wetting agent for cooler coolant?

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Mon Dec 21, 2009 12:58 pm

has anyone used a coolant wetting agent? I found a blurb on a redline brand, product called water wetter, said to increase your coolants ability to remove heat as much as 20 to 30 deg C and reduce cavitation and other claims. Mixes with your coolant and antifreeze so it not an all in one One 12 flOZ bottle treats 3 to 5 US gallons of rad water.

Curious to know of any results found

Suby Roo · Post by **Suby Roo** » Mon Dec 21, 2009 1:09 pm

Ive used it in the WAIC in my Legacy, as it was always warm even after long runs with plenty of air, and it seemed to work well, can now touch the reservoir after a caining and only just feel the warmth.

spike · Post by **spike** » Mon Dec 21, 2009 1:20 pm

dam theres no "rub finger smiley"
that stuffs pretty expensive isntt it??
but it is great we ran redline in the trans of our first races so good

90brumby · Post by **90brumby** » Mon Dec 21, 2009 11:42 pm

ive never used it but ive spoken to a few people that have they all say its gwd

cockroach · Post by **cockroach** » Tue Dec 22, 2009 12:50 am

i use it in my subaru, where i live the temp is always around the 35-45deg mark and my car used to run warm. so i flushed out the cooling system and heater with loads of water to remove every last bit of coolant. then topped up the radiator and overflow tank with water wetter/distilled water, changed out the thermostat to a 160deg one, removed the engine driven fan and put an electric fan from an old automatic magna in its place. even on 40deg+ days it stays cool.

that was a little off topic, but the water in my cooling system still looks good after 6months and i have had no poblems. on a side note, i upgraded the earth wires on the motor and radiator to help prevent electrolysis in the cooling system

AndrewT · Post by **AndrewT** » Tue Dec 22, 2009 9:29 am

Give it a go and see if there are actual results.
One wonders why such a fantastic substance isn't used in engine coolants by default!

wrxer · Post by **wrxer** » Tue Dec 22, 2009 4:34 pm

i read some independant trials and they were impressed, i saw it and was tempted to get some but the 40+ price tag put me off

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Tue Dec 22, 2009 6:39 pm

40 bucks is cheaper than any engine damage heat can do and a tow truck ride !! Might be getting some....

AndrewT · Post by **AndrewT** » Tue Dec 22, 2009 7:36 pm

yeah but if your cooling system isn't working well enough to prevent engine damage then you should fix it up rather than trying whiz-bang additives. Sometimes an engine running too cold can cause damage too - I wonder how the supposed large difference in temperature would effect the delay in the thermostat opening.

I'm always skeptical of this kind of thing. In the same department as the good old HiClone

Gannon · Post by **Gannon** » Tue Dec 22, 2009 9:51 pm

Yeah it seems like just a sales pitch.

Water has the highest possible specific heat capacity of any readily available liquid, this is it ability to absorb and retain heat energy.

Anything you add to water is gonna reduce its shc, even antifreeze does.

Metal isnt exactly hydrophobic unless its coated in oil or grease, so there is no reason for water not to make sufficient contact with the metal parts of the engine/radiator. If you have a blown headgasket, it could leave oily residues inside the engine and this could maybe make the overheating worse.

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Tue Dec 22, 2009 10:21 pm

Hi clone... funny about these. A korean manufacturer was installing these and my most trusted engine machine shop has had a demo on the bench for years and swears by it, or swore by it, and was up to the individual to try....must ask him about it. Then a gain the late peter perfect had an encounter with his polariser....

Gees, you'd wonder if it affected the temp sensors of ecu enough to cause grief...

Gannon · Post by **Gannon** » Wed Dec 23, 2009 5:27 am

I find it hard to believe the a Hiclone can make improvements in efficiency on a petrol engine because when you are cruising, your throttle is less than 10% open. That means that any swirling effect of the air created in the intake duct by the hiclone is gonna be disturbed by the restriction of the throttle and lost. Even at full throttle, the dividing of the air into the intake runners is gonna inswirl the air.

Late model EJ engines have Tumble Generator Valves in the intake just before the cylinder head to create a swirling effect on the air as it enters the cylinder.

Luke · Post by **Luke** » Wed Dec 23, 2009 7:49 am

The idea behind water wetter is to make the coolant in your coolant system accept and release heat easier. I've heard of it but up here in the Canadian prairies we have no use for it. Our climate goes from -50 to +35 every year. It would just be a hassle trying to get it out every fall.

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Wed Dec 23, 2009 10:04 am

going off topic again with the hiclone..I used to have the odd Mazda 1300 and 1400 engine kicking around. Some had some swirl generators in the head just before the vlve seat, a vane about every 5mm around inside port , nasty if you stuck a finger up there!!

sven '2' · Post by **sven '2'** » Wed Dec 23, 2009 10:13 am

Thought this sounded like BS...like the Helcone.

Looked in wikipeadia (forgive me for quoting the same) but there maybe something in it??

From Wikipeadia:

Nanofluids

An emerging and new class of coolants are nanofluids which comprise of a carrier liquid, such as water, dispersed with tiny nano-scale particles known as nanoparticles. Purpose designed nanoparticles dispersed into the carrier liquid the enhances the heat transfer capabilities of the resulting coolant compared to the carrier liquid alone. The enhancement can be high as 350%.

I know there are a couple of chemists on here that will be far more knowlegable than I (or WP for that matter). Anything in these 'nanofluids'?

Sven

bobbyjimmy · Post by **bobbyjimmy** » Wed Dec 23, 2009 11:34 am

It works well, I've got a bottle in my Outback, and keeps the temps more consistent, and the old man put a bottle in his Sunbeam Tiger and it actually reduced the temp a fair bit - old car, small radiator and V8 is not a really good combo...

Your getting ripped if you paid $40.
$24 at http://performancelub.com/Redline%20pricelist.htm
Harold is a top bloke, have bought many things off him and always happy with his service.

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Wed Dec 23, 2009 10:25 pm

that is about trade price there! Sunbeam Tiger ? Hey Bobby Jimmy, you weren't born in the 60's , your dads name Maxwell and ya mum 99 by any chance? Agent 86 drove a Sunbeam Tiger !!

YouTube · Post by **El_Freddo** » Wed Dec 23, 2009 10:52 pm

Someone's showing their age - and that they have a memory like an elephant!

As for this wetting agent I believe it reduces the surface tension which would help the coolant contact the heating/cooling surfaces within the system. I dunno what it'd do to your coolant as such as you'd be mixing a few things in there, these could possibly become nasty like a cocktail of drugs...

I thought about it today as my single factory wired thermo fan struggled to keep the temp of the EJ down, even with a 3 core radiator! I am happy that it didn't climb over 104 degrees C but wasn't really happy that it was there in the first place... It was the hottest day that the EJ and radiator have endured.

Cheers

Bennie

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Thu Dec 24, 2009 2:07 pm

The memory is failing - that's all I remember

The redline blurb says it is compatible with new or used anti freeze including dex-cooltm and longlife versions to improve the heat transfer of ethylene and propylene glycol systems

discopotato03 · Post by **discopotato03** » Sun Apr 11, 2010 8:05 am

Will confirm but I think Don Adams was actually driving A Sunbeam Alpine which may have had a four banger in it .

Yes I predate man walking on the moon and on a good day can remember most of the real names of the family that got lost in Pinewood studios .

Think Coxy may have had a Sunbeam of some sort in the past .

A .

PS Trying to buy the Boxed set of Gerry Anderson's series UFO - The Complete Shadow Files .
I wonder how many of you can remember the Alfa Corabo the Ed Straker drove in that series with the gull wing doors .