Redline Water Wetter

[Daskoff]

Has anyone used Water Wetter in their LC? I'm using it in my BMW 535i and the gauge indicates a tick below middle. Now I know that the gauges are not that exact but for me I 've the gauge indication was different before and after. My concern is with the LC in particular. I'm going to change my BROWN rad fluid to the Toyo red and wanted to add the Wetter. So any "LC" thoughts on this product?

Thanks!

Adrian

'97 LC - ex-soccer mom rig
future rock crawler

 

[Landpimp]

I ran it in my 350 when trying to cool it better, it droped the temp maybe(was hard to tell) 5deg....then i fixed what was really wrong.

IMOP there is no need for it, if your cooling system is up to par. But it prolly won't hurt anything either.

Might try a 180deg t-stat if you want to run a little cooler.

 

[fsusteve]

The key is to use it with water only, no coolant. It does work to some degree but as Pimp says fix the problem.

 

[hoser]

Racecars use straight water (no coolant) because they don't need to worry about corrosion over the years. I'd use 25-50% of coolant and a bottle of water wetter. You may not see a drop in temperature on your guage with the wetter but that does not mean it is not doing it's job. Here is a good write-up on how it works.

http://e30m3performance.com/myths/more_myths1/Water_Wetter/water_wetter.htm

 

[cary]

Watter wetter works with coolant. How well it works varies upon the individual vehicle. Keep in mind that most new cars have padded temp gauges, so the car will show the temp in the middle anywhere from 180F to 210F. This was done because people used to complain that their friends car ran a little cooler or hotter.

I have had great success with Watter wetter, in my BMW 320i with a build 2.0L motor, it made the difference between the engine pinging on 90F+ days and not pinging (maybe a 5-15f difference in Head temp).

Cary

 

[thelal]

I used it in mine as had high temp creep on high climbs. Was concerned that had a head gasket leak. However it appears its the fan clutch gone bad (which still works but not 100%). I'll change that soon and know the answer.
The wetter helps in that it delays when the temps start creeping but doesn't stop it completely. I have a large water mix and only a little coolant.
Try and solve your problem as using wetter only delays the issue.

 

[Daskoff]

I don't have a heating problem with the LC. I was going to add it as a benefit for those hot days of Chicago summers. For $8 per bottle, it seemed as a cheap option even if it keeps the rad temp down 5-10 degrees. I did think about changing the thermostat to a lower temp model except it would probably not be a good idea with the cold winters. I was hoping that the Wetter would be a good compromise for the Winter/Summer cycle. Thanks for the replies.

Adrian

 

[hoser]

Don't change your thermostat to anything other than OEM. Dump a bottle of water wetter in your radiator. Whether winter or summer, it is not a compromise. It is simply better at reducing hot spots within your engine--something that cannot be monitored by one single temperature probe/gauge.

 

[Jim_Chow]

I tried it in my Toyota truck after I got a new 3rd party 2-row core radiator (CSF brand...kind of ran too hot...needle above center when cruisin' on flats at 70mph in 90F temps). I'm not sure of the water-wetter really worked. Swapping to a new 3-row core radiator did a lot more cooling the engine. Then the second big change was a cooler t-stat. If your coolant is brown, it sounds like red & green were mixed, in which case your radiator is probably partially or mostly clogged by now. I went through that.

 

[Photoman]

I did not have any luck with it in my 97. If I understand things correctly, the more water as a percentage you can run the better (faster) a system will cool. I thought anti-freeze and/or increasing the pressure of your system will raise the boiling point of water. It was also my understanding that Water Wetter worked on the water part of any mix. Here is a chart from there site with some info. Also, a link if so inclined.

http://www.redlineoil.com/redlineoil/wwti.htm

Bill

 

[Landpimp]

there is a OEM 180 deg t-stat. I don't see any issues with running it, i use it in my fj60 and fj40(winchs on front) just to keep the temps a little lower, All emission stuff still works as it should.

but I agree I don't think water wetter would hurt.

[quote author=hoser link=board=2;threadid=12806;start=msg117955#msg117955 date=1078860175]
Don't change your thermostat to anything other than OEM. Dump a bottle of water wetter in your radiator. Whether winter or summer, it is not a compromise. It is simply better at reducing hot spots within your engine--something that cannot be monitored by one single temperature probe/gauge.
[/quote]

 

[Photoman]

Pimp,

There is also a TRD 160F thermostat, part # 00602-17620-440 that works for both the 80 and the 100. All that it did for me was give me a lower starting point to overheat from. With a search there should be pics, info discussing the orientation of the t-stat install, etc.

Bill

 

[RavenTai]

I used it with 50/50 mix in the 80, hopefully I will never need the extra margin it gives

 

[hoser]

Engines are designed to run optimally at a certain temperature. Anything lower and the engine is less efficient, makes less power and wears faster. Lower rated thermastats do not have any better flow capacity.

Swapping thermastats are for engine builders. Most of us who have stock internals (98% of us) and do not run forced induction should run the stock rated thermastats. If you are overheating, fix those deficiencies in your cooling system or get a better radiator.

 

[Landpimp]

What you say makes no sense. YOu say don't run a cooler t-stat, then you say why not just take it out in the summer..........makes no sense. AND running without a t-stat is VERY bad for Cruiser motors, at least 3fe,2f,f.



[quote author=hoser link=board=2;threadid=12806;start=msg118209#msg118209 date=1078884347]
Engines are designed to run optimally at a certain temperature. Anything lower and the engine is less efficient, makes less power and wears faster. Why not just take the thermastat out in the summer? Lower rated thermastats do not have any better flow capacity.

Swapping thermastats are for engine builders. Most of us who have stock internals (98% of us) and do not run forced induction should run the stock rated thermastats. If you are overheating, fix those deficiencies in your cooling system or get a better radiator.
[/quote]

 

[hoser]

[quote author=Landpimp link=board=2;threadid=12806;start=msg118231#msg118231 date=1078887085]
What you say makes no sense. [/quote]

Sorry for the confusion, I should have proof-read it. I was being sarcastic. I would never recommend removing the thermostat except in an emergency.

 

[Landpimp]

sorry I didnt read the sarcasim.

Its even mentioned in the Toyota FSMs, leaving the t-stat out will adversely effect the cooling, think the back cylinders dont get enough flow either.

John

[quote author=hoser link=board=2;threadid=12806;start=msg118248#msg118248 date=1078888873]
Sorry for the confusion, I should have proof-read it. I was being sarcastic. I would never recommend removing the thermostat except in an emergency.
[/quote]

 

[landtank]

Changing the thermostat to a lower temp rated one doesn't mean the truck will run cooler. The temp of the T-stat indicates the temp at which your engine will circulate water through the radiator. If the engine is creating heat at a level greater than it can cool then regardless at what temp the water starts to circulate it will still over heat. The lower t-stat might delay that by a little but the end still remains the same.

 

[Landpimp]

In theory(and with what I have read) I agree with you BUT.........when I swaped from 192 to 180.......the temp at the t-stat housing and head(which is hoter anyway, about 10deg) are 10deg cooler than before. I have no issues with the cooling system, its all new and cools fine, just wanted to get it a little cooler. with the 192, it ran 190-200(205 max). with 180, it runs 180-195. tested with a Raytech gun(and the OEM gauge even reads cooler). I know.......wierd but it definitely runs cooler.

for the 2f motors there are at least 2 OEM t-stats spec'd for it, 180 and 192, might have been a 170 for a early 2f, so I am not runnig anything I shouldn't be.

[quote author=landtank link=board=2;threadid=12806;start=msg118329#msg118329 date=1078897369]
Changing the thermostat to a lower temp rated one doesn't mean the truck will run cooler. The temp of the T-stat indicates the temp at which your engine will circulate water through the radiator. If the engine is creating heat at a level greater than it can cool then regardless at what temp the water starts to circulate it will still over heat. The lower t-stat might delay that by a little but the end still remains the same.
[/quote]

 

[e9999]

going back to an earlier comment about how the thermostat rating won't matter when fully hot.
Well, don't know how these cooling systems look like exactly, but in principle, it would be possible that an different thermostat would open differently, so that the pressure drop across it would be different and so the flow rate of coolant could be bigger or lower, resulting in different temperatures of the coolant due to a higher or smaller convective heat transfer coefficient in the radiator.
Now, having said that, I don't imagine the effect would be very large.
FWIW
E