max808

I'm going to change my coolant and need to know which is best.

bill99gxe

iTrader: (1)

If you're lazy like I am.....Toyota Red Coolant...good for 2 years. Unfortunately, it's $14/gallon from a local Toyota dealer....


If you aren't lazy, then good ol' green Prestone....good for a year.


Either way, don't get the orange "long life" antifreeze.....it isn't well regarded by mechanics anywhere.

iwannabmw

iTrader: (3)

Zerex - Changed every year. It is less corrosive then Prestone from info gleaned off the net.

costcowholesale

iTrader: (12)

what happens if you don't change it? I still have stock colant in myc ar now.

iwannabmw

iTrader: (3)

Corrosion will build up in your cooling system making it less efficient. The coolant also acts as a lubricant for the water pump. If you don't change the pump won't last as long as it could, just like if you don't change your oil, your engine won't last as long, thought that's an extreme example. The freezing point get higher and the boiling gets lower the longer the coolant is in your car as well.

costcowholesale

iTrader: (12)

so change it oncea year?

max808

What about the Nissan coolant? or Toyota's one is better.

nigelcmf

I think factory spec says change every two years (can't remember the miles ... maybe 60K?) The more often you change the better. If you have stock still in the system, flush it out well!

costcowholesale

iTrader: (12)

but I only have 30k miles

iwannabmw

iTrader: (3)

I would change it once a year, but for the record Nissan states in their book that the first fill is good for 60K and then change it every 30K. I wish they would put time intervals in there as well. I mean, would you stay with the same oil change intervals if you only drove it a few K a year??

The info I was talking about is below and is from unofficialbmw.com
I have no idea as to it's accuracy, I'm just putting it out there

95emeraldgxe

prestone works just fine for me.......one a year

Eric L.

Every 15k when you change all your other fluids and filters, why not just do a drain and refill coolant? That's what I do.

Chunger

iTrader: (1)

Ditto with the Toyota coolant... here in SoCal, coupons have it at $9.88 a gallon.

BippuBenji

iTrader: (4)

I don't know which is best, but I chose to go with the Prestone orange fluid which I last time flushed last summer so I might be planning on doing it again in qa few days before it gets supercold.

MikeO

It works pretty well...good for 5 years..But you gotta flush out all the old stuff thou

Some coolant info:
http://silverstone.fortunecity.com/f...64/coolant.htm

iwannabmw

iTrader: (3)

Wow, excellent link! I had no idea it was that complicated. Beware of the pop-ups though.

Steve Marsh

I use Prestone's Dual Protection formula (yellow bottle). I also use bottled distilled water, and one bottle of Redline's "Water Wetter" coolant additive. I change/flush mine every six months! 96se (since new) 161,260 miles. Amsoil 0w-30, Amsoil SDF-13 O.F. The cost is nothing compared to expensive components! Anti-freeze gets corrosive when it gets old (eats aluminum/other metals).

ptatohed

iTrader: (12)

So why would one 'flush' vs. drain and refill?

Also, I just got back from Kragen and they have this stuff called 'Superlube' I beleive. They make it for oil and for coolant. The coolant one claimed that your engine will run 20^ cooler with it. And it went as far as saying it is most efficient when used only with water, not a 50/50 mix. Do you guys beleie this stuff?

Off the subject but: Their engine one litterally claimed 4.1 more HP (and a cooler running engine). It showed a dyno on the back. And if that's not enough, the 'Racing' engine additive claimed 6.1 HP. ???

Steve Marsh

As for the latter i don't know much about it. But Redline's water wetter is an excellent product! I have used it for quire sometime. Check out www.redlineoil.com and www.amsoil.com for further inquiry. These companies particuarly amsoil are strict lab/research to the extreme, and "very little marketing" (unlike other companies). As far as the oil issue i with Amsoil 0w-30 (check out the tech stats), their products are excellent. The 0w-30 weight allows the engine to produce slightly more horses than it it was originally intended to (less engine drag), better protection/flow properties. One other thing be very careful with these oil additives (stp, prolong etc), a lot of them have teflon in them, which upon wearing off can cause undo harm to your VQ engine!Check out the Federal Trade Commission for further info Best wishes!

iwannabmw

iTrader: (3)

By flushing the system with a chemical agent, you will dissolve some of the corrosion (scaley build-up) already in your radiator and flush it out.

Water is a much better agent at heat transfer than a 50/50 mix, but is not practical for everyday street use due to the corrosion inhibitors and water pump lubrication properties necessary in a coolant mix. As far as something like Redline's water wetter cutting down temps by 20 degrees, sure I believe that on highly stressed engines. I don't believe this other product you mentioned will allow you to develop 4 extra hp in a Maxima. I wouldn't really consider these products a power aid so to speak.