Bob,
While I do appreciate your post, I wonder how much experience you have with properly set up water based cooling systems before you a) tout Evans and b) warn of water based cooling systems (easily 99% of them are EGW mixes) and their impending Armageddon.
Fact: Water is not a "slightly" better heat transfer agent than Evans coolant. It is 30+ percent better by the numbers. If you don't believe me, go to the Evans coolant system website. Good technical data there.
Fact: There is no better heat transfer agent (that could be used in an engine cooling system) than water. Except maybe water with water wetter.
Fact: Distilled water will not undergo electrolysis and corrode the aluminum parts. Distilled water cannot undergo electrolysis without some sort of ions floating around. Take a multimeter that is clean and put both ends in a clean glass of distilled water. It will not pass current. Iron block can still rust a little bit, but is this new news? Where is the mass grave of iron blocks, ruined forever by water in the cooling system?
Fact: I didn't blow my cooling system because of having too much pressure due to boiling. I have a high-flow thermostat and a high volume water pump with a standard (NOT UNDERDRIVE) pulley. I had a piece of non-reinforced hose on a tube without a lip. Over time, it worked its way up, and when turning 6500 RPM, the pressure associated with the volume of water pushed it the rest of the way off. I was running about 75C at the time (167F) and boiling (and the resultant pressure) was not an issue.
Fact: My cooling system is not inadequate and is probably one of the best cooling systems in a Cobra Replica. The Superformance radiator (from the BMW V12 7-series) is pretty adequate.
Point: I am aware of the fact that an iron block full of water will crack when frozen. When the leaves start to fall here in O-hi-O, I will drain some water, add some anti-freeze, and shake it all up.
Fact: Evans coolant was initially designed and tested in racing applications, namely drag racing. The drag motors in question were designed to run at very high temperatures for very brief periods of time, and when running at those temps, a water based cooling system would boil over and lose all capacity. The Evans coolant bypassed that issue by raising the BP to around 275F. The engine would thus run at those increased water, block, head, and
oil temps, make the power necessary for a few seconds at a time, and then be rebuilt due to the incredible stresses placed on the motor as a result of the heat, loads, RPMs, etc...
Point: I like to use things that were designed somewhat for my intended use. Evans coolant is a very neat product. It has many merits. But in a street motor that I cannot afford to replace regularly, I prefer to transfer heat out of the engine and into the air. Leaving it in there to roast bearings, warp heads, and fry
oil is not my idea of a good time.
To me, the merit of the Evans Coolant (in a street motor) stop at its lack of toxicity and its resistance to boiling out. However, I have proven time and time again with water that my HIGHLY ADEQUATE cooling system will run at 80C all day long even when beating the proverbial sh*t out of it. I tried Evans because it seemed nice, given the amount of custom work done under my hood, to reduce pressure and volatility. But, with a hi-vol pump in a closed system, pressure builds anyways. I still lose Evans into my catch can because I'm just pushing that much fluid through.
I haven't gained anything. Not to mention, when a hose gives (which, incidentally, wasn't a regular occurrence with water in my system), I'd rather lose 15 dollars worth of stuff than 100.
If a water based cooling system was so bad, why do you think that 99% of people stick by it and many swear by it? Do you have an
oil temp gauge in your car? I'll bet a six-pack of your favorite beer (Heineken will work for me)
that if you do, and you do a controlled, single variable test, your oil temp will drop at LEAST 10F degrees if you dump the Evans and run water.
Bob, this post isn't a flame, but I want to set the record straight. There has been some idle chit-chat about Evans on this forum and you know...when something gets enough air time, people start giving it a try. I did!
I'd just hate to see one more person go drop 150 bucks and spend a half day flushing and cleansing their system, filling with Evans, and seeing less desirable results. Adequacy of cooling system is just not an issue here...with Evans, my system ran at 150 degrees. I could stick my hand in that without doing damage. Even after a flogging. My thermostat wasn't even open! I've verified the accuracy of my temp gauge.
If I was running a drag motor, I'd run the stuff. In a heartbeat. Nothing better. It is an amazing product. It just doesn't help in an expensive street motor that can't be easily replaced. These statements are firmly between opinion and fact. I have facts to back up my opinion that the stuff is not great for our purposes.
Water and water wetter. Do a search on "water wetter" with the user name "TURK". Controlled, single variable testing on a run stand. Doesn't get much more scientific than that.
Again, no flame intended. I just want to set the record straight when people search for info on Evans. Make your own decisions, but I would call my net results telling at a minimum.
Hope this helps anyone looking for answers....
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