Radiator question

[aknight_sa]

hello guys,

is there a ratio which is to be used when adding water and antifreeze fluid to the radiator??

i live in a very hot area, the enigne i have is a bb 454... standard, no mods.. and have a th350 tranny

the radiator i have is a 4 raw radiator..

how much of each should i put to get the best results?

thanks

 

[desertrat67]

Being that you are in Saudi, I would add more water than antifreeze. Water does better at dissipating heat. You can run straight water, but stiil need a water conditioner to prevent rust or corrosion. Try a 75/25 mix or 70/30. I ran only water in my big block when I lived in El Paso,TX(dry desert with temps around 105-110*F) and it stayed right around 180-190*F.

 

[dyeager535]

I believe most antifreeze manufacturers state minimum 30% antifreeze, but check into things like "water wetter" as I believe they have additive packages like antifreeze, without the freeze protection.

 

[MTMike]

Antifreze also dramatically raises the boiling point of water. If you run straight water and you heat up, your boil-over point is much lower

I would run a 70/30 water/AF mix in a hot climate.

 

[dyeager535]

Antifreeze does not "dramatically" raise the boiling point of water.

All the numbers you see on the antifreeze bottles are biased, because they are measured at 15PSI system pressure. You get more boilover protection from the radiator cap than you do from antifreeze.