What is the best Anti-Freeze?
 

I am getting ready to change the anti-freeze in my car, because it almost has 60,000 miles on it. So, I like to know what brand and type (green, yellow or red) of anti-freeze should I go out and buy or does it even matter. I live in So Cal. What is the best mix 50/50 (water/anti-freeze) or should I use less or more anti-freeze to water?
Any info will be helpful.

*Sigh*

I AM IN A NICe MOOD TODAY. I WONT BASH YOU FOR NOT SEARCHING.

but hard to say tomorrow ... so next time SEARCH & READ THE STICKIES B4 U POST !

Ok,Any Anti-Freeze will work just fine. u live in SoCal which means u will never see anything like 0 degrees.

If you just do the usual *Drain from Radiator*, u will get about 1 gallon something out, then u can mix the Anti-Freeze to water like 30/70. Oh yes add a bottle of Water Wetter into the mix will help ya a bit more.

If you decided to do the *complete drain* method, which means u will drain the engine block too ... actually forget it, just do the Drain from Radiator it will be fine. At least for noobs :)

^^ not really...

here's 2 i've used.

-toyota long life= red, undiluted
-honda type II = blue, 50/50 mineral less prediluted

both are for use with aluminum blocks and should not contain silicates or borates which are harmful for seals...

don't ask how i know, i just trust those two...
and i just currently flushed with distilled and running on honda's type II 50/50.
i like my results on the RB temp gauges...

the FL22 is safe as well... but i use other lighter color coolant which can be easily identified if it ever leaks. and i prefer 50/50 but i heard FL22 comes 55/45...???
why? idk.

waterwetter optional! but preferable.

and to add to that...

don't use toyota long life if you're AT, why?
ATF is red, now ur coolant is too??? confusing huh?

but toyota longlife is better if ur MT and on a budget... its cheaper!
honda's is 2X more expensive tho.

so noob,
drain from the block. its the 14MM bolt right above the oil pressure sender connector on top of driver side oil pan. you'll need 2 gallon at minimum...

and re-read ur post, use something lower than the FL22 55/45 since ur in so-cal.
i just hate green FL22 mazda coolant. don't ask me why.

GL

so on another note, what other coolants are aluminum safe ethylene glycol based w/o borate, silicates...i'm also interested in the colors!

we already know

*toyota=red
*honda=blue
* X = pink
*xx? = orange

anyone???

FL22 is 55/45 mix. 55 anti-freeze and 45 water.

So not very good.

Regular Anti-Freeze will work just fine. Most radiators today are made of aluminum (or parts of it) so its fine to use them.

Im running 40/60 now (Anti-freeze/water), my temp never go over 95 Celsius even I push it hard and hold it at 9.2K rpm. so its good. my freezing temp should be around 0 F, which my area will never see (NYC! coldest is like what, 15f?)

If Im in SoCal I will just run 30/70 + water wetter

I have a 05 MT. I think I’m going to do the Toyota long life red route. Where can I get the Toyota long life red? Do I have to go to a Toyota dealership? And what is the cost per gallon. So, you do not have to mix water with the Toyota red. Is the Water Wetter needed to be mix with the Toyota red anti-freeze?

i believe orange is available through ford motorcraft coolant which is long life as well

Regular Anti-freeze(Toyota, Honda,whatever), which is Ethylene glycol, is a very deadly poisonous chemical and bad for the Earth. thats why you should ALWAYS recycle your old Anti-Freeze to Recycling Center near you.

Some Anti-Freeze, which use Propylene glycol, is non-toxic and cools as good as Ethylene Glycol, hell it could be use as food additive.(I AM NOT TELLING YOU TO POUR Anti-Freeze INTO YOUR FOOD!!!!!)

if you want to help earth. You can get some Non-Toxic Anti-Freeze like Sierra Anti-Freeze or Prestone's Low Tox. In Japan they have some Propylene glycol blend of Anti-Freeze actually cools a lot better than the Ethylene glycol-based Anti-Freeze.

Im thinking to switch to those as soon as my pile of Old Anti-Freeze runs out. (another 2 gallon actually)

Anti-Freeze is here to raise the boiling point, Lower the freezing point, lube water pumps, and resist rust. Notice Anti-Freeze SUCK at removing heat. Distilled Water is still the best and fastest. Thats why if your area never sees snow or freezing temp, you SHOULD mix it down to have more water than Anti-Freeze.

Any mottor cycle shop has fluid too. Honda Yamaha and BMW have had aluminum engines for years.

That's cutting it close. Temps below zero are rare in NYC, but do happen every now and then. I remember below zero in winter of 1984. There was also that cold snap in January 1994, where the whole Northeast was below zero for a few days...even down here in Virginia. You should mix for the lowest credible temperature, not the lowest typical temperature.

One other point on coolant. Unless you're going to thoroughly flush every bit of the old stuff out, use the same color as the old. Otherwise you can wind up with an ugly brown or black.

Ken

meh, I always use *green* stuff. so hehe

I wanna mix it into *Black* stuff actually, it looks pretty cool I think hahaha

Well, you have a point there. Im planning to do another flush soon, Last week I just drain the radiator, this time I will drain radiator AND the engine block. Just to get most of them out.

I also notice, it *seems* that Royal Purple ICE does not work as well as Water Wetter. I dont know, Thats why Im gonna do the Engine block flush to get most of them out. and re-use Water Wetter (WW is cheaper than ICE anyway)

toyota long life is UNDILUTED iirc. so thats what i meant when i say honda's type II is 2x more expensive.

i recalled picking up a gallon of toyota for about $12 from a close-by toyota specialist shop. and i only needed 1 gallon as the other gallon used will be distilled water for a 50/50 mix. its uber-cheap done this way.

you seem confused, why? buy one gallon of distilled water and one gallon of toyota long life. mix'em and you got a 50/50 ratio, simple.

or just buy any other pre 50/50 mixed such as honda type II and grab yourself a bottle of water wetter and be done with it already.

ok soo my antifreeze light popped on today so i decided to go get some, i went to autozone and was looking at them, i read the owner manual and it said to get the ethylene glycol based antifreeze, so i went and bought preston 50/50. after i bought it i decided iid rather be safe then sorry and was just gonna get some from a mazda dealership, only downfall is im atleast a hour from any dealership. sooo i actually did a search to see what kind to use, this thread has been very helpful for the most part. anyway from what i gathered preston will do just fine?? correct? (i live in maryland)

Alex, get your flame suit on.

not funny, ok alittle funny haha, the light went off but i figured id top it off anyways or do a complete change

I mix my own. 1 gal of preston to 1 gal of distilled water when I am being lazy. but 25/75 ratio antifreeze to water is what I go for. I don't know your climate. But prestone or peak will be fine.

Heres the chart for you, our vehicle holds almost 11 quarts of antifreeze.

http://www.shamrockchicago.com/PrestHdAfSpec.html

ArXate, i just realized what it meant, and i feel incredably stupid lol sooo i have since edit my post lol this should stay between you and me lol

and thanks DocBeech!!

The one that does not FREEZE!...;)

Most if not ALL good Brand name Ethylene Glycol Antifreeze either concentrated or mixed are good.

WHAT, you are saying 25% water and 75% Antifreeze??!!, WAY too much AF..

You are pulling our legs??

there I fixed it sorry, hey im paying more attention to my charting. This always happens though when I chart and play in the forums in the AM lol. At least I get my charting done properly :P I am set to 0 deg F. Its pretty simple though, I had the math on the bottles right. One bottle of 50/50 and one bottle of distilled water.

what about Evans? I am getting more interested in that stuff---its the same--just higher concentration as the Sierra.
Heat is alway a factor to control but localized hotspots are too. Nuciate boiling/steam is a real thing and anything with water in it could have this?

Do you know about the coolant light issue? That the light often comes on even when the coolant level is OK? Check the level before doing anything precipitous.

If you do change the coolant (a good idea every few years) I suggest filling with the customary 50/50 to 60/40 glycol/water ratio. Even if you live in a warm climate, like Doc does and like the OP did two years ago, you never know when you'll take a trip someplace else.

I live a bit south of you, and I've seen temps down to -10. Not very often, but as I said during this thread's earlier days plan for lowest credible temp, not just average.

Ken

Yeah you want to use the almanac and find the lowest temp of the places you visit and set to that. Mines set to here because I generally drive my GFs car if we goto ohio.

Hey guys I got peak global lifetime its 50/50 prediluted antifreeze and coolant that should be good right? I live in New York and its 13° out here but the wind chills make it feel like -5°. Any suggestions?

Global Lifetime 50/50 is good stuff.