Redline Water Wetter
- Thread starter JASONA70
- Start date
It's fine to run with pure water for the track. With glycol coolant, I've seen cases where it caused slime to form in the system.
I don't think you need to waste money on Water Wetter, its about as effective as pink food dye from what I understand.
Yes, it reduces the water tension. Just run a proper cooling system, WITH ALL OF THE PARTS IT CAME WITH, LIKE FAN SHROUDS AND UNDER COVERS.
Mechanic on a race team I worked for, they used to run it but even running a redline sposorship; they switched to this: http://www.pro-blend.com/coolsys.htmlanternman said:
I'm not certain of the chemical makeup, but it absolutely mucks with the surface tension of water. For this reason, it will make a cooling system with no leaks, leak in a big way, and a cooling system with small leaks is just out of the question.
I did this test - fill a tupperware container with water, seal the lid, shake. Nothing, right? Pour in a teaspoon of WW and repeat - but do it over the sink, or be prepared to face the wrath of the woman of the house.
I did this test - fill a tupperware container with water, seal the lid, shake. Nothing, right? Pour in a teaspoon of WW and repeat - but do it over the sink, or be prepared to face the wrath of the woman of the house.
I bought a can of water wetter last year.. still not brave enough to put it into my coolent.. if car does not overheat.. why mess with a system thats not broken?
I know from personal experience that the Red Line WW doesn't like Toyota coolant. Got crud in my overflow res and had to flush the motor. I've read it doesn't play well with other coolants as well. Using it with straight water is fine...it may or may not work with the coolant you're using.
JustAnotherVictim
Supramania Contributor
Am I mistaken or is the coolant mainly used to help prevent rust from forming inside the cooling passages?
JustAnotherVictim said:
Higher boiling point, lower freezing point, anti-corrosion, lubrication.
JustAnotherVictim
Supramania Contributor
I didn't know lubrication was one.
Haven't been able to find much on that part so far.
What I've found, bp is ~ 370F and fp is ~ -40F
Apparently it's quite tasty too, lol.
http://www.slate.com/id/2103821/
Haven't been able to find much on that part so far.
What I've found, bp is ~ 370F and fp is ~ -40F
Apparently it's quite tasty too, lol.
http://www.slate.com/id/2103821/
I've been using WaterWetter in my Tacoma since '96 in Toyota Red with no buildup at all in the radiator or overflow tank. I bought my Supra in 2002 and switched it over to Toyota Red with WaterWetter when I installed my Fluidyne radiator and have had no buildup or issues with it either. Both vehicles get their cooling system flushed at a minimum of three years, two if I have the time and I always use distilled water mixing between 50/50 - 70/30. My Tacoma still has its original radiator and is still very clean with no buildup at the radiator cap. I also run WW in my streetbike and have yet to have issues with any of my vehicles cooling system.
I'm not sure what happened in your instance jdub, but I've had zero problems using WaterWetter with Toyota Red coolant.
I'm not sure what happened in your instance jdub, but I've had zero problems using WaterWetter with Toyota Red coolant.
jdub said:
Last edited:
My two cents: Water Wetter contains a surfactant and corrosion inhibitors among other things. The surfactant in it is sodium molybdate. The corrosion inhibitor is tolyltriazole. Surfactants work by breaking surface tension. Most common detergent contain surfactants because the breaking of surface tension is the process behind how soaps clean.
The product was designed to be effective in an all water system. The more glycol present the less effective it is although the benefits of the corrosion inhibitor remain. In addition to what Dave pointed out try this:
Take a saucer and fill it with water. Sprinkle pepper on the surface. Add a very small drop of WW (use a tiny drop of dishwashing detergent if you don't have WW) to the center of the dish. The result is a surfactant at work. Drain and dry the saucer and refill with straight antifreeze. Repeat the process. It should be clear the greater the water/glycol mix the less effective WW will be. Also, as Jdub pointed out, the product has a history of causing slime in some coolants. It comes from another ingredient: polysiloxane polymer, used as an anti-foaming agent.
The bottom line is it's effective only in all water systems and even then it's cooling benefits are minimal. It doesn't do much at all in a glycol system other than replenish the corrosion package. Myself, I take Nick's advice: keep the cooling system in good condition and change the coolant when it needed.
If you really must have the "feel good" thing from using gimmick products, paying $9 for the few cents worth of chemicals in WW is a dumb move when you can buy them in bulk for cheap. In fact years ago WW used to be sold as a powder but I guess they weren't making enough off the suckers out there using antifreeze.
The product was designed to be effective in an all water system. The more glycol present the less effective it is although the benefits of the corrosion inhibitor remain. In addition to what Dave pointed out try this:
Take a saucer and fill it with water. Sprinkle pepper on the surface. Add a very small drop of WW (use a tiny drop of dishwashing detergent if you don't have WW) to the center of the dish. The result is a surfactant at work. Drain and dry the saucer and refill with straight antifreeze. Repeat the process. It should be clear the greater the water/glycol mix the less effective WW will be. Also, as Jdub pointed out, the product has a history of causing slime in some coolants. It comes from another ingredient: polysiloxane polymer, used as an anti-foaming agent.
The bottom line is it's effective only in all water systems and even then it's cooling benefits are minimal. It doesn't do much at all in a glycol system other than replenish the corrosion package. Myself, I take Nick's advice: keep the cooling system in good condition and change the coolant when it needed.
If you really must have the "feel good" thing from using gimmick products, paying $9 for the few cents worth of chemicals in WW is a dumb move when you can buy them in bulk for cheap. In fact years ago WW used to be sold as a powder but I guess they weren't making enough off the suckers out there using antifreeze.