Whats so special about BMW coolant??

[PhilipJCaputo]

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?

[Paul in NZ]

but the school of thought here is that it is cheap compared to a head gasket job.It is formulated to bmw specifications which means that its chemical make up is compatible to all the materials found in your cooling system.I beleive there is a vavoline? alternative but it is hard to find......personally i beleive any NEW coolant is better than any OLD coolant....but for the ammount you will save why not?????Next time mine is due for a change i will go for the blue stuff,which hopefully will tone in with some blue powder coating work on my vave cover.......

[ryan roopnarine]

the only coolant that comes anywhere in equivalency is the mercedes/g-05, and that isn't EXACTLY the same. pentosin makes an equivalent, but it is likely MORE expensive than buying a jug of bmw at 15 a pop (at my orlando ger. auto parts store it is). anyway....3.78*2=7.xx, multiplied by two is 15 something litres, more than enough to service your system at a generous 50% mix....i'm not sure why you mention three bottles. it is highly unlikely that you will get ALL of the flush water out.....its likely that some water will remain in the system and dilute any solution you put in. You likely WON't be able to fit 12.x litres of anything into your cooling system.

[Unregistered]

YOU DON'T NEED THREE JUGS. REMEMBER, YOU NEED TO MIX 50/50 (COOLANT/WATER). BMW COOLANT IS CONCENTRATE. YOU NEED TO ADD DISTILLED WATER TO COOLANT. SO, IT'S NOT TOO BAD!

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?

[Tiger]

Actualy... do 70 water/ 30 coolant

[Unregistered]

Hey Tiger,

Are you sure about 70 water / 30 coolant? I always thought you put 50/50 or 70 coolant / 30 water (for very cold winters / very hot summers). Never heard of 30 coolant / 70 water...

Actualy... do 70 water/ 30 coolant

[Tiger]

Yes... Water is the main heat transfer agent. Coolant is a modifier and additive. You do have to make sure that ratio is enough for your coldest day. Now, some of you say with more coolant, your boiling temperature is boosted to higher point like 275 degree... WELL if your coolant ever get that high, your engine is kaput! Our thermostat opens at 190 degree...

I had 50/50 in my car... it never overheats in BMW... but on MB, temperature always seem higher than normal... once I dilute it lower, the car run more normal temp. The car runs cooler with higher water content because of it's ability to shed heat better than coolant itself.

Then you say corrosion protection is lower with more water... yes... but not by that much especially if you do change you coolant every 2 years...

[Bellicose Right Winger]

70/30 is very good for cooling performance, since the coolant has poor heat transfer properties relative to water. The downside is it prevents you from getting a full dose of corrosion inhibitors. Settling for a partial dose of corrosion inhibitors seems to contradict conventional wisdom which says use ONLY BMW coolant to minimize corrosion problems.

Paul Shovestul

Actualy... do 70 water/ 30 coolant

[MicahO]

The other downside is reduced freeze protection, though 70/30 is probably enough for at least 360 days per year in 90% of the US......

[PhilipJCaputo]

OK, the BMW stuff I bought isn't a its not a 50/50 mix like I thought (its the concentrate)... and I've got about 3 quarts of it left.. :-) This isn't going to be as bad as I thought.

I was thinking the 13 quarts because thats that the bentley manual says the capacity is.

but I think I'll be ok.... and if everyone says BMW... what I can I do... I'll stick with the BMW coolant, it was this initial idea i had where I was going to spend another 45 bucks on coolant which wasn't making me too thrilled.


On a side note, I just fixed my twisted passenger seat issue