aluminuim rad

[sapper]

Bought an ali rad off e-bay and fitted it today, must say impressed, running temps dropped by 10-15 degrees.
Worth a look if your in the market for a new rad.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/181227109760?ssPageName=...

[phazed]

Strangely I was reliably informed last week that the ally rad that I have fitted to my chim is from a Cerbera!

[TVR Beaver]

what did you have before?... you can't better a brass core for thermal conductivity size for size

Edited by TVR Beaver on Monday 14th October 08:12

[phazed]

TVR Beaver said:

what did you have before?... you can't brass core for thermal conductivity size for size

Who and what John?

[TVR Beaver]

Amended to what I meant to put Monday morning or an age thing.. not sure which

[pmobbs]

Thermal conductivity of aluminium and brass can be found here http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/thermal-conducti... and relative densities here http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/metal-alloys-den... Put together the weight and the thermal conductivities and it is clear why aluminium is chosen for race rads. - much lighter and better conductivity. The downsides are aluminium is more easily damaged and there is the possibility of over cooling, moving the car out of its sweet spot where running temperature is concerned. That said, I have fitted Ali rads for touring in Southern France and Spain where both cars struggled to stay cool in mid-summer. Now they never even threaten to overheat. Good move!

[TVR Beaver]

looking at your first table, Ali comes in at 205 where as copper is 401.. I'm not sure of the exact alloy of the copper / brass but most rad builders say the Copper / brass core units are better than ali size for size....
Just look in your kitchen.. copper pans are preferd to Ali pans

[Bassfiend229hp]

TVR Beaver said:

looking at your first table, Ali comes in at 205 where as copper is 401.. I'm not sure of the exact alloy of the copper / brass but most rad builders say the Copper / brass core units are better than ali size for size....
Just look in your kitchen.. copper pans are preferd to Ali pans

...but isn't that as much because aluminium pans are considered to impart a taste to food? (And most everyday pans are aluminium rather than copper for cost reasons.)

Copper is regarded as more effective than aluminium for cooling when building heatsinks for CPUs but brass never gets a look in.

Phil

[pmobbs]

A copper radiator would be better than an ali one but would, if I've done the sums right, be heavier for the same cooling power and probably more expensive. This is probably the definitive answer.....http://www.caparadiator.com/aluminumvscopper.html.