Distilled water

crashpete

Supercharged
Joined
Aug 21, 2013
Messages
216
Location
Surprise, AZ
Ride
2012 Triumph Rocket 3 Roadster
I've read several threads on here about coolant. I live in Phoenix, AZ and the temp here in the summer is hot, it's hot already! Is it a good idea to use just distilled water in the radiator? No problem of freezing. Or should I do a mix with the Maxima Coolanol and distilled water for some anti corrosion measures?
 
You could try Wetter Water which is claimed to give better heat dissipation plus corrosion inhibitors.


bob
 
I already have the Maxima Coolanol, was just wondering if using only distilled is a good idea on a rocket.
 
Pure distilled isn't a good idea. Some of the metals in the system are not compatible and electrolysis will eventually corrode the aluminum components in the loop as the water gets ions from movement across anything containing copper. Water and some sort of corrosion inhibitor is your best bet to keep the heat capacity of the system high and the metals safe.
 
That's what I was looking for, the Maxima Coolanol is already premixed so that is what I'll use. I did fill it with distilled right after I drained the old, I ran it up recently. I'll drain it and fill it with the Coolanol, thanks for the advice.
 
No problem.

Short term use, distilled is fine, like going to the track or perhaps in the middle of an exceptional heat wave in AZ for a week or two.

Best bet is to lower the fan kick on temp to like 98-99 in TuneECU.

I have to deal with all these mixed metal issues in my computer, so I'm quite used to it lol.
 
Here is a recent test of the usual suspects with additive and water vs additive and coolant:

Cooling System Additives - Turbo and High-Tech Performance Magazine

The synopsis:

They all work, they all work incredibly well with just water additive and distilled, and acceptably well as additive and coolant.

At least one additive pasted industry standards with just itself and distilled water as corrosion inhibitor, meaning, you don't require anything else in the loop.

The higher boiling point coolant vs the increased heat capacity of just distilled:

Distilled will keep your engine cooler and prevent overheating in the first place, antifreeze will tolerate minor overheating better but cannot expel heat as efficiently because precious few materials have the heat capacity of good old water.
 
To add one more point:

Best best in hot environment:
25% PG / 75% Distilled + Redline Water Wetter (which is the one that passes ASTM D2570 standards).
 
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