysantin has released longer-lived successors to their older HOAT coolants marketed as SOAT (Silicon enhanced Organic Acid Technology). Of course, their older coolants were silicon-enhanced (silicated) as well, but truth has never stood in the way of effective marketing.

The primary problem with Japanese coolant technology (in comparison with North American and European technologies) is that Japanese coolants are only marketed as OEM products. Essentially all Japanese automotive coolant is manufactured by the Japanese company CCI which has a North American subsidiary called Intac. But CCI/Intac does not produce any "aftermarket" coolant for North America. Although the Japanese manufacturers suggest that only coolants with their specific OEM labels are properly formulated for their vehicles, all Japanese automotive coolants appear to fall into two simple categories: "long life" (the original Japanese HOAT coolant) and "extra long life" (the revised Japanese HOAT coolant incorporating OAT without 2-EH acid). Within each category, the various brands of coolant appear to be nearly identical based on the limited information they have released (press releases and Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs). In fact, the MSDSs for some of the OEM branded coolants refer to the same CCI code numbers. Hence, if a cheap source of Honda/Toyota/Nissan/Mazda coolant in the proper category is available, it should work well as a substitute for any other brand of Japanese coolant in that category. In addition, according the Japanese manufacturers, "extra long life" coolant can generally be used to replace "long life" coolant, but the old coolant must be drained for "extra long life" service intervals to apply.

In Europe, BASF is the dominant coolant manufacturer under the brand name Glysantin. BASF makes a variety of different coolant formulations, most of which contain some silicates and none of which contain phosphates. Among these formulations, only Zerex G-05, a derivative of Glysantin G05 is readily available in the US aftermarket. Zerex G-05 actually appears closer in formulation to Glysantin G40 (the SOAT successor to Glysantin G05) than to its namesake because both G40 and Zerex G-05 have extended change intervals while G05 does not.

In North America, the owners of Japanese cars either have to buy OEM coolant (often at exhorbitant prices) or try to find an acceptable aftermarket match to Japanese coolant technology. Among the available aftermarket coolants, Peak Global Lifetime is perhaps the best match since it relies on OAT without 2-EH acid. But it apparently does not include a complementary inorganic additive package like the Japanese coolants. (If it did it would be called a HOAT coolant rather than an OAT coolant). Zerex G-05 is another credible option because it is a HOAT coolant that does not contain 2-EH acid but it incorporates silicates ("silicon enhancement").

My recommendation to the owners of Japanese vehicles is to grimace (at the price) and buy a Japanese OEM coolant.
 
Originally Posted By: smithph

They also have an interesting FAQ with some details on the recycling process that may be of interest to some folks on this forum


For the usual question that pops up on occasion;

Originally Posted By: eetcorp faq
Hybrid organic acid technology (HOAT) uses both inorganic and organic acid additives for long life protection. The objective with HOAT is to provide excellent all around protection and extended drain intervals. HOAT coolants generally can replace or are compatible with green IAT in older vehicles. Chrysler used conventional green IAT coolant until 2001, when they adopted G-05®, a hybrid coolant. Ford followed suit in 2002, dropping the green IAT for G-05® factory fill and extending the drain interval. Variations of HOAT coolants have been around for more than 50 years.
 
Originally Posted By: Throckmorton
Great writeup ponderosaATX!


Wow, now this is the kind of excellent, accurate, tech info that BITOG is known for .

More please!!!!!!!!
 
The European Economic Community started phasing out conventional green coolants because of the environmental impact. Carboxylate acid based coolants last longer, thus fewer disposals, and thus better for the environment. Yes, the change also had something to do with metal alloy changes. But the biggest push was environmental impact.

European manufacturers do not use phosphates in their coolants because of high mineral content in their water supply. The combination of phosphates and Salts of calcium and magnesium carbonates (found in hard water) in a hot cooling system causes deposits to build-up on hot metal surfaces. Not a good thing.

There is nothing wrong with 2-EHA, it has many benefits and companies like Peak try to use this as an advertising piece to sell their coolant. There are a lot of manufacturers that use 2-EHA in their coolant (Domestic, Asian and European), so don’t be fooled by negative stunts. 2-EHA is not the culprit behind head and intake gasket failures.

Professor, I would like to see the testing and scientific data you have that shows 2-EHA as a culprit. I would be glad to give you my email so you may send that report to me for review.

Umm—OAT (Dex-Cool) came on the scene in 1994.
 
One last little piece of information I forgot to add before bedtime. Notice in bold.
This is off the MSDS Sheet for G05 Section 15 pages 6 and 7.

MSDS Header

The Valvoline Company Date Prepared: 04/10/02
MSDS No: 503.0296766-002.006I
ZEREX G-05 AFC 1/55 GA

1. CHEMICAL PRODUCT AND COMPANY IDENTIFICATION
Material Identity
Product Name: ZEREX G-05 AFC 1/55 GA
General or Generic ID: GLYCOL

This is from Section 15:

15. REGULATORY INFORMATION
US Federal Regulations
TSCA (Toxic Substances Control Act) Status
TSCA (UNITED STATES) The intentional ingredients of this
product are listed.
CERCLA RQ - 40 CFR 302.4
Component Component
ETHYLENE GLYCOL 5000
SARA 302 Components - 40 CFR 355 Appendix A
None
Section 311/312 Hazard Class - 40 CFR 370.2
Immediate(X) Delayed(X) Fire( ) Reactive( ) Sudden
Release of Pressure( )
SARA 313 Components - 40 CFR 372.65
Section 313 Component(s) CAS Number
---------------------------------------- -------------
ETHYLENE GLYCOL 107-21-1
International Regulations
Inventory Status
DSL (CANADA) The intentional ingredients of this product are
listed.
State and Local Regulations
California Proposition 65
None
New Jersey RTK Label Information
ETHYLENE GLYCOL 107-21-1
Pennsylvania RTK Label Information
1,2-ETHANEDIOL 107-21-1
ETHANOL, 2,2'-OXYBIS- 111-46-6
BORON SODIUM OXIDE (B4NA2O7) 1330-43-4
 
Great input, Ponderosa.

I just happened to be flushing out a Japanese car & if I hadn't stumbled on this website a week ago I would have used Prestone all-makes.

BTW, anybody going to OEM coolant like I am - Call all the dealerships in your area to find the best price. I called 3 Toyota dealers within 20 mi. from here and got prices from $18-32 for the same jug of Toyota concentrate.
 
Originally Posted By: ponderosaTX


The primary problem with Japanese coolant technology (in comparison with North American and European technologies) is that Japanese coolants are only marketed as OEM products. Essentially all Japanese automotive coolant is manufactured by the Japanese company CCI which has a North American subsidiary called Intac. But CCI/Intac does not produce any "aftermarket" coolant for North America.

Umm, I believe Intac bottles for Peak and Old World Industries too - the label layout and lot numbering between Toyota/Honda OEM and Peak/O'Reilly's house brand is virtually identical.
 
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