Antifreeze has a lower specific heat than pure water, so it can take LESS heat out than water does. What it does do well is lower the freezing point to prevent cracking a block, radiator or whatever in extreme cold temps. You can do some searching on the web about the freezing point vs mixture. Where I live the 70% water, 30% antifreeze is pretty good, and can be even less without risk.

FWIW, I run water wetter in everything I drive. The stuff just works. IT's a redline product, and there are other equivalent products from other companies. I typically buy 4-5 bottles at a time, leave it on the shelf, and just use it as I need it.

The notion that only a Mini dealer can do this right is just wrong.... There are tons of places that can deal with the coolant change. Also, since Mini views it as a "lifetime" coolant, it's not covered by the free maintenance.

Matt

 

Its on my to-do list this week. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

on the WaterWetter. Stuff really does the job. If someone lived way down south where temps don't go below freezing, the best cooling would be to use just water and WaterWetter.

 

My mini needs this direly- it's an '02, 96k, and I don't know if the previous owner flushed it- probably not. I've had it since 45k, and haven't done it myself and for the small cost, I really should do it. Will a decent shop (not dealer) know what kind of coolant it needs or are they going to throw whatever they want in there? What kind of coolant should the mini take?

 

Buy the coolant from the MINI dealer, take it to an independent shop that knows MINI's and let them do the flush.

 

Is there a big difference in the MINI coolant and say the universal (any make/any model) coolant? What would mixing the two of them result in?

 

Yes there is a big difference.

Only use the coolant that is approbate for the Mini.
Do not mix them as there would be issues with corrosion and plastic degradation when using the wrong coolant.

There's no such thing as "Universal Coolant" unless you mean water and then the Mini requires distiled water, not tap water.

Hope this helps...

 

Just had the coolant flushed/changed at the dealer for $75 (they sent out a discount coupon). Took 45 minutes.

(They overfilled it (it was way above the MAX mark on the expansion tank) so I took some out and got it between the MAX and MIN marks.)

 

Can the dealer coolant be replaced by a universal coolant, in particular, Prestone, "compatible with all" coolant? As long as the coolant is replaced completely, is there an issue?

OK, so, I did a "drop the lower hose", fill, run it for awhile", three times, when I first got the Mini. Two times more the next summer. It seems like the original Mini coolant color is gone. Is there something about the Mini coolant, that the Mini needs?

Jay

 

I have an 08 R56 Turbo.I've looked in all of the manuals that came with the car and they list every capacity except coolant capacity.I need to know the volume/capacity to add the proper amount of Water Wetter. Jason Montague

 

Add a full bottle. Remember to remove enough coolant first so there is room to add the WaterWetter. If you have not yet drained the system, add the WaterWetter to the coolant before you dump it in to the rad.

 

Thankyou very much.I withdrew 12oz of coolant and added 12oz(the whole bottle)of Water Wetter.I then drove it @ hwy speeds(and more)with the heater on the highest setting to circulate that coolant also.When I got home;I let it cool down and it was 12oz low so I added back the 12oz of coolant and test drove again.All OK.So I guess that "Mini Margi's"coolant level was 12oz low to begin with.At any rate all OK now. Thanks again Jason Montague

 

BUY A ZEREX G-05. Specifically made for Minis and other euro cars. Mixed with water. and can be found at automotive store near you.


TADA!!

 

Is it possible to take off the lower coolant hose to the radiator and remove the fuel pump fuse or spark plug wires and just crank the motor till all the coolant comes out? this is how everyone did it with my GTO and other LS motor cars