Water is coolant but is not antifreeze.
Why no silicates? You need the silicates to "scrub" your cooling system. Don't tell me about water pump o-rings. Cars use the silicates. When the dealer changed my pump under warranty they drained the green stuff and put in new green stuff.
And products like Water Wetter, etc will not make your engine run cooler. There is a little thing called a thermostat which wil keep the engine above the temp of the stat.
Are we really gonna go down this road again?
The silicates down't "scrub" the coolant system. The silicates in fresh anti-freeze are liquids, not solids. What they do is form a protective coating on the metal to protect it from corrosion. If the anti-freeze is not changed regularly, the silicates become depleted from the mix. They eventually release from the metal and form crystals which circulate and cut seals in the system. Also, silicates aren't the best for alluminum radiaters and engines.
You can't go by the color. It's just a dye put in the mix so you can see leaks. Green happens to be used the most. It has nothing to do with the life or contents of the base liguids.
Water Wetter, ect. improves heat transfer so the coolant can remove more heat from the engine metal and give it up easier.
A simple google search is all I did to find these answers.