Antifreeze and coolant. They cause quite a bit of confusion for motorists who aren't in the know. In fact it's one of the most frequently asked topics put to the Tech Team here at Granville HQ. And it's no wonder that it causes folk to scratch their heads over it because they are essentially the same product - just with different functions.
Call it coolant and you're referring to, you guessed it, the stuff that keeps your engine cool and operating at the correct temperature. When you think about it, your engine is basically powered by a series of controlled explosion so it's bound to get hot under that hood!
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| The job of Antifreeze is to keep things just right - src: funnyjunk.com |
Now, technically speaking, coolant can be just plain water but this alone wouldn't protect against extremes of temperature or corrosion. Add Antifreeze to this water and you solve this issue, protecting against corrosion, aiding heat transfer, preventing scale build up, and raising the boiling point and lowering the freezing point of the liquid.
Generally speaking the ratio to make coolant is 50:50 Antifreeze to water but you must check your User Manual for the specific dilution for your vehicle.
More after the jump.
