Written by Shawn Osborne & Bray DeAngelis

What’s the purpose of Coolant? A coolant’s purpose is to keep the engines within an optimal temperature range. Using the best coolant possible will help reduce total cost of ownership. There are 3 types of coolants that most dealerships and private shops use and they are IAT (Inorganic Additive Technology), OAT (Organic Acid Technology) and then there’s HOAT (Hybrid Organic Acid Technology)

First, let talk about IAT coolants. IAT is Inorganic Additive Technology, which means it’s a conventional coolant. This forms a coating over the metal buy using inorganic corrosion inhibitors. The nitrites in IAT coolant can react to the aluminum in the newer engines causing ammonia formations. Those formation can cause pitting and corrosion. This type of coolant is normally the traditional green color and found to be used in older vehicles. It is not normally used in newer vehicles because of the fast depletion rate of its additives. Meaning, it must be changed more frequently, usually every two years or 24,000 miles, which ever my come first.

Next, is the OAT coolant. OAT is Organic Acid Technology, which is best known for protecting the metals electrochemically. This type of coolant is commonly required for vehicles manufactured by General Motors and a few other automakers. They are more compatible with today’s engines, which have more aluminum and less steel. OAT coolants are not compatible with other types of coolants. Orange, yellow, red and purple are the types of colors this coolant can come in and they are typically changed every five years or 50,000 miles, which is a lot longer than the traditional IAT coolant.

Finally, we have HOAT which is the Hybrid Organic Acid Technology. Most hybrid and electric vehicles have a separate cooling system for the battery pack. Only coolants that meet the automaker’s specifications should be used in these systems. HOAT comes in yellow or orange. If the color of the coolant is dyed orange this mean that it contains 10% recycled antifreeze. Now, if its yellow in color, then that would mean it does not contain recycled antifreeze. HOAT can typically last up to 30,000 miles before needing to be changed.

We hope these bullet points gave you some insight on the different types of coolants there are. Lynch Oil offers a full range of Shell coolants. Please check out our website at www.lynchoil.com for more information or call our office to Fueling Your Success.