▷ What to "water" the cooling system?

As winter approaches, all sensible motorists rush to prepare their car, change tires. Most of the time preparation for winter ends here. However, other equally important operational elements of the car are rarely thought about.

Real winter in Lithuania often doesn’t even smell. However, nature willingly reserves surprises: probably not everyone remembers the winter of a few years ago, when the air temperature was below -20 C for an entire week. In such weather conditions, the motorist’s main attention is paid to the battery, because, especially if it is not fully charged or simply old, it may not start the engine in such weather conditions.

Another important thing, the properties of which not everyone knows, is engine oil. At very low air temperatures, grease begins to thicken and harden. However, even the cheapest and simplest mineral engine oil can easily withstand temperatures down to -10 (and semi-synthetic and synthetic oils – much lower).

What to “water” the cooling system? – enginegeek.online

Well, the third element, perhaps the most important, is the coolant. It is very important because often when we buy a used car, in the cooling system we do not find a special liquid, but only water. Of course we don’t even think about it. But when winter comes, the water freezes at the first frost, which can smell like an expensive repair.

Cool and heat

In cars with liquid-cooled engines, the latter performs more actions: it not only cools the engine, but also helps it warm up faster, and also heats the air in the cabin through the cabin radiator.

The water tolerates these works well, but it is understood that it freezes in winter. Since water expands when it freezes, it can damage your car’s entire cooling system, which will be very expensive to repair. That’s why you should use exactly the liquid recommended by the manufacturer.

Which liquid to choose?

When we come to an auto parts store or a shopping center, we will see that the choice is large, rarely we will find an inscription on the package or bottle that the liquid is suitable for a particular model. Only very expensive products are like this. More often we will find a note that the selected product meets one or another specification (for example: G11 or G12), but this will not help the average user much.

So a person is likely to choose a cheaper coolant without thinking about it for two reasons: for the price and for the inscription “suitable for all cars”.

However, you need to be careful when choosing a cheaper product: experience shows that there are often products of unclear origin and dubious quality.

How do they differ?

“Coolants with different specifications differ only in the anti-corrosion additives (packages) they contain. Some packages remain more stable longer, others break down faster. And over time these additives become inactive. That is why it is recommended to change the coolant every 2-3 years,” advises Dainius Danušis, who 15 years ago founded his own trading company in the Klaipėda region, producing various chemicals for maintenance and operation of cars, as well as chemical products used in construction. products.

According to him, the aforementioned anti-corrosion packages break down much faster if the liquid heats up to 100 degrees. When asked about the meaning of the colors of different liquids, D. Danušis replied that it is just marketing.

“The color means absolutely nothing. These are just the manufacturer’s trademarks. The most important thing is not to mix coolants from different manufacturers or different types. Of course, if you mix them, you will not notice anything suspicious, except a color change, but you will not know how different anti-corrosion additives reacted with each other and whether they were still effective. If you suspect that it is a coolant, I advise you to completely replace it with a new one. So, when choosing a coolant, buy the one recommended by the car manufacturer. and/or what, if necessary, you can easily purchase”, advises the specialist.

Antifreeze or tosol?

In the past the most used refrigerant was the so-called tosol. Few people had heard of antifreeze, and it was more difficult to obtain the latter. Today it is different: you can buy both one and the other product.

There is a widespread myth that it is not recommended to use tosol in modern cars. “Tosol is a very well-known brand. It is not recommended simply because its country of origin is usually Russia. It is for this reason that it is almost impossible to control the quality of this product,” says D. Danušis, adding that a cheaper product is not always worse.

So what should you buy for your car as the cold weather approaches? If you plan to use the car for more than 5 years, we definitely recommend choosing special fluids designed to prolong the operation of the car.

However, I will most likely only use the same machine for a few years. So in this case the use of an expensive liquid is not necessary. In any case, you should calculate what is most profitable for you.