Has anyone heard about the distilled water myth? I heard about it on car talk the other day. They said that distilled water would actually "pull" other minerals from the system and would not be any better than tap water. I have also always used distilled water but I have to wonder...

 

Mixing red (dexcool) with green (glycol) makes jello. It then plugs the heater core. READ THE LABEL some will mix with all brands.
David

 

Distilled water is best. If you can drink the water its ok for your bike Pure antifreeze is bad.
David

 

Depends on the tap water. Some places have really "hard" water, very laden with minerals, in particular calcium. Some places have "soft" water, hardly any different than distilled water. I don't have a jug of antifreeze handy to check the directions but some did say to mix with distilled water.

 

That's an odd one. Distilled water is just pure H2O. I don't see how pure H2O is going to cause some kind of chemical extraction of minerals when most of your tap water is pure H2O. I'm no chemist, but that one sounds fairly suspect.

 

I have to agree with TNC. How can distilled water cause problems? I'm not saying it can't happen, just curious...

 

Still on the original coolant, never added any.....YIKES?

 

I drained all mined this year and put Engine Ice in... good stuff.

 

A lot of this antifreeze mixing issue is overblown. Still, when the whole cooling system in our KLX only holds a little over 1.5 quarts, why putz with it? A lot of the hysteria about mixing coolants is based on older antifreeze solutions. There really were some compounds in many older formulas that were not at all compatible with each other. And...that's not to say that if you search for some off beat brands and types of antifreeze, that you still can't find some incompatible formulas. Today's Dexcool, Prestone, and most other ethylene glycol formulas will mix with no ill effects, and they state so quite clearly on their containers.

But...we're talking about 1.5 quarts of coolant mix...that's about 25 oz. of antifreeze. You own a motorcycle that's worth anywhere from $1500-$5000 and you won't buy 25 oz. of antifreeze?...which is something you can also use in the family car when needed? I think we're swatting gnats with a gattling gun.

Here's something to perhaps consider about using Engine Ice or other formulas that give dire warnings about mixing with conventional antifreeze. If you're out in Timbuktu and overheat a bit so that some coolant is expelled out the overflow, will you be able to obtain Engine Ice or whatever special cool juice you're using to top of the system? Will you be carrying some Engine Ice? If you only ride in locations where you'll be home every evening, then this is probably a non-issue. But if you ride in remote areas for days at a time, I'd recommend using only antifreeze/water solutions or additives that clearly recommend/allow mixing. In an overheat you can just add water to get back to camp, town, or a gas station as a stopgap. But when you want to get everything back to spec, will you find or have your special cool juice available? If Engine Ice really warns against mixing it with antifreeze, I wouldn't use it. Redline's coolant additive, Royal Purple's Purple Ice, and similar super coolant additives all allow and even recommend mixing with conventional ethylene glycol antifreeze. Why paint yourself into a corner? Truth be known, ethylene glycol and water is probably all our KLX will ever need for more than adequate performance and protection. I use Purple Ice from Royal Purple in the recommended ratio percentage, and I've used the Redline stuff...but...I wouldn't lose any sleep to use just water and antifreeze.

 

Thanks TNC. Good points.