[Land-speed] Cooling water velocity, was Electric water pumps

[DougOdom]

Tom Bryant wrote:

>OK an engineer stepped up to the plate. As I said, I was using a 20 gallon
>water tank. Maybe in my case it was cooling too well, therefore the
>restriction was needed.
>
>I still want a thermostat. Heat is HP! There is certainly is no advantage to
>run an engine under 190 degrees. Strangely, it took many years for the
>automotive engineers to realize this. When I was growing up, the CW was to
>run a 160 thermostat in the summer and a 180 in the winter. (The heater
>wouldn't work with a 160) However, we had a tractor that ran a 180
>thermostat year round. Now everything automotive is running about 210
>degrees F.
>
>One pound of pressure raises the boiling point of water about 3 degrees. A
>20 lb cap will result in a boiling point over 270 degrees and if you are
>running coolant (50/50 antifreeze/water) even higher. I know that there is a
>limit to how hot you can run safely, but some of our best performance has
>been with coolant temps at 250+ degrees.
>
>Tom, Redding CA - #216 D/FCC
>
>  
>
This topic reminds me of the first time I ran into this. Shelby was 
running the Mustang at the Trans-am races at Riverside raceway in 
Calif.  It was the middle of summer and very hot. The motors were over 
heating bad until we installed a blanking plate with a 5/8 hole in the 
water outlet. That cured the problem with over heating. Over the years I 
have found that around 5/8 to 3/4 inch works the best in roundy round 
cars. I have heard many different reasons why. All I know is what works 
I go with because I have enough other problems to keep me busy.   Doug 
Odom in big ditch