newthings
06/10/2003, 11:04 AM
I haven't been burned and don't want to be, by being out on a 100+ day, crawling along with little air moving over the radiator and integral transmission cooler. I have seen the temp gauge move toward the high side in moderate conditions and wonder how much cooling headspace I have. High temps challenge lubricants and seals. Less is better.
Talking with the Alpine guys a while back, they said a radiator with more tube rows is not good, since the air friction through the thicker core of fins slows down the heat transfer process and is less efficient than a thin stock core. A three tube core has more surface area and liquid capacity, but poorer transfer. Some gain, but not the best bang for the buck. They indicated the removal of the transmission heat load with an external cooler is the best idea.
If removing the oil cooling load from the stock radiator is good, how about having the whole radiator area devoted to engine cooling - as in a new radiator with no trans cooling built in? Aluminum or copper? I like copper and brass for solder reparability and less fragility. (Ours is plastic and aluminum) OK, but where to put the oil cooler with fan?
I toyed with the idea of using that across the hood bug deflector as a model for housing a narrow oil radiator. I also thought about using an extruded aluminum finned heat sink plate with oil passages, filling the hood insert area with the fins in the wind. Both of these ideas would look pretty dramatic. Maybe later.
I have a Calmini air filter and with no stock airbox, I have some room for a cooler. The old intake hole in he fender could be used to exit hot air. Hmm.
So off I went with my ideas to the radiator shop and became convinced the best thing was to go for the stock thickness radiator in copper with the stock electric fan on the passenger half of the radiator and to add an oil cooler with fan on the driver side of the radiator. The A/C condenser is in the stock position and the clutch fan is kept. I never liked the idea of hose clamps on the oil lines so I am going for an AN type flair fittings to the oil cooler.
This may end up costing about $800. Equal amounts for parts and labor. As in most mods, much is learned from the prototype. I have asked the shop to consider what a kit might look like, since others might have an interest
Any comments or ideas before I commit?
Roy
Talking with the Alpine guys a while back, they said a radiator with more tube rows is not good, since the air friction through the thicker core of fins slows down the heat transfer process and is less efficient than a thin stock core. A three tube core has more surface area and liquid capacity, but poorer transfer. Some gain, but not the best bang for the buck. They indicated the removal of the transmission heat load with an external cooler is the best idea.
If removing the oil cooling load from the stock radiator is good, how about having the whole radiator area devoted to engine cooling - as in a new radiator with no trans cooling built in? Aluminum or copper? I like copper and brass for solder reparability and less fragility. (Ours is plastic and aluminum) OK, but where to put the oil cooler with fan?
I toyed with the idea of using that across the hood bug deflector as a model for housing a narrow oil radiator. I also thought about using an extruded aluminum finned heat sink plate with oil passages, filling the hood insert area with the fins in the wind. Both of these ideas would look pretty dramatic. Maybe later.
I have a Calmini air filter and with no stock airbox, I have some room for a cooler. The old intake hole in he fender could be used to exit hot air. Hmm.
So off I went with my ideas to the radiator shop and became convinced the best thing was to go for the stock thickness radiator in copper with the stock electric fan on the passenger half of the radiator and to add an oil cooler with fan on the driver side of the radiator. The A/C condenser is in the stock position and the clutch fan is kept. I never liked the idea of hose clamps on the oil lines so I am going for an AN type flair fittings to the oil cooler.
This may end up costing about $800. Equal amounts for parts and labor. As in most mods, much is learned from the prototype. I have asked the shop to consider what a kit might look like, since others might have an interest
Any comments or ideas before I commit?
Roy