Anybody use 'Purple Ice' cooling additive on the Prius???

Never used that before but I have been using Redline Water Wetter in all my cars for years.

My 07 Prius has had it in both the ice loop and inverter cooling loop for about 11 years. Works great.

 

That's exactly what you don't want.

Higher temperature of coolant is important for both the emission-system and cabin-heating.

 

yes.

 

A product like that MIGHT help in a vehicle with a poorly designed or undersized cooling system that produces very high HP.

ThePrius’ 76 hp ICE just doesn’t produce that much heat even with the A/C running. This is why cooling systems have Thermostats to maintain a desired temperature range.

I’ve used the Factory Spec Toyota 50/50 coolant for years too. Works Great.

Adding something else to system won’t hurt the system, just your wallet. It’s free country, spend your money on what makes you happy.

 

If a "product like that" has the ability to lower the thermal resistance of a cooling system (the ability to transfer heat from the hot to cold "end"), it will help in any cooling system - not only in poorly designed and/or high power system. It's use in a controlled system (ICE with thermostat) is indeed questionable, but in "blind" systems, as inverter cooling loop in our P2 it can be really helpful.

 

Well actually it CAN "hurt" things......if it causes the engine to run cooler than designed,which might promote the accumulation of the dreaded carbon deposits.
It also might not be fully compatible with the seals or with the additives in the coolant.

Products like that are designed and intended for use in racing applications or other cases where the engine load is more than the basic design specs.

It is NOT intended to be used routinely in a properly working production street car.
If your car is running too hot, find out WHY and fix it.

 

Fundamentally flawed assumptions are very much a part of Prius's rich history. The first of which was that more EV (engine off) driving, the better the efficiency. That may seem wrong now that there's a plug-in model and faster EV speeds, but back when there as only the regular hybrid, we would routinely see new owners attempting to squeeeeeze out as much EV as possible. They didn't understand that the gas-engine provided electricity could return higher overall MPG when blended instead.

In this case, the assumption is that more heat is bad. Informed owners know that Toyota went to great lengths to provide a system that generates as much heat as possible as fast as possible. Heat is necessary for cleansing emissions. It is also used to warm driver & passengers. The higher temperature is an essential element of the hybrid system. Countering that by adding a chemical agent to reduce temperature will fight the very design Toyota strived to deliver.

You may have grown up and been taught that maximum cool is very important. In fact, that may still be true for older technology. It is not for the system in Toyota hybrids though. Acts to override intended configuration will result in a penalty. With this additive, the system will have to work harder to reach & maintain expected operating temperature, resulting in lower overall efficiency.

 

The thermostat controls the temperature of the engine, assuming that the coolant can transfer enough heat. If the thermostat is staying open, but the engine overheats, then you need to find out why it's not transferring the heat. If the coolant transfers heat faster than needed to keep the thermostat open, the thermostat closes till it warms back up enough. It needs to maintain a certain temperature for emissions and efficiency as @john1701a just said.

 

Personally, I wouldn't use any coolant additive. Especially with a HSD Hybrid Prius.

A simple way to explain it?
The Prius has a heat reclamation system. And once again, I trust the designers. Which conceivably designed the system to work "as is" with the regular factory supplied coolant.

We know the Prius is more efficient both from a MPG standpoint and also an emissions standpoint once it heats up and get's to temp.

I never did it, but getting the engine up to temp, is why a lot of people in cooler climates use techniques like engine blocking and in some cases even a block heater. I know nothing about the advantages or possible disadvantageous of these techniques, as I live in a temperate enough climate where I never felt it was necessary. But my point is? IF anything, people want the Prius heating (not overheating) but heating up...ASAP.

So why would I want to add an additive to the coolant that changes the dynamics of how the engine heats up?
I would just want the engine and the cooling system to work as closely to the regular parameters of which it was designed.

 

That made me think of something that hadn't occurred to me. Yes, the Gen2 has the thermos. But Gen 3 & 4 run the coolant through the catalytic converter to warm it. The additive would probably bring the engine up to temperature a little more quickly, but probably not more than a few seconds since it's so quick as it is. Still seems like a waste of money at best to me. The thermostat is the controlling factor for engine temperature unless something is broken.

 

Well, since things have gotten a little "heated" in this thread, I'd say, people can apply whatever ritual, additive, approach they want to their own vehicles maintenance.

I'm being somewhat hypocritical, but I'm sincerely hypocritical, as I'm consistently skeptical of anything labeled an "additive".
I do believe vehicles are designed from the ground up, to run on the fuel and fluids that existed within the vehicle when it left the factory.

And one of many reasons I'm skeptical, is that first of all, I have faith in the designers and the machine, as is.
Secondly, when I see an additive, claiming to improve how engine oil, coolant, or fuel works with my vehicle? My first thought is if it is so great? Why is it a PURCHASE and use additive, and not just part of the original fluid?

That's NOT to say I don't believe that a percentage of these additives actually do what they say. BUT...I also believe that a lot of these purchases are sold to us, appealing to a human psychology. That is, we all like the idea that simply adding something to "whatever" fluid can prevent or even fix problems, and/or make our vehicles operate better, for longer.
And that I think should always be approached with skepticism.

People say things like " I've used product X for years, and it's been great". But that proves nothing. If you add product X to the vehicle for 15 years and it runs great? Well good, but I can NOT add the same product, and my vehicle can also run great for 15 years. So often tangibly proving any long term benefit is really near impossible. My opinion the SALE and usage is based often on pipe dream psychology. Easy way to make our vehicles better. And I think a vast majority of the time? It's very questionable what the tangible benefit is....especially when using cross over products designed for racing cars...to the usage of daily drivers.

Hypocrite? Yes.
Because I do occasionally use a fuel system additive called Techron.
And it's all just ritual, and because I like the picture of the horrifically fouled valve and fuel injector next to the "Techron" treated gleaming, shiny valve and fuel injector.
But in my decision to occasionally use Techron? Well it DOES exist in a parent product....Chevron fuel. And it's NOT claiming to change the parameters of how my vehicle is designed to work. It's claim is to clean and restore.

Still, I have to apply my own skepticism, even though I DO use it.
What I come away with, is that using it is cheap enough, if it benefits, which is hard to prove, but if it benefits, it's worth it. If it really isn't benefiting? I don't believe it's changing or even claiming to change how my vehicle was designed to work.

I also do believe people have squeezed more miles and life out of a dying engine by using high mileage oils.

But ultimately, I do not believe MOST of these additives are mixed in magical cauldrons, and can be poured into anything, and magically do much of anything. Even if that is how most automotive additives are marketed.

 

I wouldn’t worry about water wetter, but I’ve also never felt the need to use it in a car.

If anything, I’d be shocked if there wasn’t already some surfactant in the factory coolant to reduce bubbling and hotspotting. The “organic acid salts” listed on the SLLC MSDS could certainly represent a few common types.

Now… is more better? Is the additive chemically compatible with what Toyota already put in there? Sorry, can’t help you there. High school chemistry only goes so far.