Watter wetter? Evans? or pure H2O????

[Apollo]

Im new to this wacky roller coaster you all call a sport.

The bike i just purchased is setup for the track (1996 F3).  2003 will be my first season.
It currently has evans npg in the radiator.  I will be putting a new radiator and thermostat on the bike.  

What are some suggestions on what to run for coolant.  Some pros and cons are appreciated if you have the time!!!!!

Thanks

[tzracer]

I would not run straight water.

Water wetter works well, but it is not an antifreeze. Mix it according to the directions for it to work properly.

Evans and Engine Ice also work well but are more expensive than water wetter. Both of these products are also anti-freeze.

I have mostly run distilled h20 and water wetter in my TZ. I have a heated garage and the water gets drained fairly often (I tend not to reuse).
If my bike is going to be subjected to below freezing temps, I would use either Evans or Engine Ice.

[tcchin]

Water wetter and water is a much better coolant than straight propylene glycol. Water has a higher heat capacity and better thermal conductivity than PG, which means that it can transfer heat more quickly from your engine, and then hold more of it. Once it reaches the radiator, it rejects heat more quickly, too.

Unfortunately, water has a lower boiling point than PG, so it has a greater tendency to cavitate (boil) when in contact with really hot surfaces, which greatly reduces its heat transfer performance. We experienced this in an R6 that we built - it'd puke water out of the overflow bottle, even though the temp gauge only read 195 or so. Once we started using straight PG, the cavitation stopped, the temp gauge dropped to 185, and the boil-over was eliminated.

In our 1996 F3 race bike, we're using water and water wetter with no problems.

BTW, there are less expensive alternatives to Evans and Engine Ice. Many antifreeze manufacturers (Amsoil in particular) produce PG-based coolants, which can be had at less than half the price of Evans. Engine Ice is just a 50/50 mix of water and PG, which makes it really expensive.

[tshort]

>>Engine Ice is just a 50/50 mix of water and PG, which makes it really expensive. <<

Is PG track/race legal?

[tcchin]

Yes.

[ceesthadees]

Amsoil (PG) at 50/50 with distilled water rocks. It works great for the heat in Florida and should lower the freezing point enough for anyplace worth racing (sorry about that Alaska). Plus, the purple color is kewl.

PS. I've heard that straight water will allow aluminum radiators to corrode.

[Apollo]

I have evans in it now.  Will this work or is one of the others better.

[ceesthadees]

I have used Evans before and it works great. The only reason I tried and then switched to Amsoil is the cost.

I seem to have to fix my bike alot  ;D.

[bweber]

Don't use straight water because it will cause corrosion.  I made that mistake for a half season and it made a mess out of the waterpump cover and who knows what else.  Water-Wetter protects the surfaces from corrosion, but that is all it does.  It is not an anti-freeze so just make sure the bike will not see temps below 32 degrees F.  I use Water-Wetter and distilled water because it is cheap and I simply change to 50-50 water/anti-freeze after the season is over and before winter sets in.

[Super Dave]

Everything sounds spot on...

Water Wetter is a corrosion inhibitor.

Propylene Glycol was outlawed by NASCAR because it did offer an advantage to teams using it.  They didn't need to run so much air through the car, thus, an aerodynamic advantage.

You can get PG products off the shelf too.  Seems like "Sierra" is a 50/50 mix of PG and water.  Run you about $6.50 at Wal-Mart.  You really need that in the Midwest with the weather that we've had at the beginning of some of these seasons.

Then it gets warmer, and one usually switches to water.

Now, about Water Wetter.  It was designed for pumper trucks in the fire fighting industry to reduce corrosion in pumper trucks.  Firemen eventually found out that Palmolive dish washing detergent has the same ingredants.  So, guess what they use.  Guess what's cheaper?  

I've used it.  Works fine.  Mix is up like Water Wetter, 4oz per gallon?

[sdiver68]

SD is spot on, another PG Coolant you can find everywhere and is cheap is Prestone Low Tox.  Just listing an alternate in case your Wal-Mart doesn't have the Sierra ;)

[ceesthadees]

Hey SD,

Would the dish soap make a slick spot if spilled on the track, or is the concentration low enough not to make a difference?

Sounds intriguing!