seevi

Living in the southwest, when seldom do ambient temps go below freezing, has any on run a higher water ratio to antifreeze? If so, what was your experience?

timd38

Water and Red Line Water Wetter will give you the best combo. You you an additive to prevent corrosion and to lube the water pump, plus it reduces temp.

Not So Fast

I just did mine, I went with the recommended 50/50 mix as close as I could get it with DexCool. Lots of comments both negative and positive about the product but its what GM recommends so that's what I used.
My car seems to actually run a tad cooler that it did before but also probably my imagination, just to justify doing it
NSF

icntdrv55

Living in the southwest also means HOT temps in the summer. Antifreeze not only acts to lower the freezing point of water in the winter....it RAISES the boiling point of water in the summer. Additionally, a 50:50 mixture provides better heat transfer from the block to the cooling medium and ultimately, to the radiator, not to mention the points of corrosion protection and water pump lubricant from the poster above.

HOXXOH

I'm using somewhere between a 30-70 and 35-65 antifreeze to water mixture. I changed to that ratio toward the end of last year, so I won't have any definitive results until the early afternoon temperatures here are consistently in excess of 100 degrees. The highs are only in the mid 90's now and probably won't hit 100 much before May. It'll be June before I can tell the difference.

At a 30-70 mix, the boiling point is 259 vs a 50-50 at 271. Since the highest I've ever seen was in the mid-240's, I feel confidant that a 30-70 mix will be safe. The car has never been subjected to temperatures below 20 degrees, so freezing is not a concern.

rjacobs

25 dexcool/75 distilled water and a bottle of Amsoil Coolant Boost(similar to water wetter I am sure). This was recommended by my Amsoil sponsoring dealer who is on here.

Car runs ~190, nice and cool.

My tune also has the fan come on quite a bit earlier.

Like HOXXOH says, boiling point is reduced a little but the car should go into reduced power before that occurs. Im seeing conflicting reports of 250-260 the car will go into reduced power mode OR be pulling timing like crazy due to a hot engine to essentially reduce power. Anybody know exactly what temp the ECU commands this?

Not So Fast

I understand your thinking absolutely, my question is does the 50/50 mixture make your car run cooler than a 70/30 one does??
Like say we were both driving alongside one another, same speed, temperature and all other valuations, would my car run cooler than yours because I had a higher concentration of coolant ???
NSF

rjacobs

My semi educated answer is going to be no.

straight water is going to transfer heat far better than anti-freeze/water mix.

BUT with straight water you lose: low temp capabilities, corrosion protection, increased boiling point, lubrication for water pump.

Straight water is ok in a race car because the system is changed out a lot and cooling ability is FAR more important than anything else.

On a street car that runs 50k+ miles(or FAR more) on a fill, losing the anti-freeze and what it adds to the system is far more important than the little bit of extra cooling you get from straight water.

zrracer

Use distilled water do not use regular water.
160 thermostat.
Water wetter or other brand.
I used water wetter when I raced. It worked well.
No need for reprogram of fans. I live in Fl. Ac on all summer so why reprogram fans that are already on when it's hot!

Robin

HOXXOH

It always make me chuckle when people in FL think it gets hot there. The all-time record high for the whole State is only 109 degrees. Only the New England area has lower records than FL.
Phoenix alone averages 11 days a year over 110 and it's not the hottest place in the State. The State record is 128 in NSF's backyard.

zrracer

Had a place out their. You r supposed to preach the mantra........
It's "dry" therefore it does not seem as hot........

Not So Fast

Pool temperature UNHEATED and thermometer reading quite often during summer months, but your correct, Its a dry heat"
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rjacobs

The sensor must be broken. They all revert to max temp when the sensor breaks!!!!

enventr

From my understanding with the A/C on the fans won't go to high speed until the temps go up. My 95 when I put the a/c on the fans went to the high speed. The C6 has variable speed . The 160 on my 95 worked great as it averaged 185dg temps ( in Florida). For now I'm leaving the C6 stock. What are your temps with the a/c on in traffic and highway with the 160 stat?

schpenxel

Fans will come on when AC pressure gets to a certain point or ECT gets to whenever it's setup to come on (doesn't change based on AC on/off).

Whichever commands the higher fan % (between AC and ECT) is what is used

cclive

The Colorado River valley is frequently the hottest place in the US...Bullhead City, Havasu, etc etc...much hotter than anything in Florida. I remember coming out of a casino in Laughlin one time at 2:00 in the morning and it was still 108 degrees...brutal. Death Valley is the all time record though...

Not So Fast

Yeah right, no way, it gets like that regularly here
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