What's the difference between the green and red coolant is the red for alloy heads

Super cheap have the green and red in there new catalogue with 6 years on the red

http://www.supercheapauto.com.au/catalo ... e&pageNo=2

Some people don't like green so they make it in red as well.

Green is 4 year; red is 6 year. Go to the Penrite website. These products have been superseded.

Ok I've always used the green that's all

I know there's another colour as well

Ford also has orange if you prefer that colour.

I've always used the Tectaloy concentrate - makes 10 litres for about $8. I can't fault it. It says up to 2 years, but usually something happens before then, so on average I probably change it every year or so.

With all the dissimilar metals in a mini cooling system, I change mine annually and use the green mostly. The inhibits have a finite capability so the more galvanic corrosion the shorter the life. I also add a teaspoon of parmolive the week before the drain, seems to thicken the soup....

Just be careful with the different coolants, some don't go together. If you mix the common green one with the red Toyota stuff you get grey sludge that'll block radiator. If its a different colour don't mix it, the colour is there for a reason.

There's one you can buy that mixes with all of them

I was told that as well don't mix the colours a long time ago that why I asked the question

My quad bike came with red coolant and has a ally radiator and alloy head another reason I asked as well

I generally wouldn't mix coolants - but they usually all have the same active ingredient of ethylene glycol, so I don't know why not.

Mixing colours is a no-no. The active constituents are different chemically. For example is it Propylene glycol or ethylene glycol.

This mixture reacts and can turn into gel which then falls out of suspension. This gel then turns into a calcium like deposit which insulates heat inside the block and radiator from transferring to the water.

I buy one brand (for example Castrol, or Nulon) so that I can remember which one it was last time. I also flush it completely through which can take some time. I wouldn't bother with 6 year coolant. There's always reason to look at a minis engine in six years, and then you would only need to drain it anyway.

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.

I've wondered if it's OK to not use coolant if the car doesn't having heating issues. Corrosion wise, I wonder how long it would take to eat away at things by using just water?

Water is fine, has been for years, the corrosion is an accelerating issue so fresh water regularly is better as it cools better then most liquids and won't promote galvanic corrosion.

I disagree - decades of R&D has been put into coolants to not only reduce corrosion in engines, but to also increase the boiling point, lower the freezing point, and to reduce cavitation. Oxygen is readily available in the cooling system, so fresh water in an iron block will result in corrosion. $8 will make 10 litres of coolant - well worth the investment I think.

Sorry to hijack the thread to an extent but has anyone had any experience or even heard of the so called "water-less Coolant"? The theories I've heard is the fact that it being water-less is that it prevents micro-boiling on the surface of the engine which subsequently allows for more heat transfer into the coolant.
If its not got water in it, what does it use to actually make it a liquid? Where do you buy it?

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