Wednesday 2nd June 2004

WaterWetter

Keep your cool in hot weather

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As summers looms, the cooling system in your car will face its biggest challenges. Flushing the crud out should be the first answer, but after that what can you do to ensure your cooling system operates at peak efficiency?

Wetter water would be a start - or "WaterWetter". This is a product which both improves cooling and inhibits corrosion within the system.

Water has twice the heat transfer capability when compared to 50% glycol antifreeze/coolant in water. Most passenger cars have a cooling system designed to deal with sufficient heat under normal operating conditions using a 50/50 antifreeze/water solution.

However, in racing applications, the use of water and WaterWetter enables the use of smaller radiator systems. This creates less frontal drag and whilst ensuring the engine operates at its optimum temperature.

So how does it work?   Water has excellent heat transfer properties in its liquid state, but very high surface tension makes it difficult to release water vapour from the metal surface. Under heavy load conditions, much of the heat in the cylinder head is transferred by localized boiling at hot spots, even though the bulk of the cooling solution is below the boiling point.

WaterWetter reduces the surface tension of water by a factor of two, which means that much smaller vapour bubbles will be formed. Bubbles on the metal surface create an insulating layer which impedes heat transfer. Releasing these vapor bubbles from the metal surface can improve the heat transfer properties in this localized boiling region.

Want more info on WaterWetter? Contact www.leventechnology.co.uk

[DustyC]

Is it as good as it sounds? Any experiences?

I heard that you need to drain and start from fresh as it doesnt work so well with antifreeze. Needs to be just water and WW.

Worth draining the system and going for it?
My temp guage stays on 90 for regular drivng but have seen 100 on a circuit.