antifreeze OR coolant

pudzey101

Which would be better for a diesel 01 car or are they both the same?

pa990

same thing

Anan1

You need to use the right one for the car, the details will be in the handbook/service book.

sentient_6

To be pedantic: my understanding is coolant is water mixed 50/50 with antifreeze. So maybe not quiet true to say coolant is antifreeze......ill get me coat.

langdang

sentient_6 wrote: »

To be pedantic: my understanding is coolant is water mixed 50/50 with antifreeze. So maybe not quiet true to say coolant is antifreeze......ill get me coat.

I agree, and to be even more pedantic you might specify distilled water for making up your coolant.

gaza4

my view always was that
coolant goes in the rad and aids cooling the engine, there are ready mixed versions as well as un-diluted. most coolants will not/should not freeze unless in extreme circumstances. the bottle will usually state what temps it can resist.

antifreeze is added to the water in the wash bottle reservoir for your windows to stop the water from freezing over.

Bruthal

gaza4 wrote: »

my view always was that
coolant goes in the rad and aids cooling the engine, there are ready mixed versions as well as un-diluted. most coolants will not/should not freeze unless in extreme circumstances. the bottle will usually state what temps it can resist.

antifreeze is added to the water in the wash bottle reservoir for your windows to stop the water from freezing over.

Any liquid in the engine cooling system, whether antifreeze, water or coolant, or mixtures, will cool the engine by transfering heat from the engine, and transferring it to the radiator where it releases this heat as it circulates around from the engine to the radiator.

gaza4

robbie7730 wrote: »

Any liquid in the engine cooling system, whether antifreeze, water or coolant, or mixtures, will cool the engine by transfering heat from the engine, and transferring it to the radiator where it releases this heat as it circulates around from the engine to the radiator.

i understand that, just some liquids work better than others...

i probly should have said that my above post was MY definitions of the two

Nissan doctor

Coolant is a special mixture of water and various other chemicals which transfer heat much more efficiently then water alone. Coolant also has additives to prevent corrosion in the cooling system.

Antifreeze is an additive which is added in various amounts to coolant to give various levels of freeze protection.

In above freezing conditions, the level of antifreeze in the coolant has no bearing on its cooling properties.

As said already, antifreeze is also usually in proper windscreen washer fluid.


There are also types two main types of coolant, the older standard ethylene glycol based coolants have to be changed regularly(every 2-5 years depending on use) as the corrosion preventing additives deteriorate over that time. This types is usually fine for most normal cars up to and into the 00's.

The newer (usually orange coloured in the aftermarket) has a much longer life as its fully synthetic and is needed in modern cars with alloy and plastic composite cooling system parts.

The two shouldn't be mixed and using the older ethylene coolant(or topping up coolant with normal water) in modern cars is one of the reasons that composite water pump impellers and water pipe unions fail so commonly.



Deep breath...:P

voxpop

Nissan doctor wrote: »

The two shouldn't be mixed and using the older ethylene coolant(or topping up coolant with normal water) in modern cars is one of the reasons that composite water pump impellers and water pipe unions fail so commonly.

your saying that water is corrosive to the plastic waterpump impeller ??

Nissan doctor

Nissan doctor wrote: »

Coolant is a special mixture of water and various other chemicals which transfer heat much more efficiently then water alone. Coolant also has additives to prevent corrosion in the cooling system.

Antifreeze is an additive which is added in various amounts to coolant to give various levels of freeze protection.

In above freezing conditions, the level of antifreeze in the coolant has no bearing on its cooling properties.

As said already, antifreeze is also usually in proper windscreen washer fluid.


There are also types two main types of coolant, the older standard ethylene glycol based coolants have to be changed regularly(every 2-5 years depending on use) as the corrosion preventing additives deteriorate over that time. This types is usually fine for most normal cars up to and into the 00's.

The newer (usually orange coloured in the aftermarket) has a much longer life as its fully synthetic and is needed in modern cars with alloy and plastic composite cooling system parts.

The two shouldn't be mixed and using the older ethylene coolant(or topping up coolant with normal water) in modern cars is one of the reasons that composite water pump impellers and water pipe unions fail so commonly.



Deep breath...:P

Good Info! I believe water actually has better heat transfer properties than any water/antifreeze mix. I am not advocating using water of course, just being pedantic Correct me if i am wrong.

Bruthal

gaza4 wrote: »

i understand that, just some liquids work better than others...

Yes thats true, it depends on the heat capacity of the liquid, and viscosity probably.

Matt Simis

Deleted User wrote: »

Good Info! I believe water actually has better heat transfer properties than any water/antifreeze mix. I am not advocating using water of course, just being pedantic Correct me if i am wrong.

True, I remember from my PC water cooling days. For the max heat transfer (thermal capacity) you need the minimum amount of Antifreeze. Obviously you need some antifreeze to stop boiling and micro organism growth as well as freezing of course.


In cars the thermal capacity isnt that important as the fan will just spin as appropriate to keep a set temp. Anti-boiling is the big issue most of the year.

biko

Antifreeze is American for coolant.
Sometimes used for screenwash too.

Antifreeze/coolant comes in various colours. Go with whatever is currently in car.

Bruthal

Matt Simis wrote: »

In cars the thermal capacity isnt that important as the fan will just spin as appropriate to keep a set temp. Anti-boiling is the big issue most of the year.

Its important enough, althoug the heat capacity difference between water and antifreeze-water mix is probably not very big in terms of engine cooling. The fan is just to assist transferring heat from the water to the air via the radiator when there is little or no airflow through the radiator, such as when the car is not moving but the engine is running.

The engine set temp is more kept in control by the thermostat which restricts flow into the radiator and re-opens it again to regulate the engine temp, according to how much cooling the radiator is doing. But this can do little or nothing when a car is stopped and there is too little air flow through the radiator, so in comes the fan.

biko

biko wrote: »

Antifreeze is American for coolant.

Antifreeze/coolant comes in various colours. Go with whatever is currently in car.

Very innacurate. May I direct you to Nissan Doctors Post.

Colour is no longer, and hasn't been for some time, a good indicator of coolant type since producers broke from colour conventions and started arbitrarily mixing up colours.

Matt Simis

robbie7730 wrote: »

The engine set temp is more kept in control by the thermostat which restricts flow into the radiator and re-opens it again to regulate the engine temp, according to how much cooling the radiator is doing. But this can do little or nothing when a car is stopped and there is too little air flow through the radiator, so in comes the fan.

True, that is a better description than mine.

Bruthal

Matt Simis wrote: »

True, that is a better description than mine.

The stat is gone in my one, so its runnin too cool, although i covered part of the rad with a bit of cardboard till i get round to replacing the stat. Unbelievable how bad it was running before that.

Nissan doctor

voxpop wrote: »

your saying that water is corrosive to the plastic waterpump impeller ??

I didn't say that at all. Obviously adding water to coolant, weakens the coolant leading to less corrosion protection of metal/alloy parts(the water pump impeller is mounted on a steel shaft) and rubber seals. Using the old ethylene glycol based coolants damages the composite parts....

Deleted User wrote: »

Good Info! I believe water actually has better heat transfer properties than any water/antifreeze mix. I am not advocating using water of course, just being pedantic Correct me if i am wrong.

Water could well be a better thermal fluid then coolant but your cooling system won't last long, especially in winter, with just water in it.

Water alone has a lower boiling point, a higher freeze point and no corrosion resistance compared to purpose made coolants.

coylemj

Pedantry free post....

Coolant is what you have in the radiator, antifreeze is an additive to stop it freezing.

Bruthal

Nissan doctor wrote: »

Water alone has a lower boiling point, a higher freeze point and no corrosion resistance compared to purpose made coolants.

Yea the heat capacity of coolant is plenty high enough to do its cooling job, even if its a bit lower than pure water, how well they cool varies a lot depending on the airflow through the rad anyway, and them rads do a great job at heat transfer into the air, whether its by the driving airflow or the fan.

gaza4

gaza4 wrote: »

...........antifreeze is added to the water in the wash bottle reservoir for your windows to stop the water from freezing over.

So what about the stuff on the shelf that has "Antifreeze and summer coolant" on the label ?

sentient_6

sentient_6 wrote: »

To be pedantic: my understanding is coolant is water mixed 50/50 with antifreeze. So maybe not quiet true to say coolant is antifreeze......ill get me coat.

The oem BMW liquid I mix with water is branded as Anti-freeze/coolant.

Nissan doctor

RoverJames wrote: »

So what about the stuff on the shelf that has "Antifreeze and summer coolant" on the label ?

Mario Odd Percussionist wrote: »

The oem BMW liquid I mix with water is branded as Anti-freeze/coolant.

Because its almost impossible to buy coolant that doesn't have antifreeze added so that's why most think they are the same.

The amount of antifreeze and the type of coolant are the things to be considering though.

sentient_6

I'm sorry i said anything now! :P

coylemj

coylemj wrote: »

Pedantry free post....

Coolant is what you have in the radiator, antifreeze is an additive to stop it freezing.

So that answers the ops original question in what way exactly :pac: