If you live in a warm part of South Africa, you may think that you don’t have to use anti-freeze In your car’s engine…. You’re wrong. This is why:

The benefits of anti-freeze are not only evident in regions where winter temperatures fall to sub-zero levels. The extremes in temperatures in South Africa place huge demands on your car’s engine and its cooling system, especially in areas where temperatures drop to below freezing in winter and rise to 40+ degrees in summer.

According to Rob Bowen, Castrol’s Technology Manager, anti-freeze represents numerous benefits that are not simply restricted to low-temperature applications.

The science behind it all

“Anti-freeze is a multi-faceted product that contains ethylene glycol, which not only has a significantly lower freezing point than water, to prevent freezing of the engine coolant and assist with cold starting, but it also increases the coolant’s boiling point to prevent overheating,” explains Bowen.

Where water freezes at zero degrees Celsius and has a boiling point at 100 deg C, an equal mix of water and anti-freeze drops the freezing point to -37 deg C, and raises the boiling point to 106 deg C. With a 70 percent application of anti-freeze, these margins are even greater, ranging between -55 deg C and 113 deg C respectively, providing comprehensive engine protection in the most extreme operating environments.

Prevent rusting of your cooling system

Anti-freeze also contains crucial additives to prevent corrosion. A variety of metals are used in the engine and cooling system, such as aluminium,iron, brass and copper. When these materials come into contact with water alone, it leads to the rapid spread of rust and corrosion of the cooling system components.

The inhibitor built into anti-freeze is designed to resist this corrosion, providing a long operating life for the cooling system. 

Beware of cheap imitations

Be aware that some outlets dilute their anti-freeze by as much as 70 percent and pass it off as a genuine product. Even the South African Bureau of Standards mark of approval doesn’t provide a guarantee that it is the real thing as the SABS insignia is often applied fraudulently.

Many vehicle owners also don’t check what lubricants or anti-freeze products are being put into their cars. “It is extremely important to use a high-quality anti-freeze product purchased from a reputable outlet,” Bowen explains. “Operating without anti-freeze, using an inferior product or exposing your vehicle to a heavily diluted anti-freeze could lead to premature failure of the radiator and overheating, with very expensive consequential damage for the entire cooling system and engine.”

While many of you rely on dealers or the mechanic who services your car to change the engine coolant and anti-freeze at the normal service intervals, official spares outlets will give you advice on the type of anti-freeze product most suitable for your car if you decide to refresh the coolant yourself. Most anti-freeze products recommend a change at one-year intervals.