Use High-Quality Antifreeze to Guard Against Cooling-System Problems

Antifreeze/coolant is an often overlooked maintenance procedure that is critical for proper engine operation. When performing routine preventative maintenance, many motorists just don’t think that the cooling system is an important part of a regular preventive maintenance check. The cooling system needs to operate at optimal efficiency to maximum engine performance. Another point of confusion is concerning the different “colors” that the coolants on the market could come in and the issues that can arise as a result of mixing incompatible coolants. Some other things that you need to do as part of regular vehicle maintenance is to flush the cooling system. Adding Amsoil coolant boost when replacing the coolant can prolong the life of the coolant that you put in the cooling system.

AMSOIL Antifreeze/Coolants

AMSOIL offers three distinct coolants, all of which contain a unique blend of organic acids. This makes them work faster and form stronger bonds for enhanced protection.

AMSOIL Passenger Car & Light Truck Antifreeze & Coolant is formulated for all passenger cars and light trucks. It is premixed 50/50 with high-quality water and EG.

AMSOIL Heavy-Duty Antifreeze & Coolant is dialed in for the unique needs of on- and off-road heavy-duty applications. It is also premixed 50/50 with high-quality water and EG.

AMSOIL Low Toxicity Antifreeze and Engine Coolant is a 100% concentrated PG formulation for situations that call for a low-toxicity solution.

There are two types of Antifreeze/Coolant:

• Ethylene Glycol is the most common of the two. It offers a little better freeze point, heat-transfer capability than Propylene Glycol, is odorless and colorless, is toxic, and is less expensive.

• Propylene Glycol is biodegradable and features low toxicity, making it safer for use around children, pets and wildlife. Some racetracks and off-road parks require PG formulations.

Antifreeze/Coolants must also provide more than just freeze and boil protection, they also have to protect against corrosion, cavitation, scaling and additive drop-out. It’s the additives that are added to the raw Ethylene or Propylene Glycol that accomplish these duties. There are essentially three categories of additives, that can be blended with the two glycols that are mentioned above.

The 3 categories of additives used are:

• Inorganic salts, such as nitrites, phosphates and silicates, are used in the “green” conventional coolants which is typically found in the marketplace because it is less expensive, however doesn’t last very long. They are also incompatibility issues with other types of coolants, that sometimes leads to drop-out which takes on the form of an abrasive or a slime. It is for these particular reasons, that most vehicle manufacturers have moved away from inorganic salts for their newer vehicles.

• Organic acids, frequently called OATs (organic-acid technology) or POATs (poly-organic-acid technology), they are much more robust and lasts longer than inorganic salts. Organic acids provide corrosion protection by chemically interacting at metallic corrosion sites, that are only utilized as needed which means they will last much longer. They almost eliminate drop-out, scaling and compatibility issues that is inherent to inorganic salts. Coolants of this type can be used in a broad assortment of applications, and is even compatible with other coolants to top-off the coolant levels.

• Hybrid-organic-acid technology, often called HOATs, is a combination of inorganic salts and organic acids. They work together to decrease some of the issues caused by inorganic salts and relying on the organic acids to boost the performance of the coolant.

How water quality affects coolant performance

Low-quality or hard water is a major cause of cooling-system issues. The minerals found in hard water, includes magnesium and calcium, they react to inorganic salts, like phosphates for instance, that are found in conventional and hybrid coolants. The byproducts form scale deposits on engine surfaces, reducing the heat-transfer ability and contributes to damaging corrosion. For the best results, you should only use high-quality distilled water when mixing with straight coolant. For the maximum convenience, it’s best to use a coolant that is pre-mixed with high-purity water.