Water Wetter........ - BMW Forum

NeverLeaned · 10-02-2004, 11:04 AM

This is gonna be my first winter with my bimmer. I've gone through every receipt that came with the car, and there is no indication that the coolant has ever been changed (80k on it)

I run water wetter in my motorcycles and think its great.

Does anyone run it in there cars in here?

jllphan · 10-02-2004, 11:58 AM

Yes. Haven't noticed any cooler engine temps, but that's supposedly not the only benefit.

97alpineM3 · 10-02-2004, 12:05 PM

I'm being lazy right now.. and I dont have the internet connection to do some fast research.. but I think that stuff only drops the temp like 10-20 deg... you will probably never notice it on the temp gauge.. but like the above post.. it does more than just lower the temp.. its a good product... I will do some research when I get home on the contents of that stuff... because as you probably know BMW coolant specs are very very specific towards not having certain additives.. I wrote a FAQ on coolant which you can find in the FAQ section... make sure it doesnt go against what the specs are... and you should probably change your coolant once a year or so... its a good practice....

Good Luck..

Les

NeverLeaned · 10-02-2004, 01:33 PM

yea, Im not a believer in the 100k coolant changes LOL. Im actually not a believer in the 7k mile oil changes on Bimmers either.

I don't drive it much, but Im still changing after 3 months.

Don't go crazy with the research, thats what I need to do, just curious if someone had a quick answer to my question.

I'll post back what I find.
NL

97alpineM3 · 10-02-2004, 01:47 PM

It was just a curious idea to find out what additives that sucker is comprised of... and how it stands with BMW specs when it comes to additive chems.... Please get back to us...

Les

Brian325i · 10-02-2004, 01:58 PM

I just bought some for when I change out my water pump, thermostat, and hoses out. I'll let you know if I see any changes, if there will be any...

MrM3 · 10-02-2004, 02:16 PM

here is a very good article on water wetter written by a someone with a Ph.D in Heat transfer.

http://www.e30m3performance.com/myths/more...ater_wetter.htm

jllphan · 10-02-2004, 05:34 PM

Ya know Les, now that I think about it, it would be impossible to detect a difference in engine temp, as the temp guage is what they call an idiot guage. I know the newer Bimmers have this, I think the E36 does too, where you basically have cool, normal, and increasing temp past normal. The needle isn't very accurate, as it won't really indicate anything in between cool and warm, only warm and warmer.

Great find MrM3, that's a decent article. Regardless of it's effectiveness it's either good or doesn't help, I doubt it has any adverse affects. BMW's coolant requirements are fussy, but I think we're ok here.

Hey I got an idea, I have a bottle of BMW cerified coolant and some Water Wetter in the garage... I'll go have a look...

97alpineM3 · 10-02-2004, 08:43 PM

Hey jllphan... look on my FAQ on coolant...

http://www.bmw-forums.com/forum/inde...howtopic=18257

It is a detailed version of those additives BMW's dont like... see if they are in that water wetter man....

Les

NeverLeaned · 10-03-2004, 02:14 AM

Good read the Alpine, TY. (even though most of it was french to me)

Im not really concerned with saving a few degrees on the temp gauge.... its not as vital with with 2.8 liter engine cranking out 200 ponies as a 600cc sport bike cranking out 108 ponies.

Im looking more to the value of water wetters etc etc in turns of increasing the lifespan of the coolant components (as stated in the article)

Well, I guess this project went from a research project to implimentation sooner then I thought. Took my girl out to dinner tonight and she had a bit of 'smoke' comming out of the engine compartment and a faint smell of coolant in the venting system on the way home tonight............ Well, I guess all my recenly received engine upgrades will have to be put on hold while I look into the problem

Brian325i · 10-03-2004, 02:38 AM

The Redlineoils.com site gives a pretty good description of what water wetter actually does...although I didn't see anything about the ingredients. It seems they recommend using as much water as you can without going below 15% water. I'm thinking I'm going to try 70/30 with the water wetter when I flush my system out.

NeverLeaned · 10-03-2004, 02:53 AM

Yea, check those mixes carefully

Quote:

FREEZING POINT DEPRESSION
Red Line Water Wetter does not significantly reduce the freezing point of water. If the vehicle will see freezing temperatures, an antifreeze must be used. Water expands approximately 9% upon freezing which can cause severe engine damage. Even in summertime, the use of air-conditioning can blow freezing air through the heater and cause freezing of the heater core unless approximately 20% antifreeze is used.

Looks like I will be using an water, antifreeze, water wetter mix.......

http://www.racerpartswholesale.com/redtech3.htm