The next time that you need a coolant or oil change, you should consider spending a few more bucks to upgrade these essential fluids for your vehicle. Newer formulations of coolant provide greater protection and heat transfer that conventional coolants, as well as environmental and safety benefits.
Synthetic motor oils allow a longer interval between oil changes while providing superior protection for your engine, producing environmental benefits, better engine performance, and future savings in auto repair.
Propylene Glycol Coolant
The coolant in your vehicle is necessary for transferring heat from the engine. Ethylene glycol is the most commonly used compound used for coolant because of its superior heat transfer capabilities as well as high boiling point and low freezing point.
However, ethylene glycol is also highly poisonous to both humans and animals. The American Humane Society claims that as many as 90,000 pets and other animals are killed each year by drinking ethylene glycol, and the American Association of Poison Control Centers reports that 6000 people will poisoned in just the year 2012.
Ethylene glycol produces the sweet smell that you might encounter in a large enclosed parking garage. It's sweet smell and taste attract children and animals, and it's readily available on driveways and sidewalks after it spills out of the overflow tank onto the ground on a hot day. It is also absorbed into the ground and washed into sewers, polluting local water supplies.
Propylene glycol is safe enough to use as a food additive, and when thinned by the addition of metal oxides can be used as a coolant in vehicles. It has been shown to possess even higher heat transfer rates than ethylene glycol, without its harmful effects.
Synthetic Motor Oils
Synthetic oils are not derived from crude oil as is conventional motor oils. They are chemical compounds that are produced to provide the lubrication of conventional oils but resist degradation that lowers their ability to protect vulnerable engine components.
Synthetic oils need to be changed at much longer intervals than conventional crude-based oils, providing superior protection and engine performance for the duration of their use. The longer period between oil changes saves energy through reduced recycling, and also curtails pollution from used oil that is lost through accidental spills or deliberate dumping by short-sighted individuals.
You can expect to pay more for propylene glycol coolant and synthetic motor oils, but they are superior products and help to protect the environment. Propylene glycol also protects the beasts and the children. You can put a price on that investment.
Share27 February 2018
You know that little light that looks like an oil can coming on is a bad thing? Well, my daughter apparently didn't know that it meant that you should stop driving the car and get it into a repair shop immediately. My daughter continued to drive the car without telling me that that little light was on. She said that she thought that it was on for about three weeks before her car died along the road. What damage does that cause? How expensive are those repairs? Visit through our blog of repairing the vehicle that was once perfect but died because that little light was ignored.