Antifreeze

[Nigel]

Good day,

What type of antifreeze do you use in your Beta?

Nigel

[peteracs]

Normal Glycol blue

Peter

[mangocrazy]

Comma XStream G48 antifreeze - product page here: https://www.commaoil.com/passenger-vehicles/products/view/563/XSG5L/

I like Comma products, they make their own stuff but don't engage in fancy advertising which keeps the price a bit lower than competitors for similar products.

[Nigel]

Thanks Gents,

In the end I went for a Halfords own brand blue stuff at 14.99.

I was offered the G48 at a motor factors earlier this morning but
at 30.00.
I'm sure what I've got will protect and serve adequately.

I'd had an idea to relocate my Clio expansion tank, coupled with a desire to drain and
flush all the old rust-infused coolant. The tank stayed put in the end.

[Gromit]

There was another thread on this topic a while ago where the factory specified Paraflu 11 coolant and its use was discussed along with a G48 formulation alternative. The technical department at Comma, (UK automotive fluids company), recommended their G48 coolant as their closest chemical formulation alternative to the original Paraflu 11 coolant.

https://www.betaboyz.myzen.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=2055.0

Glysantin is a subsidiary of German chemical giant BASF and Glysantin G48 one of its many coolant formulations.

G48 is a patented HOAT (Hybrid Organic Acid Technology) coolant formulation which is supposed to combine the best attributes of the original shorter lasting Inorganic Additive Technology (IAT) coolants such as Paraflu 11 with those of the later developed and longer corrosion inhibitor life Organic Acid Technology (OAT) coolants.

IAT coolants use silicates to coat the metal surfaces of the cooling system and are quick acting in creating a protective coating, but the corrosion inhibitors have a short life of around two years. OAT coolants were championed by GM and introduced in the 1990s. They rely on an organic acid salt, (Sodium 2-ethylhexanoate), to inhibit metal corrosion and are particularly effective in protecting aluminium surfaces but are much slower acting than IAT corrosion inhibitors and require a longer contact time in the cooling system to coat and protect metal surfaces. The trade off is that they are longer lasting giving up to 5 years corrosion protection. They are reputedly prone to causing corrosion of copper and brass metals and therefore supposed to be used in cars with newer aluminium core radiators (and plastic header tanks presumably). That said, GM has published indicative corrosion test results on its "All Seasons" green OAT coolant which suggest otherwise:

https://acdelco.com.au/gm-b2cau/cms/pdf/Flyers/ACDelco_flyer_AllSeasonsGreenCoolant.pdf

Some Japanese car makes (notably Toyota and Honda) claim that 2 ethylhexanoate can attack engine seals and do not use this additive in their engine coolant formulations.

Glysantin G48 approval specs:

file:///C:/Users/user/AppData/Local/Temp/45a4592c-4424-411d-b841-04171723e2a9_G48%20Documents(1).zip.2a9/GLYSANTIN(R)G48(R)-One%20pager.pdf

The G48 specs include a "recommended" for Alfa Romeo 1976-2005, Fiat 1982-2005 and Lancia models 1976-2005.

For Australian members of this forum, Australian oil blender and distributor Penrite manufacture a G48 spec HOAT coolant under licence from Glysantin. It is much more readily available than Paraflu 11 and is marketed as providing corrosion protection for 8 years or up to 500,000 km.

Here is the Penrite G48 coolant spec sheet FYI:

https://penriteoil.com.au/assets/pis_pdfs/GREEN%20OEM%20COOLANT%20CONCENTRATE.pdf

Penrite as the licenced manufacturer (and presumably by inference Glysantin the formulation developer) make the following claims:

"Green OEM Coolant is suitable for passenger cars, 4WD’s, motorcycles, light & heavy duty commercial vehicles,
construction and agricultural equipment. It is especially suited to vehicles of European origin such as Audi / VW
(G11), BMW, Mercedes, Porsche (Pre-1995), Volvo, Opel, Saab but it may be used in all types of vehicles.

Green OEM Coolant provides long-term protection against rust and corrosion for all materials used in the engine
and in the cooling system. It protects cast iron, aluminium, copper and solder alloys as well as the hoses, seals and
plastics. It is effective in all cast iron aluminium engines that are under load or used in extreme hot and cold
climates. It may be used in all types of vehicles that use green, blue or yellow coloured initial fill coolants and it is
also suitable for use in out of warranty service to maintain OEM performance. It is also ideal for motorcycles."

So, presumably it is safe and effective to use in Betas and will not attack seals, dissolve radiators with copper, alloys or tin/lead solder, aluminium heads or cast iron blocks, and last up to eight years between coolant changes.

I am going to use the Penrite G48 Green OEM coolant at 50% strength on the Beta Coupe which has just had the radiator out and repaired, (it was corroded and leaking at the drain plug), core flushed (20% blocked) and retinned.

Andrew

[WestonE]

Hi Andrew

A high quality answer thank you. I use Comma G48 in my Montecarlo and it serves well in stopping corrosion with stable temperature control and has a 5 Year change interval. I have no copper or brass in my system and have seen no seal attack. The only downside I see if it is a downside is components coated in a pink layer when dis assembled. This is not causing obstruction or corrosion it is just not nice to look at.

Eric