In a message dated 1/24/2000 3:50:44 AM Eastern Standard Time,
larryhoy@prodigy.net writes:
> According to the manufacturers aluminum radiators will cool
> about 20% better than "standard" radiators. There are two
> reasons for this. One, aluminum conducts heat better than
> traditional radiator materials. Two, because the tubes are
> flat in aluminum radiators they have more contact with the
> cooling fins than the round tubes found in traditional
> radiators.
Larry,
Thanks for the info, but I'm going to have to disagree with you just a bit.
However, rather than just coming out and contradicting you and making a fool
of myself, I will give you a reference source (I don't know ANYTHING
personally, but I have sources that do <g>):
http://griffinrad.com/whyaluminum.htm. Your first statement above is correct,
but your statement about aluminum being the better conductor isn't. Your last
statement is "sorta" correct. It's correct in that a flat tube will indeed
make better contact with the cooling fins, but copper/brass tubes are also
flat. There are several reasons why aluminum radiators will cool better than
a copper/brass radiator in a given application, and they are all explained in
the above referenced site.
For my TR6 V8 conversion (alas, still very much under construction), I first
had a thick core copper/brass radiator custom made at a local radiator shop
(for a very small price, BTW), but it weighed a ton! I chose that route to
avoid cutting the frame to make room for a larger radiator. When I saw how
much it weighed, and the fact that it was a thick core, I decided to go ahead
and cut the frame and use an aluminum radiator with a larger surface area and
a thick core. I bought a Griffen radiator made for a Mustang 302, which
weighed a whopping 15 pounds less than the copper/brass radiator it replaced,
even though it's larger. 15 pounds hanging out at the very front of the car
can make a difference!
I also have some info on cooling concerns on my engine swap website, at:
http://members.aol.com/danmas/design.htm. Scroll down to the "cooling"
section.
Cheers,
Dan
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