Cooling systems

[HQ355]

Alloy radiators are cheaper as well that's the main reason own went that way

[MAGP]

Aluminum isn't more efficient in cooling. Fact is copper has a transfer rate almost double that of aluminum, but the problem with copper radiators is not the copper itself.

We are talking about alloy radiators compared to copper radiators right? https://www.pwr.com.au/products/radiators/radiators-faq

As for PC not being the same? how do you cal that judgment if you don't run water on yours?

How many horsepower does an Intel i7 4770k put out? How many TDP does a Holden V* produce? Horses for courses. I don't run water cooling on my PCs for the same reason I don't buy fishing lures from fishing shops. Lures are designed to catch fishermen, water cooling PCs is designed to catch noobs who want bling on their PC. 99% of the time all it does is increase the household electricity bill. If you want maximum cooling performance on a PC fit a Peltier/TEC.

Like I said in my EDIT I was going to pull out of this conversation. I mentioned reverse cooling Holden V8s yet radiators is what has been concentrated on, with a little bit of thermostat, now we are discussing PCs and how water cooling a PC is the bees knees.

[immortality]

What my aim was or is, is to set up a more efficient cooling system (it's a misnomer really) because we are actually trying to maintain or regulate the engine temp and keep it as stable as possible. That is my only goal here.

With the conventional cooling system the water entering the engine can be significantly colder than the water leaving the engine which (in theory) should be at thermostat temp. I would hazard to guess that even a reverse flow cooling system as you raised would still have similar issues?

By moving the thermostat in our V6 system to the lower hose in theory (if I get it right) the temps between the water entry and exit should be greatly reduced and lead to much more stable temperatures. What I'm been told elsewhere is that to help achieve that goal I need good flow of coolant through the engine. With a much more stable and consistent temp throughout the engine as well as various driving conditions tuning the engine should be easier/better etc etc etc.

[MAGP]

I agree there would probably be similar issues but my main line of thought is the heads would get cooler water rather than warmer (or hotter) water as they do in a conventional system (even one with the thermostat in the bottom hose).

You actually hit the nail on the head to. A cars cooling system is a controlled environment. There is a thermostat (a controlled restriction) to get the coolant to operating temp. The radiator is to keep it at operating temp and to enable the thermostat to do its work without being forced to fully close or open during normal operation. For years auto manufacturers provided "heavy duty" cooling system options which in most cases was just an extra core on the radiator to allow more flow when the vehicle was being used in "extreme" or outside the ordinary scope of operation. The standard radiator was a controlled restriction for normal usage.

[Charlescrown]

That statement is 100% correct the thermostat flow and radiator must work together. The thermostat must never get to fully open because after that the engine temp can only rise. The strange thing I have never gone into is the opening temp for a thermostat in the lower hose is around the same as the one used by others with the thermostat in the outlet. One example is the Toyota using a 85 deg thermostat in the lower hose. does this mean a higher overall operating temperature?

[immortality]

What I'm been told is that if the cooling system is set up properly with a thermostat in the lower hose there should be about a 10° difference between the bottom and top. So in theory, if I use a 180° thermostat in the lower hose I should end up roughly 190-195° in the top which is right where Holden/GM originally wanted the thing to run?

[Charlescrown]

Sounds reasonable. I have seen them fitted to early cars and they work fine. The logic of ensuring the temp is stable by controlling the flow depending on the temp going in seems better than only seeing whats at the top of the engine.

[vlad01]

Alloy radiators are cheaper as well that's the main reason own went that way

And lighter too!

[psyolent]

Alloy radiators are cheaper as well

this one.
why do you think car manufacturers do this maximise profit. copper costs a bloody fortune. VSH had it nailed looking at the manufacture of the copper rad ; the different techniques to seal the thing via brazing etc really lessen the copper capability. there was a superb thread on aussie v8 which i read up on when i fixed the overheating problems on the hilux. that thing has an aftermarket alloy radiator in it from a vn v8.

reverse impeller ;


edelbrock seem to be the only ones that make them. and they come at a cost. i think an EWP would be cheaper.

then theres the radiator cores - the 'triple' and 'dual' flow cores which have the end tanks welded with plates in them to force the water thru the radiator in different stages, theory is keep the water in the radiator longer to make it cooler before it re-enters the engine. i think the aussie desert coolers or someone like that are all over that. but come with respective price tags, which, IMHO is completely unwarranted in this ripoff country.

[psyolent]

oh and PC cooling. theres no server infrastructure out there that uses it. well not in the intel spec there might be in some of the high end P series or Tandem / mainframe. like has been mentioned its more wank factor than anything. yes the benefits are there in some applications (overclocking) but you're introducing water around electronics which, tends to lead to sparks and smoke escaping from wires when things go bad.