Never in his wildest dreams would +Tadge Juechter or anyone else in +General Motors predict the unfolding fiasco related to the overheating issues that just do not want to abandon the newest Corvette Z06.
In so called track preparation instructions, there is one item that is very interesting and one that can result in some rather interesting consequences over longer period of time. This item is coolant mix change, from the usual 50/50 ratio of water to coolant to 80/20 ratio. On the surface, this makes some sense to keep the C7 Z06 piece of shit at least somewhat less overheating but as with everything else, nothing is free and there is a price to pay for this half ass solution.
First of all, the higher water content will lower the boiling point of the mixture, in spite of increased efficiency of heat dissipation. In other words, it will take longer for the engine to reach those high temperatures but... the safety margin shrinks quite a bit, creating considerably higher potential for engine damage at overall lower temperatures.
But... there is one other thing, not mentioned by GM and without any doubt ignored by the Z06 owning sheep.
Is all water created equal? At least when engine cooling is concerned, no, not all water is created equal and this comes up only when coolant mix runs short on coolant.
Among three commercially available kinds of water, tap/bottled, soft and distilled water, one that is most harmful to modern cooling systems rich in aluminum is, ironically enough, the purest water, distilled.
What is the problem with distilled water? The problem lies in the distillation process that deionizes the water. With ions removed and coolant mix consisting mainly of water, a process called ELECTROLYSIS takes place, to replenish the ions in the coolant mix (nature loves to balance things out and physics and chemistry love the state of equilibrium). Where do the ions come from to replenish them in the coolant? Straight from light metals, just like aluminum (magnesium does that too).
With 50/50 mix, this is not a problem since coolant is the source of ions, sparing the metal but not the case at all with 80/20 mix of water and antifreeze.
Interestingly enough, GM "forgot" somehow to mention this part in the track preparation instructions and chances of Corvette sheep switching to 50/50 mix right after the track event is slim to none. Now, soft water more difficult to come by and distilled water seems to be the water of choice for automotive purists (pun intended)... Hmmm....
Is GM crazy, they want people to drain out and flush the system and then changed the coolant mixture for track duty?!!???. I thought the car was track ready? I am sure GM is just stating this to avoid warranty claims, nobody is going to change the coolant ratio just for a weekend at the track.
ReplyDeleteOne note, I thought that distilled water was good to use, but deionize water was bad. Is all distilled water also de-ionized? Or is it all de-ionized water is distilled first?
I do not think GM is crazy at all, it is all well calculated to cover their asses and get away with a track pretender instead of a truly track capable car. If you make buyers go through all the steps of flushing brakes, replacing oil TWICE and coolant twice, this should discourage quite a few and if someone fails to comply, GM has the option to refuse the warranty. The buyers get the bragging rights but in a way they cannot really test them and when they do, you know what happens, LOL.
DeleteTechnically, distilled and deionized water are not the same but the removal of ions takes place in both processes, this is why you use distilled water topping off lead batteries.
It is best not to track that car anyway, the suspension is a joke. You never know how it is going to react, understeer or oversteer, of course this is based off the last track test by Jeremy on BBC. It is also not a car you want to be in after a crash (death trap), what is with the entire front end separating after a crash. Hard for the crush zones to work when they are no longer attached to the car. Just wondering: what is the track prep requirements for the GT350R? or the Godzilla? or the 911? or the GTI?
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