Jay Mitchell wrote:
>Here's a question you may be able to answer: what about VW's G10
>and G11 antifreeze? It's blue in color, contains no phosphates
>(which degrade the anticorrosion protection over time), and VW
>doesn't (didn't in the early 90s at least) call for routine
>replacement. Can you tell us anything about this stuff?
Not having the spec handy, I would wager with a very high degree of
confidence that, like most European automakers, VW specifies a HOAT-style
coolant. Odds are even better that it's got a particular mix of additives
specified by VW that's ever-so-slightly different than, say, the G05 used
by Mercedes-Benz (which is pale yellow in color).
The actual additives themselves are pretty much the same stuff, but may be
mixed in slightly different proportions and there may be one or two things
that are present in a G10/G11 that aren't in a G05 and vice-versa. Or,
they could just change the dye color and call it something unique and
specific so they can help their service parts department sell high-margin
service fluids. Trust me, stranger things than that have happened.
Interestingly enough, major-brand coolants of conventional types all have
pretty much the same stuff in them, too, again in slightly different
proportions and maybe specific trade names, and slightly different dye
colors (Prestone's green is a bit brighter and lighter than Peak's green,
for instance).
Hope this is useful.
Jim Crider
autojim@delphi.com (home)
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