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Then why are we using antifreeze at all? ....

re: "...Did you know race cars are not allowed to use antifreeze, I have been racing the same racer for 20 yrs with an aluminum rad and it still dosn't have a hole.
by running water you car runs cooler, your rad cap raises the boiling point by 3 degres for each pound on the cap so a 10lb cap would add 30 degres to the 210 boiling for plain water ,so you car could safley run at 240 before a problem, and water pump bearings are sealed and are not lubed by fluid...."

I have heard that about racing cars -- and I believed what I was told, that the possible leakage of antifreeze on a track would make it too slick (like oil), which I've observed after stepping in a spill.
I've also understood that, with racing cars, it's common practice to drain the coolant (and other fluids) after a race, so the water doesn't linger in the water jacket too long. By the way, is that your habit, or have you been leaving the water in the engine between races?

But the obvious question that arises from your personal observations (that there is no downside to using just water): Why are (almost) all cars driven with antifreeze in the summer, if it's so much better to use plain water?

I think that the answer is that sometimes we encounter driving conditions that aren't found on the track (e.g., traffic jams that go on for hours and many miles) that plain water's boiling point couldn't cope with. At least, this is a beginning....






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New Pure water instead of antofreeze for hard long distance summer dring?
posted by  eyyu  on Thu May 8 06:38 CST 2008 >


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