Changing coolant-water ratio of 50-50 premix?

[TrustyAutos]

As so many of the available coolants come only as a 50-50 premix, is there any way to change the ratio upwards? (coolant-water) I have 2 scenarios in mind: (a) want to flush system with distilled water ... then use 50-50 premix to fill ... but that might leave me at something like 40-60 (b) getting a very cold climate vehicle to 55-45 or 60-40 (Canadian winter) If there's no way to do the above, is there an undiluted, non-universal brand that would would work optimally for both a: (a) 2006 Pontiac Vibe (b) and 2006 Honda CR-V [I know I could use something like Peak Global Lifetime Concentrate, but am searching for something more optimal (like Zerex Asian Blue/Red).] Thank you!

 

[ecotourist]

You'll want to use pure antifreeze. The way I used to do a drain and flush was to use several cycles of tap water as a flush, then drain as much as possible. There will still be water in the system, you just don't know how much. Knowing the volume of your cooling system, you add the calculated amount of pure antifreeze, and top up with water. You top up, over the first few days with water as the system burps out the last bit of air. With pure antifreeze you can get to whatever proportion you want. I used distilled water for the top up but now think that's probably unnecessary.

 

[WyrTwister]

Originally Posted by TrustyAutos

As so many of the available coolants come only as a 50-50 premix, is there any way to change the ratio upwards? (coolant-water) I have 2 scenarios in mind: (a) want to flush system with distilled water ... then use 50-50 premix to fill ... but that might leave me at something like 40-60 (b) getting a very cold climate vehicle to 55-45 or 60-40 (Canadian winter) If there's no way to do the above, is there an undiluted, non-universal brand that would would work optimally for both a: (a) 2006 Pontiac Vibe (b) and 2006 Honda CR-V [I know I could use something like Peak Global Lifetime Concentrate, but am searching for something more optimal (like Zerex Asian Blue/Red).] Thank you!

I know I am going to get flamed for this . But I have run 100% coolant , no water , or 20 - 30 years . No problems / over heating . No water / no rust . Now , do as you wish .

 

[Snagglefoot]

For the Vibe use Dexcool concentrated. For the Civic you can find various makes of Asian concentrated. It's out there.

 

[blufeb95]

Originally Posted by Snagglefoot

For the Vibe use Dexcool concentrated. For the Civic you can find various makes of Asian concentrated. It's out there.

The Vibe should work well with Asian coolant, I believe it comes from the factory with Toyota coolant.

 

[pbm]

If you are using 50/50 premix you are best off doing just a drain/refill. If you want to do a 'flush' ….you should use 'concentrate to get back to a 50/50 mix with the water still in the system from the flush. In Minnesota I wouldn't do a flush and then refill with 50/50 because you will probably end up with 30/70 when done. (My vehicles usually hold about 50% of the water in the system after the flush). PS: I recently did a 'flush' (drained and refilled with distilled water twice*) on a friend's Kia Optima....the system's total capacity was 7.8 quarts.....I was fortunate that the entire 1 gallon jug of Pentosin A2 went into the radiator and surge tank....it only took about 10 ounces of water to top up the surge tank after running it for a day or two. * I wasn't so concerned about getting every last drop of the old coolant out because the Pentosin A2 is a P-HOAT and virtually identical to the OE coolant ….it is recommend for Kia's and it's even the blue/green color of the OE stuff. If I was switching from OE to another coolant with different chemistry, I'd flush until only clear water came out....

 

[Ed_Flecko]

Originally Posted by WyrTwister

Originally Posted by TrustyAutos

As so many of the available coolants come only as a 50-50 premix, is there any way to change the ratio upwards? (coolant-water) I have 2 scenarios in mind: (a) want to flush system with distilled water ... then use 50-50 premix to fill ... but that might leave me at something like 40-60 (b) getting a very cold climate vehicle to 55-45 or 60-40 (Canadian winter) If there's no way to do the above, is there an undiluted, non-universal brand that would would work optimally for both a: (a) 2006 Pontiac Vibe (b) and 2006 Honda CR-V [I know I could use something like Peak Global Lifetime Concentrate, but am searching for something more optimal (like Zerex Asian Blue/Red).] Thank you!

I know I am going to get flamed for this . But I have run 100% coolant , no water , or 20 - 30 years . No problems / over heating . No water / no rust . Now , do as you wish .

I have a friend who's ran 100% antifreeze for years in all of his vehicles, who learned that from his Dad. I don't think it will cause any problems, but the biggest disadvantage is that water cools the motor much better. That's part of the reason antifreeze is mixed. Ed

 

[zrxkawboy]

When I am done flushing a system, I fill with concentrate...just over half of the system capacity. (For example, if it has a 15 qt capacity, I'll pour in 8 qt of concentrate. This gives a small cushion above 50/50.) Many times, I have to add very little water after that to fill it completely...meaning that after draining via the radiator drain, the system was still nearly 50% full of water (block, heater core/hoses, etc). I think that if you flushed and then added a premix, you'd end up in the neighborhood of 25% concentration. You might try this for your vehicles: https://peakauto.com/products/antifreeze-and-cool/auto/peak-antifreeze-coolant-full-strength/

 

[pbm]

Originally Posted by zrxkawboy

When I am done flushing a system, I fill with concentrate...just over half of the system capacity. (For example, if it has a 15 qt capacity, I'll pour in 8 qt of concentrate. This gives a small cushion above 50/50.) Many times, I have to add very little water after that to fill it completely...meaning that after draining via the radiator drain, the system was still nearly 50% full of water (block, heater core/hoses, etc). I think that if you flushed and then added a premix, you'd end up in the neighborhood of 25% concentration. You might try this for your vehicles: https://peakauto.com/products/antifreeze-and-cool/auto/peak-antifreeze-coolant-full-strength/

That PEAK 10X concentrate is on 'CLEARANCE' right now at AZ for $8 a gallon....a fantastic deal. It seems that Prestone with it's Corguard and PEAK with this new 10X realized that phosphates improve corrosion protection (something the Japanese knew awhile ago). The Prestone does contain 2-EHA while this PEAK 10X does not.

 

[krismoriah72]

In a Honda AT, the service manual says something like.. - total capacity is: 2.22 gallon - drain capacity is: 1.77 gallon So roughly 20% is left over from a drain.

 

[Gebo]

Don't flush with distilled water. Just do a drain and fill with the appropriate OEM coolant. Easy Peezy...

 

[ecotourist]

Originally Posted by WyrTwister

I know I am going to get flamed for this . But I have run 100% coolant , no water , or 20 - 30 years . No problems / over heating . No water / no rust. Now , do as you wish .

My understanding is that a coolant water mixture cools better than pure coolant. Optimum is somewhere around 50:50 or 60:40.

 

[JohnG]

The drain and fill should work fine. If you want to know the exact concentration after you're done, you will need one of these refractometers for coolant: Ooops, file was to big...working on it.

 

[JohnG]

 

[SpitFire6]

Originally Posted by WyrTwister

Originally Posted by TrustyAutos

As so many of the available coolants come only as a 50-50 premix, is there any way to change the ratio upwards? (coolant-water) I have 2 scenarios in mind: (a) want to flush system with distilled water ... then use 50-50 premix to fill ... but that might leave me at something like 40-60 (b) getting a very cold climate vehicle to 55-45 or 60-40 (Canadian winter) If there's no way to do the above, is there an undiluted, non-universal brand that would would work optimally for both a: (a) 2006 Pontiac Vibe (b) and 2006 Honda CR-V [I know I could use something like Peak Global Lifetime Concentrate, but am searching for something more optimal (like Zerex Asian Blue/Red).] Thank you!

I know I am going to get flamed for this . But I have run 100% coolant , no water , or 20 - 30 years . No problems / over heating . No water / no rust . Now , do as you wish .

I Plan on doing this on mine. The radiator is oversized and I have full heater coolant flow 100% of the time. The roof has to be down in the summer. It never gets to the temperature that 100% coolant would freeze.

 

[Davejam]

Yes 100% coolant is worse than a mixture. Most you should use is ~70% Coolant, that will give you the minimum freezing point. For warm weather more coolant gives higher boiling point, but also decreases heat transfer so I think you're better off on the lower end like 40%coolant. Anyway to the original poster, 60-65% coolant mix is probably good for Canadian winter but you can't get there from 50/50mix. Zerex Asian is good for the honda, not sure about the Pontiac. It may only be available in 50/50 mix though.

 

[WyrTwister]

[/quote] I know I am going to get flamed for this . But I have run 100% coolant , no water , or 20 - 30 years . No problems / over heating . No water / no rust . Now , do as you wish .[/quote] I have a friend who's ran 100% antifreeze for years in all of his vehicles, who learned that from his Dad. I don't think it will cause any problems, but the biggest disadvantage is that water cools the motor much better. That's part of the reason antifreeze is mixed. Ed[/quote] I am not saying you are wrong . My theory is , no water = no corrosion . Although50/50 may cool better than 100% , 100% cools better than 50/50 in a block / head / radiator that has internal corrosion and " crud deposits " . Also , if I have an emergency / leak , I can , in a bind , add plain water I will still have the 100% coolant for the water to mix with . Our water is very hard . I used it in the cooling system and battery , for years . Now , if I need to , I can go to the closest " water machine " and get a gallon of water ( in my container ) for $ .25 .

 

[Jetronic]

Originally Posted by Ed_Flecko

Originally Posted by WyrTwister

Originally Posted by TrustyAutos

As so many of the available coolants come only as a 50-50 premix, is there any way to change the ratio upwards? (coolant-water) I have 2 scenarios in mind: (a) want to flush system with distilled water ... then use 50-50 premix to fill ... but that might leave me at something like 40-60 (b) getting a very cold climate vehicle to 55-45 or 60-40 (Canadian winter) If there's no way to do the above, is there an undiluted, non-universal brand that would would work optimally for both a: (a) 2006 Pontiac Vibe (b) and 2006 Honda CR-V [I know I could use something like Peak Global Lifetime Concentrate, but am searching for something more optimal (like Zerex Asian Blue/Red).] Thank you!

I know I am going to get flamed for this . But I have run 100% coolant , no water , or 20 - 30 years . No problems / over heating . No water / no rust . Now , do as you wish .

I have a friend who's ran 100% antifreeze for years in all of his vehicles, who learned that from his Dad. I don't think it will cause any problems, but the biggest disadvantage is that water cools the motor much better. That's part of the reason antifreeze is mixed. Ed

And pure antifreeze freezes at fairly high temperatures... Haven't looked at a graph lately but I think at around 70% concentration the freeze point is at it's lowest

 

[JohnG]

Not only does pure antifreeze NOT provide the best low temperature protection, it can be harmful, as in corrosive at high concentrations. I think Dexcool is 55 -60% MAX (for corvette) before it causes trouble. That concentration is for boiling point of course.

 

[kschachn]

These threads often devolve into a discussion of the proper coolant concentration. There are zero upsides to using 100% coolant in a normal passenger car, only downsides. You should always use the minimum recommended coolant concentration that provides sufficient freeze protection for your expected operating conditions. 50/50 is a good compromise for most of the US. One of the biggest reasons for not using 100% coolant is the reduced specific heat capacity. In addition the heat transfer is also inhibited, so all you're accomplishing is restricting the cooling system's ability to do its job.