Winter has always been a high season for changing antifreeze
At this time, there will always be some "experts" who will start to sell various "black technology" antifreeze. Such people are generally divided into two factions, the antifreeze maintenance-free faction and the anhydrous antifreeze noble faction. The former constantly promotes that the original factory is now a long-term antifreeze, and there is no need to change less water or additives. The latter, it is said that the ordinary antifreeze will corrode the engine for a long time, and the anhydrous antifreeze can avoid this reaction, and it is also maintenance-free.
Anyway, the purpose is to change the law to give the owners of the owners of the old man "save money", even the owners of the car around Tiger have joined the ranks of "waterless antifreeze", buying several times the price of conventional water-based antifreeze in exchange for "long-term effectiveness".
So the question is, is the so-called anhydrous antifreeze good or not?
What is the difference between water-based antifreeze and water-based antifreeze?
Today, in order to correct the audio-visual, Tai Ge is happy to talk to you about waterless coolant today.
The so-called anhydrous antifreeze
In fact, it is to replace the water base with the oil base
Let's take the time back to the '90s, when Tiger was a kid.
The only car in the family, the Audi 100, uses distilled water as engine coolant, and every year before winter, it adds a thing called antifreeze to the auto repair plant: half a tank of water mixed with half a tank of solution, and then safely winter. So what is the development of antifreeze today more than a decade later? What exactly is the anhydrous antifreeze?
For most of the family cars on the market now, the engine antifreeze coolant is basically based on the aqueous solution of ethylene glycol. The freezing point of ethylene glycol is -11.5 °C, the boiling point is 197.4 °C, and the freezing point after mixing with water can reach as low as -68 °C.
Since it is a large-scale application that must have its reasons, the biggest benefit of ethylene glycol antifreeze is low cost and easy recycling in processing. As a developing country, we started relatively late in this area, but in 2008, the 718 Research Institute published in the journal "Ship Anti-Chemical" that the complete recycling method of automotive antifreeze was complete.
As long as the waste water-based glycol coolant passes, precipitates, filters, adds water to adjust the concentration, adds preservatives, and can be refilled and returned to the market after QC. Therefore, a large number of OEMs will use this antifreeze coolant (long-lasting water-based antifreeze) as a supporting device for the original vehicle, because it is cheap and recyclable.
The main component of the anhydrous coolant is propylene glycol, which is about 1.6 times that of propylene glycol at room temperature with a specific heat capacity. To use a very rough analogy, a liter of water can absorb 1.6 liters of heat to reach the same level.
So in theory, propylene glycol has a worse heat dissipation effect, but this is not entirely a bad thing. Due to the small heat capacity of the waterless antifreeze and the slow heat dissipation, the engine can be heated up quickly when the cold car starts and the working temperature can be reached faster. However, because propylene glycol is more expensive to produce than deionized water, this type of antifreeze is not matched by OEM support.
So many propylene glycol "anhydrous antifreeze" manufacturers began to say that this antifreeze effect is good, fuel-saving, hot car fast, etc., so is this really the case?
Tai Ge borrowed two identical cars from his friends to test which of the original car water-based antifreeze and anhydrous antifreeze were better.
Different antifreeze for the same car
In theory, the hot car is faster, but in fact, it can't beat the original factory?
In order to test whether there is any difference between anhydrous antifreeze and ordinary water-based antifreeze.
Tiger played with the car around a brother for a waterless antifreeze GK5 to "borrow" to play for an afternoon, and another friend who does insurance sales also bought a GK5 this year, coincidentally, both cars are 18 manual low-end, so Tiger will borrow these two cars to do this idling heating test.
Also 18 1.5L manual fit, waterless and original which hot car is faster?
Details such as specific test methods are as follows:
Test environment: In the same environment, two cars are parked for more than 4 hours to cool down to ensure that the engine starts cold.
Test method: After the engine starts, the idle heat car is turned off, and the engine idle speed falls back to 850rpm/min to calculate the time.
First of all, Tiger or first test the data of the original antifreeze idle heating. In the actual test, 18 Fit models parked in the underground parking garage at room temperature of 16 °C, and the original test data was idled until the water temperature lamp was extinguished and the idle speed was stabilized at 850 rpm/min.
The Fit does not have a water thermometer, only by idling and indicators
Next, Tiger will use the same start idle to the minimum operating temperature and idle speed of 850 revolutions, the test results can be basically the same as in the theoretical data, propylene glycol anhydrous antifreeze warming speed is indeed much faster than the water-based.
The owner of the waterless antifreeze adds an additional OBD reading to read the temperature
From here, it is not difficult to draw a conclusion: the "waterless coolant" that is born with a lower heat capacity does have the effect of the so-called fast heat engine, but it is still a bit far-fetched to say that it is fuel-saving.
Propylene glycol antifreeze
The biggest benefit is better temperature tolerance
In fact, from all aspects of the data and measured data, propylene glycol antifreeze in addition to the rapid heating brought by the low specific heat capacity, there is no reason for the owner to start.
Comparison of the dimensions of the two antifreeze
So why is propylene glycol antifreeze recommended by many online media and car owners?
Is it the chain of "arrogant selling price" contempt?
In fact, it is not, the biggest benefit of propylene glycol is more resistant to temperature!
Propylene glycol is actually very different from ethylene glycol, hydrophilic, specific heat capacity, acidification are similar.
The only difference is that pure propylene glycol has a low freezing point and can be used purely anhydrous. The freezing point of pure ethylene glycol (ordinary coolant) is too high, and it is basically not possible to use it in anhydrous state in northern China.
This is where propylene glycol coolant is used
This waterless is also the so-called propaganda point, and may be the only focus that can be discussed whether there is really an advantage to waterlessness.
Because as long as the alcohol will be oxidized, especially the high temperature environment of the engine, the formation of a variety of acids, propylene glycol mostly formed lactic acid, theoretically will corrode the engine block, so the coolant whether it is propylene glycol (anhydrous coolant) ethylene glycol (ordinary coolant) will add a large number of additives to neutralize the oxidation of the acid (which is why many engine factories produce (develop) coolant, mainly the engine components of the metal composition of each manufacturer is not the same. (Of course, the purpose of making money is not excluded)
The selling point of anhydrous coolant is that propylene glycol can have 0 water content, even if lactic acid is produced without water solvent will not be ionized, no ionization will not corrode the cylinder body... So is it possible not to change the antifreeze for a lifetime?
In fact, it is not possible, the engine cooling system is not a completely closed environment, so propylene glycol can draw moisture from the outside world
Although it is waterless when it is added, it can guarantee that it will not absorb water for several years?
A warm car owner is not the same as the water plugging rust through
Once the water is absorbed, the acid oxidized by propylene glycol is still ionized, and it still has the ability to corrode the cylinder body, of course, you can say that the little water that absorbs water is not enough, it is not worth mentioning at all, unlike ordinary ethylene glycol coolant, which is 35%, 45% 50% of the water ratio...
So this is the only point that can be discussed.
What else can not add water is nonsense, propylene glycol is absolutely can add water, I suspect that this auto parts factory to earn you money, or this propylene glycol does not have enough bases to neutralize acid, once the water is mixed in, lactic acid will ionize will accelerate the corrosion of the cylinder body (this also shows that this coolant in order to save money even the necessary bases are not added?!). ）
Fuel saving is the most common is the field of racing, whether it is pure ethylene glycol or propylene glycol, the viscosity is always higher than water, that is to say, the pump resistance is greater, the engine has more power to the pump, so it will only increase fuel consumption.
Which race engine coolant do you go to use with propylene glycol anhydrous fluid?
Just use 100% distilled water, antifreeze? Don't! corrode? in spite of!
Than heat capacity first!
We'll be lowly in the next issue
Review of recent content