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Best Anti-Freeze for 2016 Ford Fiesta St - Michigan

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Canton
#1
Hey all,

I was wondering what your favorite anti-freeze is for the cold months in northern US? Any particular brands that you've found work really well or any additives you would recommend? I'm finding that the current washer fluid (dealer provided) isn't cutting it.
 


neeqness

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LA
#2
Hey all,

I was wondering what your favorite anti-freeze is for the cold months in northern US? Any particular brands that you've found work really well or any additives you would recommend? I'm finding that the current washer fluid (dealer provided) isn't cutting it.
Are you asking for coolant or washer fluid?

If washer fluid, I use a gallon of distilled water and a few drops dishwashing fluid (blue dawn) but my area stays above freezing all year.

For below freezing areas you may wish to add 1/2 cup of ammonia or vinegar to lower the freezing point. May want to add more if it is especially cold (I've heard of people using up to a cup). I haven't personally tested that part though so no first hand experience with the ammonia part but my washing fluid works great with no streaks!


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M-Sport fan

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#3
I have been using the Prestone De-Icer washer fluid, claimed to be good for -27*F (used to be -35*F years ago) with good results for the last 10 years or so.

For radiator coolant/anti-freeze I just use the Motorcraft orange stuff specced in our manual, since it is the same price (or less) as everything else on the shelf in most auto stores, at my local non-chain auto stores, and only the on the shelf at Wal Mart, Prestone branded Dex Cool is less coin outright.
 


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Baton Rouge
#4
Hey all,

I was wondering what your favorite anti-freeze is for the cold months in northern US? Any particular brands that you've found work really well or any additives you would recommend? I'm finding that the current washer fluid (dealer provided) isn't cutting it.
If the colder stuff you find still isn't working, generally the colder the rating on the bottle, the more methanol-to-water ratio there is in the fluid. Spike the fluid with Taaka or Evan Williams (cheap 40+% alcohol), straight methanol, or HEET (98% methanol) during a cold snap if what you can find isn't enough. Denatured alcohol works too, the kind advertised for clean buring stoves, it is usually 40-60% Methanol / 40-60% ethanol for the klean-strip brand last time I checked. That stuff just doesn't really freeze. There is also "non-clean burning" denatured alcohol spiked with gasoline. That stuff will eat your washer pump.

Just hold your breath for a second or turn on re-circulate with any ethanol stuff. Can fume you out for a few seconds. It is hard to find the deep winter washer fluid that has a freeze point lower than the -20s F.
 


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Grass Lake
#6
About 3 months of the year i spike the blue juice with Motorcraft #ZC-32-B Premium windshield washer concentrate. A single 32oz bottle will boost the strength of four gallons of typical winter formula washer fluid. Most Ford dealer parts departments have some in stock.
 


Intuit

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#7
Funny. Car comes with Summer tires, but Winter washer fluid?

Washer fluid is washer fluid. What causes all the problems with windshield visibility is wax from the car washes. A "rough" windshield surface and/or motor oil from the roadway doesn't help either.

That said, I did purchase some house brand washer fluid from JunkyardoZone many years ago that claimed to have "-20°F protection" in big fat lettering on the sealed bottle. Hopped in one morning and ran the washer motor... just a whole lot of humming but no liquid. As you probably surmised at this point, that crap froze solid around ten or +16°F. The reservoir was nearly full at the time. Had just enough space to top it off with a little 90% isopropyl rubbing alcohol to thaw it. Fortunately the frozen liquid didn't crack the reservoir or damage the plastic nozzles and pump. I later left the half empty bottle on the parts counter, telling the clerk that it froze. I no longer shop there, but still go for the cheapest stuff.
 


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#8
Autozone, Advance, Pep boys et al are not really very inexpensive. I have found that real autoparts stores like NAPA or Carquest are more reasonable and offer high quality stuff.
 


Intuit

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Unfortunately we lost all CarQuest locations here; acquired by Advance. Most of the time CarQuest was significantly more expensive, but one consistently got much better quality parts. There were some exceptions where CarQuest was cheaper but that wasn't the rule. Experiences with NAPA's part quality wasn't nearly as bad as AZ, but better. Experiences with PB; more expensive than all of them but with the worst part quality.
 


M-Sport fan

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#10
Unfortunately we lost all CarQuest locations here; acquired by Advance. Most of the time CarQuest was significantly more expensive, but one consistently got much better quality parts. There were some exceptions where CarQuest was cheaper but that wasn't the rule. Experiences with NAPA's part quality wasn't nearly as bad as AZ, but better. Experiences with PB; more expensive than all of them but with the worst part quality.
Pretty much my ONLY reason for stepping into a Peppies nowadays is to get a single bottle of the Red Line SI-1 if I ran out of my supply from an online bulk buy order (they charge at least $3.00 more per bottle than buying 6 or more online, including shipping!).
OR to get that silicone 'self stick' tape (made in USA no less!), for which they charge even less than China Mart does. ;)

They also carry a decent supply of Vibrant T-bolt clamps if they are a 'Speed Shop' store, if needed in an emergency (there are NO/NONE/NADA/ZILCH actual independent, stand alone, brick and mortar, well equipped, speed shops around here [:(] ).

Ironically, CarQuest took over the local (Doylestown) NAPA here, at the request of the Fred Beans Group which owned it.
 


TyphoonFiST

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Rich-fizzield
#11
Hey all,

I was wondering what your favorite anti-freeze is for the cold months in northern US? Any particular brands that you've found work really well or any additives you would recommend? I'm finding that the current washer fluid (dealer provided) isn't cutting it.
I'm in Mn...I try to gun for anything that's -25 to -30 below zero rated...prestone....Rainx and Advances brand all seem to be about -27 to -30 with water beading additives in most.

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