Okay im going to flush the coolant this week, been meaning to do it for a while.

Im not travelling to honda, but can anyone recommend some good stuff and the correct type to buy??? - i.e from Halfords, etc etc.


Also abit off topic: But a friend of mine said 'depending' on your water type if you put a certain small amount of water in, it has more oxygen there performs slighly better and it doesnt promote rust etc when mixed with distilled.

Seems to make sense

Cheers

Aj

 

I'd stick to Honda stuff tbh - but im sure there are others out there!

Its not that expensive IIRC, and comes ready to pour.

 

Eh? Not sure what you mean by this.

Don't use Dionised water, tap water is fine. DI water is actually very corrosive.

 

If you want to flush the cooling system I'd just use tap water TBH. Get as much flow as you can (backwards against the normal flow) through the engine, heater and radiator.

Re-fill with the correct Honda approved type of coolant at the correct strength.

I don't think using a bit of universal anti-freeze for topping up in between times is a problem but I'd defo refill with the Honda stuff.

Unless you have an overheating issue I'd not use any sort of flushng compound. They are all highly corrosive and tend to knacker pump seals and the like.

 

I was talking about distilled water - i take it, that is dionised water?.

Basically i was told by a friend that when you put a bit of tap water in with distilled it has a slight increase in performance as it has more oxygen in, therefore its cooler - thinking about it now i cant see it making any difference, he's probably pulling my leg, im a bit gulable today, i might even buy the resistor of justice to increase BHP

I will just get some Honda stuff then, IIRC its about ~3 litres?

 

Same sort of idea. distilled is (strickly speaking) condensed steam. de-ionised is put through resins which remove the impurities. You pretty much end up with the same thing which is pure water.

to the second point the cooling capacity of water is to do with its specific heat capacity. The performance is enhanced nowadays by the stuff they lob into the antifreeze / coolant when it's made. this is due in part to the fact that the boiling point is raised by some of the additives AFAIK. (the glycol depresses the freezing point.)

 

The ultimate in cooling and anti-freezing are actually waterless now.
Used for the extremes of racing etc. Its a bit of a trade off as they don't last for five years like regular stuff...

A lot of the cooling performance is enhanced by 'wetting' agents in the additives which break surface tension and remove some bubbles of gas.
If you are at high power and temperature in the motor then you would normally add a swirl pot - a chamber that helps vent off air entrained in the coolant. So, your mate is talking rubbish. Gasses in the coolant reduce the performance. Gas won't absorb heat like liquids.

The greater the pressure in the system, the higher you can raise the boiling point.
Which is why a good, non leaking, radiator cap is essential!
Normal water is fine once added to coolant concentrate, everything in the coolant should fix the chemicalm properties just fine.

The only main difference is that many dealers, like Audi, add a fluorescing dye into the coolant. So if you get a leak thats hard to trace you just illuminate the engine with an ultra-violet (black light) lamp and the leak will show up nicely. Not sure whats in the Honda as stock.

 

why do you want to flush anyway?

if you must, then use tap water, drain as much out as possible then refil will honda coolant, NOT water alone or a mix.

i don't use water at all in my race car, only coolant with a "water wetter" to enhance the performance, made about 5 degrees difference.

 

As it should be i believe considering it hasnt been done for two years.

Yes got it now, tap water will be fine to flush.

Cheers