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View Full Version : best anti-freeze ?

Corbusa
10-10-2011, 03:42 PM
I need to get ready for winter , so what is a really good anti-freeze? I'd like to keep the system clean and hope to never change the heater core etc. IS Amsoil anti-freeze good ? What about Napa Cool or water wetter ? Thanks Guys !
mike100
10-10-2011, 04:40 PM
For the LT5 you need to use the old fashioned regular non-long life coolant. I used the basic autozone jug and some 15 year old Prestone I still had. The good news is that it's cheaper than the long life/low tox stuff.
GOLDCYLON
10-10-2011, 05:56 PM
Plain old generic Green stuff. Dont use anything else
mike100
10-10-2011, 08:12 PM
pretty sure the 'Solutions' sticky has a good listing of commonly available coolants.
Z51JEFF
10-12-2011, 12:51 AM
Barnds are all over the map but just make sure ITS NOT DEXCOOL!
Hammer
10-12-2011, 06:28 AM
Napa Auto has the green antifreeze needed. The jug will state on it "contains silicates".
ittlfly
10-12-2011, 08:07 AM
Napa Auto has the green antifreeze needed. The jug will state on it "contains silicates".

Correct. It is the 'Napa" brand in a blue jug. On the back you will see it meets GM -1825M spec for our cars.
Dime
10-12-2011, 08:11 AM
Zerex is also very good.
Aurora40
10-12-2011, 08:18 AM
Just FYI, but Prestone does not make an EG coolant anymore that is suitable for the LT5. So don't pick up any coolant in Wal-Mart or similar, as that's all they generally have. The NAPA green stuff is good. Also a GM dealer will have the right stuff, though it now costs a fortune ($30 a gallon last time I checked).

Water-wetter is apparently similar to DexCool, but it really isn't an anti-freeze. As it is mainly water, it would freeze pretty easily. I think they even recommend you add anti-freeze with it if you use the A/C, as it can freeze in the heater core.

I've personally used the low-tox stuff with no problems. The additives are the same, it is still a silicated coolant just like the OEM stuff, but a PG coolant vs EG.
tomtom72
10-13-2011, 08:08 AM
Just a reminder about the GM stuff you now buy at the parts counter.....it's not a silicated coolant any longer. It's a H-OAT coolant. They kept the same part number on the new coolant and they kept the same "GM spec 1825-M", but it is an organic acid coolant.

I ran into this when I bought some from a local dealer up here this past April.

Some chevy stores have some of the old original stuff laying around. I got some from what used to be P&G Chevy in PA.

Just read the label on any GM coolant you get from the chevy store very carefully before leaving the parts cage.

:cheers:
Tom
Aurora40
10-13-2011, 08:35 AM
Wow, good to know Tom! It's getting tougher to find the "right" stuff, it sounds like...
tomtom72
10-13-2011, 09:02 AM
Wow, good to know Tom! It's getting tougher to find the "right" stuff, it sounds like...

You should have seen my face when I started to pour some out to mix it down...I was like hey, wtf is this!? The color didn't look quite right and I had to grab a bottle from my stash that I had bought 2 yrs ago. I compared both and the green was too light colored, it was close but not bright enough or dense enough....makes no sense right! But I could see it as soon as I poured some out.

I had both bottles side by side and went down the labels on the backs. The tip off was the real silicated stuff says "Do Not Add to DEXCOOL" The new stuff didn't have that on the label and it didn't have "contains silicates". The part numbers were the same though.
VetteMed
10-13-2011, 09:26 AM
Carquest sells an appropriate formula as well, FYI.
Bob Eyres
10-14-2011, 04:41 PM
I used the EVANS propylene glycol coolant for about five years. The reasoning? No water = no corrosion.
It's touted as effective in race cars like pro stockers that may have hot spots in the combustion chamber at 14 to 1 compression.
I thought it would bring the coolant temps down, It didn't. So now I'm back to the green stuff.