Radiator design

[eff eff]

I would like to run the top and bottom hoses to the drivers side of the rad. Would a vertical rad with in and out on the same side work?

[Johno]

The radiator being set at an angle is purely a function of the require cooling capacity and the shape of the nose.

A vertical radiator would need to be of racing quality, and very well made to work as it's size I imagine would be much smaller.

How come you want both outlets on the drivers side ?

[eff eff]

Water in and out on the same side of the engine, could do it with hoses using the standard rad, just wanted to avoid a long top hose

[Johno]

Purely for aesthetic reasons or is there an eficiency thing here I'm missing ?

[spend]

Would water be forced through the matrix? I think you will need a different design of side tanks to achieve what you want. Can't see convection being in the same league as the flow characteristics, if you compare how easy it is to go down the tank compared to winding through the matrix

Dave

[350Matt]

You split the end tank halfway along

Matt

[eff eff]

350Matt said:

You split the end tank halfway along

Matt

How does that work?

[eff eff]

Johno said:

Purely for aesthetic reasons or is there an eficiency thing here I'm missing ?

I'm planning an engine change and there's a lot to fit in the front of the engine so I'm trying to plan a neat solution.

[GreenV8S]

Yes. In fact vertical drop is preferable in many ways.

[eff eff]

So top and bottom tanks standard width rad. Does gravity effect the flow and cooling efficiency, do you think I would need a restrictor in the bottom outlet to keep the water in the rad for longer?

[spend]

If you restrict flow surely it just gets hotter in the engine?

Dave

[GreenV8S]

eff eff said:

Does gravity effect the flow and cooling efficiency,

Gravity (buoyancy, actually) make a big difference in horizontal flow rads because it determines how the water flow is distributed across the matrix under low flow conditions.

eff eff said:

do you think I would need a restrictor in the bottom outlet to keep the water in the rad for longer?

No. You want as little restriction as possible. And most importantly you want to ensure that you have an effective vent and degas system.

[eff eff]

spend said:

If you restrict flow surely it just gets hotter in the engine?

Dave

That's what I thought too, but during my research I saw restrictors used to slow the flow to keep the water in the rad longer to aid cooling. So I'm tying to understand all the variables.

[eff eff]

No. You want as little restriction as possible. And most importantly you want to ensure that you have an effective vent and degas system.
[/quote]

Can you expand on that, does that mean they are more prone to air locks?

[GreenV8S]

eff eff said:

Can you expand on that, does that mean they are more prone to air locks?

All systems are prone to airlocks, unless you design in an effective vent and degas system.