Coolant additives tech article for discussion.

[TitaniumTT]

That would explain why seals placed directly in water wetter last a matter of minutes, some engines a year, others for a few years.

Fact still remains though that it's been proven to eat them, so why use it?

[Cp1]

Originally Posted by TitaniumTT

That would explain why seals placed directly in water wetter last a matter of minutes, some engines a year, others for a few years.

Fact still remains though that it's been proven to eat them, so why use it?

This is also why you only should use De-Ionized water when mixing as using even distilled water will cause Galvanic Corrosion between dissimilar metals. in the rotary its worth noting this will happen between the irons and aluminum sets hence the additives in coolant...

The benefits of "Properly" mixed and maintained coolant and additives far out weigh the negative aspects, and even water wetter advises that it should only be used with a new coolant mixture after a fresh flush of the system, so that it can benefit from the anti-corrosion additives in newer coolant.


Ninja edit: also while many manufacturers recommend for liability sake a 50/50 mix it is only advisable to use the least amount of antifreeze required to defend from risk of freezing, a 5% mix is more than adequate to provide rust inhibition relief solely. most purpose built racecraft where engines are disassembled often, usually run pure water with a wetting additive as rusting or major corrosion isnt a factor