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Re: Redline Water Wetter



On Tue, 26 Jan 1999, Steve Albrecht wrote:
	<snip>
> works?  My understanding of the automobile cooling system is that the
> coolant temperature is controlled by the mechanical/thermal properties
> of the thermostat, not the chemical properties of the liquid coolant. 
> So is this stuff snake oil or what? 

Steve,

Consider the case of an extremely stressed engine -- say a race car.  Now,
this engine is running between 5k-8k RPM lap after lap.  This generally
will fall outside the normal operating parameters of most stock cooling
systems, such that the thermostat is continually open (allowing coolant to
flow through the radiator) and effectively out of the picture.  Now, given
that situation, let's say that the temperature continues to rise.  That's
the baseline situation that Red Line (two words) Water Wetter's mktg. info
starts from when it says it can reduce water temperature.

As to how it works, I dunno.  But it does.

Now, the proper solution for the above problem is to have an adequate (big
as you can fit) oil cooler in your system, but even that can come up a
little short on a 100+ degree day on the track.

So, for cars whose cooling system never reaches the aforementioned
baseline situation, Water Wetter is not very useful (assuming you're
running some kind of antifreeze mixture -- Water wetter also provides some
corrosion inhibition for the racing, water-only crowd).

- --------------------------------
- -Jefrem Iwaniw, jiwaniw@domain.elided, '72 2002, '94 525i

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