coolant mixture

hi ,i am just about to give my t5 its coolant change any one care to comment on whether its worth using distilled /deionized water or is the local fairly soft tap water suitable, any opinions most welcome

i always use normal tap water and as long as you change it every 2 years it should be ok

Me too, I only ever use tap water. I know there are a few who'd recommend de0ionised water but I've never bothered.

Although over the top I usually change my coolant each year due to the relatively low price of coolant and it being a nice easy job.

Regards

Andy

[sholtby]

I also just use tap water and have done with all my cars. What strength antifreeze does everyone use? Some people say that a 50/50 mix is too strong and can attack the gaskets. I've always used this mixture as it is what Volvo recommends.

Simon

Simon,

I too have always used 50/50 and never had a problem. If it's weaker then there's the risk of reduced corrosion inhibitors (amongst other things).

Regards

Andy

[pyaap]

As I understand it, coolant is essential for its corrosion inhibitors and next comes it antifreeze properties. I use a 33% mix for summer and 50% mix for winter (I just drain some of the coolant out and top the expansion tank with neat coolant).

Whether you use tap or deionised water is OK for as long as you change it regularly within the prescribed interval. I remember buying a used car once and used deionised water with coolant and Redline water wetter and the corrosion package in the Redline product was so strong that it disloged a lot of muck and scale from the cooling system and within a week, the expansion tank had a lot of rubbish in it. So using deoionised water does have its benefits but I then had to replace the coolant again!