Keeping the vehicle in optimum condition is the first responsibility of the driver. After all, the safety of both its owner and other road users depends on how ready the car is for operation. A timely replacement of antifreeze will help avoid serious problems with engine overheating or corrosion inside the fuel system. This means that the attitude to the quality of the coolant should be very serious.
It is known that so-called additives or additives affect the effective operation of antifreeze. Usually these are borates, silicates, sometimes phosphates - elements that are responsible for protecting the engine from electrolyte corrosion. With a decrease in the number of these elements, the resistance to corrosive processes during engine operating cycles decreases sharply. It is clear that it is necessary to change the antifreeze before it ceases to perform its function. The question arises: how to determine that the coolant has stopped "working", and even do it on time?
Antifreeze manufacturers have developed a very effective and easy way to check the working condition of a liquid using test strips and a special quality scale. It is enough for the driver to moisten the test strip with antifreeze and it will change its color in a certain way. After that, you will need to compare this color with the scale and thus determine whether the moment of changing the fluid has come or you can still ride on the old antifreeze for some time.
Coolant manufacturers recommend changing the antifreeze after the 45,000 km mark. Some suggest that for a guaranteed anti-corrosion effect, you need to change the fluid at least once a year, regardless of the number of kilometers traveled. New developments presented by well-known manufacturers of antifreeze in the global automotive market promise 100,000 km. without fluid replacement. However, it should be borne in mind that the consumption, efficiency and duration of antifreeze operation depends largely on the brand of the car and the operating conditions of a particular car.
Despite the existing myth that pure antifreeze works much better, more efficiently and at the same time more economical than a mixture, manufacturers in their instructions quite clearly write how in reality it is necessary to use the coolant. With the optimal ratio, the concentration of the mixture should be equal, that is, 50% water to 50% antifreeze. Experts note that an increase in the proportion of antifreeze to 70% is quite acceptable under certain conditions, but pure antifreeze rather "ruins" the engine than helps it.
