Whats so special about BMW coolant??

[Unregistered]

Yes, water is unbeatable in its ability to absorb heat but we're talking about engine and cooling system protection. It is recommended that you use at least 50/50 to fully protect your car (in Arizona or in Alaska). Like Bill R. said, race cars are not street cars. You would be surprised that street cars put more strain on cooling system than race cars. Antifreeze/coolant is cheap so why not use them as they are recommended?

Adding coolant to water does increase the boiling point, and therefore decrease the danger of boil-over.

However, water does have a better capacity to transfer heat than does coolant. So as a straight cooling fluid in a system that does NOT EXCEED the boiling point of that system, water alone is superior to a water/coolant mix. Because of this, many race engines that do not need to worry about the lifespan of the system components will run just water or mix with Water-Wetter. But those guys can toss their water pumps after a day or a weekend, so they don't need the other protective measures found in coolants.

[Unregistered]

Also, BMW coolant might just be propaganda by BMW to buy their product. I seen many companies do this... Look at Microsoft. Really, what makes BMW's engine and cooling system any different than other German cars? Since BMW coolant doesn't cost that much, I still use it but are they puting one over on us? The properties of antifreeze/coolant is the same. What additives did they put in the coolant to protect it better than another quality brand? My friend's 1989 BMW used Prestone antifreeze/coolant since 1992 and never had a problem with cooling system. You be the judge...

Other than its blue, and normal stuff is usually green...

I'm just about to replace the thermostat, thermostat housing (and thermo gasket)... and I'm not too thrilled with my bentley telling me that the entire system hold 12.5 liters of coolant! I'm going to have to go to the stealer and buy 3 jugs of bmw coolant at 15 bones a jug... which will double the cost of this fix.....

any alternative to BMW coolant?

[rickm]

How many "failures" has the BMW coolant had? I'd rather spend the extra few bucks for BMW coolant than take a chance on getting relabeled Dexcool.

[Unregistered]

Hey, I don’t want to offend anyone who uses BMW coolant here. I too used BMW coolant for my 1995 BMW 525i. I’m just saying what PhilipJCaputo has brought up. What’s so special about the BMW coolant? I would like to know why, not because some company recommends it by gaining their own interest. Seriously, BMW is a business like any other. All companies claim their product to be the best. BMW isn’t in the business “solely” to make the “ultimate driving machine”. They are in the business to sell their product and make money. I like to know the facts… If all manufacture start to do this and we follow their guidelines without real facts, we would be the “suckers”.

How many "failures" has the BMW coolant had? I'd rather spend the extra few bucks for BMW coolant than take a chance on getting relabeled Dexcool.

[rickm]

Search the forum for coolant, that will keep you busy for a while One thread I read mentioned that the reason why (or one of the reasons why) is that the properties of the coolant factored in the makeup of the engines. I guess it's one of those "better safe than sorry" things...maybe Bill or Winfred could chime in.

[Unregistered]

The way I look at it, these cars were $40-50K brand new. 12-15 years ago, I would have said you be nuts to not use BMW coolant, why risk it on an expensive car.

However, your car, and I mean ALL OF YOU, are worth what - maybe $5K? 6K? If you really like the car and you some how "fry" your engine because you didn't use BMW coolant, its what $3K or so for a rebuilt!

At this point, if you really don't want to spend the $18-24/gal (yikes, its really expensive in the SF Bay Area) to use BMW coolant, don't. What the hey, these old ass cars have seen their best days. Go on down to wal-mart, target, kragen/checkers or pep boy and get that "$2.99 special" and be done with it. Just remember to change every 2 years....

[PhilipJCaputo]

Thanks for all the input.... I only drained about half the cooland out.... (only opened the plug on the radiator) So I was able to use the rest of my bmw coolant I had left over.... mix'n with a little distilled water, and its good as new!

I just hope I never have to do that job again. Anyone try to replace the thermostat on the M60?? You can't even really see the bolts on the engine side of the thermo housing.. Plus there are other cords in the way... Plus with a cracked housing, EVERYTHING around there has this slippery layer of coolant all over it. Makes it hard to guide sockets into place

And when they reccomend to remove the radiator fan... its probably a good idea, I fought with that thing the entire time I was change'n the thermostat & housing!

good news is.... no more coolant leak! (that I've noticed)

[Unregistered]

O.K. I searched the forum for “coolant” and only found people having problems with cooling system. When BMW recommends only to use their coolant, is it from BMW bulletin, manual, or is it on the jug? Could someone tell me exactly what it said about BMW coolant (word for word if possible)? It’s hard to believe the BMW coolant contains special additive(s)… Or is it just been tested to be O.K. (compatible). If second, companies comment phrase in a way for the public to believe or perceive certain way without legal liability of false statement. Look at “NO PRESERVATIVE” compare to “NO PRESERVATIVE ADDED” on food product. One might think it contains no preservative to both but is it? “NO PRESERVATIVE” means no preservative. “NO PRESERVATIVE ADDED” means no preservative added by this company but might contain preservative. What's does it say? Thanks for putting up with my crap… You guys are a trooper!

Search the forum for coolant, that will keep you busy for a while One thread I read mentioned that the reason why (or one of the reasons why) is that the properties of the coolant factored in the makeup of the engines. I guess it's one of those "better safe than sorry" things...maybe Bill or Winfred could chime in.

[PhilipJCaputo]

in my bentley service manual it says this..

"Always use genuine BMW coolant or its equivalent ot aviod the formation of harmful, clogging deposits in the cooling system. Use of other antifreeze solutions may be harmful to the cooling system"

I guess it could be less likely to form deposits/clogs....

[Unregistered]

YES, THERE IT IS!!! "Always use genunine BMW coolant or ITS EQUIVALENT". "ITS EQUIVALENT" means anything comparable, right? O.K., enough said...

in my bentley service manual it says this..

"Always use genuine BMW coolant or its equivalent ot aviod the formation of harmful, clogging deposits in the cooling system. Use of other antifreeze solutions may be harmful to the cooling system"

I guess it could be less likely to form deposits/clogs....