Antifreeze question

[badsykes]

Hi

Today i had to buy some coolant (pink G12) and i was thinking if i should continue buying Castrol Radicool SF or downgrade to cheaper pink coolant...Is it worth the premium price for Castrol ? If i use the car offroad will make any difference..I am thinking better coolant eventually better cooling for engine in offroad...


Thanks

[MG Autos (Mark)]

To be honest the best thing you can do where antifreeze / coolant is concerned is simply change it every 2-3 years and this will help to minimize corrosion within the system and keep it at its optimal.
Brand names are generally no different to a lot of the cheaper options, just check the labels and compare the specs

You could buy the "Waterless Coolant" which is supposed to be better for the engine and has a much higher boiling point and life span but it's not really viable for most people unless you plan on keeping the car for the foreseeable future due to the original purchase price and if you get a leak in the system you can't just top it up with water at the road side, it HAS to be the original waterless coolant.......

Personally I'd suggest using normal antifreeze, Blue, Red, etc it won't make much of a difference to your Frontera so long as the old stuff is flushed out properly but I tend to use distilled water rather than water straight from the tap.
Costs a bit more but as it's distilled it has none of the impurities that you get in tap water and normally can be bought off the shelf in 5 litre cans for less than £5. A 50/50 split between the distilled water and the usual 5litres of antifreeze normally then gives you enough premixed coolant for two changes

[badsykes]

Hi mark
THx for the "big" advices...
THe Radicool SF that i have in the system is:
http://www.castrol.com/liveassets/bp_in ... ochure.pdf


At radicool SF section it says:

"A wide operating range for effective engine
cooling in all climates. Castrol Radicool SF
should be diluted in clean water to
between 33% and 50% concentrate in water
before use."

Is not full waterless..Now in my system the mix maybe around 80% antifreeze and 20% water so is safe to top up with distiled water anyway from now on that is cheap anyway..

[BoxCleva]

[badsykes]

The Radicool SF is rated 5 years...Of course this means nothing happens in the system like leaking and stuff...Is any point to change the radiator to a brand new one?