VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - GENERAL Mechanical - Engine, Trans, etc coolant

I just heard about water wetter. does anyone have any knowledge about this stuff. I've tried to find info on it but get conflicting answers. thanks

Water wetter was designed for racing engines.

The use of anti-freeze was banned in racing engines because any type of coolant system failure would dump this slippery stuff on the track and it was difficult to clean up.

One of the features that water wetter is suppose to do is break down a chemical barrier that develops between the metal cylinder and the coolant as the metal gets hot and tries to transfer heat to the coolant. It also has a rust inhibitor in it so it could be added to straight water.

Weather this chemical barrier is real or not,I'm not sure. But friends of mine who drag race swear by it.

I don't know of anyone who uses it in their street car. But if the info above is true then I could see a benefit to making the coolant system more efficient.

thanks dave for your input. I'm thinking of giving it a try in my 66 big block. it will be interesting to see what others have to say about this stuff. jerry

Hello Jerry27,

This topic has come up before. If you put water wetter in the search area of this site it may direct you to topics covering it's discussion.

I think if you google it may give you some added info.

PS....The 2 guys I know who drag race are life long friends from high school. One has a '71 'Cuda with a 565 cu. in. big block chevy. 8.20's @165 mph. (single carb..NO nitros.)
The other guy has a '69 Chevy Camaro with a 396 cu. in. big block. He runs in either E or F / stock automatic depending on weight added or subtracted.

The info I supplied came from articles these guy's came across when they looking for a substitute coolant to use.

I've tried "Water Wetter" in the '47...Made no difference in the temp. whatsoever...I thought it was a waste of money...If you look at the test's as to what is supposed to work best to achive the lowest running temp....It's just straight up, plain 'ol water...

Water Wetter is a surface active agent that lowers the surface tension of water. Under some special situations it might have some benefit. Basically it is a waste of money for the vast majority of people.

What people need to know is that the temperature of the coolant in an engine is a poor indicator of how well the internal engine parts are being cooled. The internal metal temperatures is a much better indicator but a whole lot harder and more expensive to measure. So we rely on the old temperature gauge.

Some years back, I tried a product like this that actually worked to a good advantage even when used with a 50/50 mix. regretably, I can't recall the name of it. I should have kept the bottle. (Yeah, getting old!)

any more comments welcome

has anyone tried waterless coolant?
http://liquidintelligence.com.au/products/super-waterless-coolant

helps to run old cars that don't like hot days in the sun..

Peter

Let me reiterate "The coolant temperature is a poor indication of the efficiency or effectiveness of a coolant!" Takes much too much space to explain in a forum such as this one.

Let me give you something to consider. A lower coolant temperature might indicate that less heat is being transferred to the coolant and then to air from the radiator. Also could be more heat is being transferred and then dissipated through the radiator. In the first case the internal engine temperatures will be much higher than the latter. Measuring the exhaust temperature, engine metal temperatures, etc. can help discern which of those two possibilities is the case.