Water Wetter Coolant Aditive

[Rabbit TD]

Has anyone out there used the Red-Line product called Water-Wetter.  I've read some reviews on it and some say it helps and others say no.  From what I've read it works best with just plain water, more for a competion only based vehicle.  They say it helps eliminate hot spots. There is a whole lot of stuf out there in that category now it looks like.  Has anyone found one that they actualy feel made a difference in a vehicle with a good cooling system but helps keep the temps down when pulling trailers and climbing mountains and such or is this all just another (profanity removed by mod) :roll:

[Jettagli16v]

put it in a couple (5-10) cars.
One I drove and a few I knew for awhile.
no MAJOR difference, but it is tough to tell with stock gauge!
certainly not hotter, maybe cooler?
But I am a fan!

-Brad

[jtanguay]

yea the stuff works.  essentially it increases the heat transfer between the liquid and the metal surfaces in the engine.  the transfer of heat is not only better between the metallic surfaces of the engine, but the liquid as well.  this means that more heat is transfered throughout the liquid medium with minimal flow, virtually eliminating the hot spots.  i've personally used a product called tow-cool and noticed very stable temperatures, but my thermostat wasn't opening till 98C or so, which was ridiculous.  :lol:

i wonder if the redline stuff is compatible with glycol coolants or even the VW OEM coolant?  another alternative, is evans coolant.  with it you can run zero pressure which can eliminate many common problems, such as burst hoses, etc.

a good prep would be to do an engine flush to clear out any rust and mineral deposits which will further increase the heat transfer.

[clbanman]

http://www.redlineoil.com/products_coolant.asp  They say it is compatible with glycol.  Don't know about the VW stuff.
They also have one they specify for diesel (without corrosion inhibitors).
http://www.redlineoil.com/products_coolant.asp?subCategoryID=6

[ashleyroe]

i run it in my cabby in the summer and it does make a difference.
but i always run a water, G11, water wetter mix.

[theman53]

I have ran it in tons of gas applications and noticed a difference in everyone. Now our local circle tracks say that you have to use it in your water only race cars since they dont want glycol on the track in a bad crash. We had 15-20 degree F temp drop on our one prostock car on an auto meter gauge. I have had 20+ in my old truck. I wouldn't hesitate on buying and using it again.

[jtanguay]

forgot to mention that another benefit of evans is no pump cavitation, which can cause rust.  air is bad!  :lol:

[TurboJ]

http://www.redlineoil.com/products_coolant.asp  They say it is compatible with glycol.  Don't know about the VW stuff.
They also have one they specify for diesel (without corrosion inhibitors).
http://www.redlineoil.com/products_coolant.asp?subCategoryID=6

Why would you need a different product for a diesel engine?
I already decided to get some WW, but what's this all about?

[Vincent Waldon]

My guess is that the concern is cavitation within the cylinder cooling jackets... diesel engines are much more susceptible to it, diesel-compatible coolants take it into consideration, and so the WW would probably need to consider it as well.

Google will tell you lots about cavitation in diesel cooling systems... here's one article:

http://www.thedieselstop.com/contents/getitems.php3?Cavitation%20Analysis

[AudiVWguy]

Sooo,
After reading all this about cavitation, what do you think as VW diesel owners should be using a anti-cavitation additive and testing the cooling system with the strips?
It sounds like we experience the same combustion-pressure wave cavitation as the Ford's ect.
Anybody else checked into this???

[Vincent Waldon]

Sooo,
After reading all this about cavitation, what do you think as VW diesel owners should be using a anti-cavitation additive and testing the cooling system with the strips?
It sounds like we experience the same combustion-pressure wave cavitation as the Ford's ect.
Anybody else checked into this???

All of the standard VW coolants (G11, G12, G12+) are speced for diesels,  so good to go.

Prestone... dunno.  Back in the day of my first Caddy the standard Prestone was *not* diesel-compatible, but that's a while ago.

[saurkraut]

I remeber a discussion on another board, maybe the old GTD board, or the diesel list about coolant compatability.

Best of my recolection, wet sleeve diesels really have a cavitation problem from the combustion shock waves being transmitted through the sleeve and into the coolant.

Seems the solid cast blocks don't have it as bad, and the VW diesel moter is no exception.

I run the yellow or the green stuff, or a mixture of both, and dump it every year.

I've tried water wetter befor with a 50/50 mix of water and glycol and really didn't notice a difference.  In a water only system it probably helps.

[AudiVWguy]

I called Redline and they also said that if your engine is wet sleeve then their diesel specific version is best for that. We can use the regular stuff.
I had some highway driving to do today so I bought some to put in. Same speed, wind resistance etc.
After Water Wetter, There is only about a 5 degree drop on average at highway speed. Where I noticed an improvement for myself was the heat dissipation. If I were to accelerate at boost to create some heat, it would go away faster with the water wetter. I have a digital gauge with the temp sensor monitoring the coolant exiting the head. In my opinion, the stuff works. I wish I had the time and resources to test some of the competitors.
Hope this helps.
-JB

[jtanguay]

I called Redline and they also said that if your engine is wet sleeve then their diesel specific version is best for that. We can use the regular stuff.
I had some highway driving to do today so I bought some to put in. Same speed, wind resistance etc.
After Water Wetter, There is only about a 5 degree drop on average at highway speed. Where I noticed an improvement for myself was the heat dissipation. If I were to accelerate at boost to create some heat, it would go away faster with the water wetter. I have a digital gauge with the temp sensor monitoring the coolant exiting the head. In my opinion, the stuff works. I wish I had the time and resources to test some of the competitors.
Hope this helps.
-JB

the heat dissipation is the best benefit of this type of product.  it virtually eliminates hot spots in the engine, especially the 'frail' cylinder head.   :wink: