Penrite pink coolant is it really VW approved?

[rutti]

What's wrong with the VW coolant?

Ok I went to the Penrite site and found this page Penrite Australia - NetLube

It says the PINK coolant is Glycol based but it also says its VW approved so make your own mind up but I think I would buy the real stuff next time you are in town

Approvals page

http://www.penriteoil.com.au/tech_pd...Nov%202012.pdf

Cheers mate. I think you nailed it!

[kaanage]

G12 and G12+ are also glycol based (all coolants are except for race coolants where the lubricity of glycol is a safety hazard)

AA-Academy : Antifreeze

Penrite could be sued if their coolant didn't actually comply with G12/G12+ and all the other specification they list for their magenta coolant ( here is a better link http://www.penriteoil.com.au/product...d_products=272)

There's caution and then there's paranoia

[Tubbs76]

My understanding is that there is green coolant which is anti corrosive.. could be wrong?

[Tubbs76]

Looks like im flushing and going back to red then, had it on good authority from a bloke who specialises in vw's and audis that both will work fine as long as anti corrosive..in terms of cooling performance, has also stated that they work the same and one isnt better than the other in that respect. def stated you must get the mix ratio right though.

[kaanage]

had it on good authority from a bloke who specialises in vw's and audis that both will work fine as long as anti corrosive..in terms of cooling performance, has also stated that they work the same and one isnt better than the other in that respect. def stated you must get the mix ratio right though.

Have a good read of the AA Academy article that I linked to in my previous post - it explains what the differences are but the main factors are that the older (usually green) coolants need periodic replacement because the corrosion inhibitors break down over time while the newer ones (often but not always pink/purple) are basically fully stable if properly mixed and only need replacement if the cooling system needs draining.

Don't mix coolants, though, as that is what causes the nasty pics on the Blauparts site because the different additives react and precipitate out.

And yes, cooling performance is the same for the old and new coolants since the main content in both is water + (ethylene or propylene) glycol - the difference lies in the corrosion inhibitors that are added.

Here is another description of the differences http://forums.tdiclub.com/showpost.p...62&postcount=5

[Transporter]

Hmm, then open the Yellow Pages and see how many cylinder head reconditioning workshops are there, go and see one and check out how many heads are corroded there. Then, take my advice and change that coolant every 3 years even if they say it was a lifetime fill (we all know what that means - usually 5years/120,000km), you can stretch the first coolant change to 4 Years in the VAG car. But ofcourse if you keep your car only 3-5 years do nothing about the cooling system.

Honda, Toyota, Mazda coolant life is 8-10 years and I didn't hear that their cooling systems corrode. However VAG cooling system is often topped up and that IMO reduces the life of the coolant greatly, plus often the w/pump needs replacing sooner, or if fitted with the timing belt the w/pump will be replaced at the same time (most likely). So in reality the VAG coolant stays in the engine less than 5 years when engine has the timing belt, but now it could be up to 7years before the coolant is changed. So, I would definitelly change it at the 4th year.

Changing the coolant every 3 years may void the cooling system leaks, it could save your engine if/when overheated because of the leak. Corroded coolant connectors and radiators cost more than the cost of the coolant change.

[noone]

I use the Penrite, I bought it based on the other thread and that is was $50 for a 5L of Pre-mix.

Its hard to get some past the same colour, same stuff attitude (mechanics included). I don't understand it, but I'm happy with the price for G12+ approved, not going to burn a hole in my pocket.

The other variable / question is what water to mix it with, distilled, demineralised, tap, etc.

[Guest001]

If changing to a different coolant it says on the Penrite info page that A COMPLETE FLUSH SHOULD BE DONE FIRST

Whether the theory behind that is to sell more product or for sound technical reasons I will leave up to you

[kaanage]

That's correct to prevent contamination if the system was using a different (nonG12/G12+) coolant. If topping up with Penrite Magenta in a system with VW G12, then you don't need a system flush.

However VAG cooling system is often topped up and that IMO reduces the life of the coolant greatly, plus often the w/pump needs replacing sooner, or if fitted with the timing belt the w/pump will be replaced at the same time (most likely). So in reality the VAG coolant stays in the engine less than 5 years when engine has the timing belt, but now it could be up to 7years before the coolant is changed. So, I would definitelly change it at the 4th year.

None of which contradicts my statement about the stability of G12/G12+ if properly mixed. The water pump/timing belt change is an instance of an instance when the cooling system needs draining.

The other variable / question is what water to mix it with, distilled, demineralised, tap, etc.

For the coolant to be fully stable, you need to mix with distilled or demineralised, deionised water. Tap water is probably used in most top up situations which does not meet the "properly mixed" definition (maybe I should have been explicit about that from the start but I thought the reference links I posted covered that - looking at the back at the links, they didn't cover the water) which leads to the degradation over time, mentioned by Transporter.

[noone]

I had the rep in spares @ VW tell me tap was fine, i use demineralized. Have not yet read the link.