A Silly Radiator & Gearbox Question

[Craved]

what about getting a cross flow radiator made up with the std thickness. same weight but cross flows cool much better than std type.

[TTT]

ROY - Have you considered an AUTO r32 radiator?

I believe they are twice the thickness of the manual ones.

when I had to change my one on my old R32 I'm pretty sure the one that was in there was the thickness of a finger and the auto one was double that.

[predator]

.. not sure on that..

my auto radiator isn't that thick.. although it could be a s2 r32 thing maybe..

[GTR32]

Hi Roy;

Are you certain that it's radiator capacity - or lack thererof - that's making it marginal after fitting the new front bar, or that increased rad capacity will fix it ? It might be a weakness elsewhere that the new bar has exposed, and that another rad won't fix. I did a lot of experimentation with cooling when I had a Jensen Interceptor with a 440ci Chrysler big block, no room in the engine bay and absolutely crap aero around the engine, a real nightmare even with a huge radiator. Luckily I hooked up with a guy named John Bennet who you may have heard of - he was/is making Ecotech water pumps for chevs/fords etc n Melb. He proved to me using a perspex backed pump and electric motor that that original pumps were awful; they either cavitate most of the time or actually reverse flow. A lot of people payed mega $ for new radiators - one guy with an HQ ute and a BB chev had two rads and 4 thermo fans and it still boiled. New pump and no more prob. That said I think the Nissan has an OK pump but I'd suggest finding the weakest link in the cooling system first, before spending $$$ on a new rad.

Jensen owners were always getting bigger radiators in an effort to stop overheating and it did bugger all. The real problem with them was that the engine sits almost horizontal and the air in the system gets trapped in the block - instant boiling. I fixed mine by relocating the thermostat to the bottom radiator hose and using a de-aeration tank plumbed into an external thermostat bypass. And it would not overheat.

Sorry for the long post, just wanted to share my experience.

Cheers

[DCIEVE]

Without increasing volume, the next area would be surface area and air flow through the core. Im assuming the manufacturers do a pretty good job with the core from the factory so any aftermarket radiator is going to give a marginal, at best, increase in surface area due to improved design etc.

If its only a small improvement you after then I would concentrate on improving ducting through the radiator and importantly getting the heated air away once its passed through.. ie a bonnet vent

[Roy]

Thats iteresting. I have read about the Davis Craig water pumps...but the expense have never really considered one.

The front bar has hekped out of sight with coolign though. After 3 laps of Sandown the water temps are about 2-3degrees cooler then after 2 laps with the std bar. But it would be nice to be able to punch our 4 laps and not have water temp get above 95deg C.

I have also thought about a Nismo thermostat...but not sure if its $100 pissed into the wind

[Roy]

Without increasing volume, the next area would be surface area and air flow through the core. Im assuming the manufacturers do a pretty good job with the core from the factory so any aftermarket radiator is going to give a marginal, at best, increase in surface area due to improved design etc.

If its only a small improvement you after then I would concentrate on improving ducting through the radiator and importantly getting the heated air away once its passed through.. ie a bonnet vent

Yeh, ducting is sorted. Any air goign through that bar opening goes through the intercooler 100% and the radiator wasnt too bad...but you are right a alloy sheet will make sure that the air doesnt duck out the sides...actualy...i think that will be enough as thats somethin i wanted to do about 2 yrs ago as a fiend had it all doen on his 200SX..but it completely slipped my mind

[predator]

do you have a GTR grille and bonnet yet Roy? while you may scoff at the idea of a non-slanty bonnet, it's for a valid reason on the GTR's..

and of course that 10kg that you actually save on the bonnet vs a possible couple of kg on a radiator..

[Roy]

do you have a GTR grille and bonnet yet Roy? while you may scoff at the idea of a non-slanty bonnet, it's for a valid reason on the GTR's..

and of course that 10kg that you actually save on the bonnet vs a possible couple of kg on a radiator..

Bonnet check...grille is just money i dont have and what, about 1kg. Thats the 3 pints i just drank:)

I have a tasty R32 badge to go where the grill normally goes...my car is goignt o look so tuff , just need to make sure it goes half as quick as it looks

[predator]

yeah, grille is for prettiness factor.. that nismo fifuser thing as well I've wondered about, but i think that has some tiny benefits as well in directing things down.

but on the 'acid-rain-marks-in-the-engine-bay o-meter' I noticed the GTR bonnet definitely allows that extra bit of airflow into the engine bay, and across the top of the radiator

[Roy]

I have one of those ghey bonnet lips, and boot lip...just need to get busy and do all the detail stuff on the car that will hopefully help it all work...for today anyway im keen to get the car sorted.

[GTR32]

My bad, I meant Ecotherm.

The Eco-Therm fluid management system was originally invented by Melbourne’s John Bennet, although various specialists including John Eleuteri from Guildford Radiators in WA have now picked up on the idea.

Eco-Therm sees the vehicle’s standard thermostat removed and placed in a directional flow control (DFC) unit complete with venturis.

During engine warm up, the coolant is simply by-passed through this DFC to another similar unit and then back to the engine.

At operating temperature however, the thermostat in the DFC opens. But instead of going straight to the radiator, the coolant goes first to a header tank where steam and bubbles are bled off.

The hot liquid is then transferred to the radiator, which can work at optimum efficiency because of the lack of conventional steam and bubbles.

Essentially, Eco-Therm reduces cavitation and hence makes a significant contribution to engine cooling. The system also requires modifications to the vehicle’s water pump impellors, in order to produce a quicker coolant flow.

[ferni]

got my race radiator yesterday for my R33 GTR, weighs in at about 5KG empty....

[R32 TT]

I have one of those ghey bonnet lips, and boot lip...just need to get busy and do all the detail stuff on the car that will hopefully help it all work...for today anyway im keen to get the car sorted.

Heya Roy,

Just in case... have you looked at using plain Distilled water and Redline Water Wetting agent?

A bit of a read, but this white paper is interesting if you haven't already seen it.. (2nd link)

http://www.redlineoil.com.au/product-infor...asp#waterwetter

http://www.redlineoil.com.au/Uploads/Downl...0TR%2002_03.pdf

It might be enough to get you over the line keeping the same radiator?

[Roy]

Heard about it...Martini also make one....may give it a try

[dangerous_daveo]

Roy, something you might not have thought of (tho I guess you have) is WHERE the intercooler is mounted. My mechanic has had a few people come in with the problem of the air goes thru the cooler, gets far to turbulent, and doesnt go thru the radiator effectively. All he did was move the cooler say an inch closer to the radiator and problem solved. No more over heating.

That or go to a V mount

[Roy]

Well im not sure if that theory makes sense. With regards to turbulent air...thats what you want. When you have turbulent air you get more effecient heat transfer...so eliminatign turbulent flow is actually a step backwards.

The problem would be if you have turbulent air and there is a means of the air going around rather then through the cooler. GTR32 touched on that with an earlier post , that it may be a good idea to make up some fibrelgass or alloy guides to stop the air goign round the raditator/intercooler. I have the top/bottom pretty well shielded up, but the sides between the radiator and intercooler can be improved on my car