Thread: 4 core radiators.. Anyone got one?

Originally Posted by Ancient Mariner

4 core with dimpled tubes are well worth the money. Provides some redundancy anything more than 4 is a case of diminishing returns I also think
you will find copper is a better conductor . Nothing worse than sitting on the side of the road waiting for the engine to cool down

Copper and aluminium are both good heat conductors, but I think you'll find the aluminium ones are more efficient because the walls are thinner and the shape of the capilliaries inside provides more surface area. The same things that make them efficient is why they don't last i.e. thin walls.

I did intercooler calcs last weekend for 200kw on a 4BD1T. The cooling flow across the intercooler only gains about 6 degrees at 80km/h and full power.

Would 655mm wide x 610 high work out ?

AM

Who was it I was talking to? Someone is trying to organise a bulk buy on custom radiators.
What about a radiator with the intercooler mounted on the side, like a Disco 1?

Originally Posted by Mick_Marsh

What about a radiator with the intercooler mounted on the side, like a Disco 1?

Cuts the radiator size too much. Which is why landrover went to a full size radiator and intercooler in front on the TD5.

Originally Posted by Sitec

... He was saying that the cooling effect of a 4 core is not a great deal more than a 3 core, because when all 4 cores are in line, by the time the air gets to the 4th core its hot so does little cooling anyway...

He also brought up the fact that with a hot intercooler in front of the rad, its going to have its work cut out as well...

If the Intercooler is too much, I'll remove it! Time to suck it and see I guess!

Don't forget that the outside air is always significantly cooler than the water inside the radiator; so for that reason alone I disagree with AJ about the 4-core.

If you deem the intercooler is a problem where it is, don't forget that it can be mounted anywhere there is airflow and still perform its job. For example Hilux has it mounted horizontally on top of the engine; whilst this is no use in a 101, there must be somewhere else it could go. Mini's had the radiator facing the inner wheel arch

Cheers Charlie

Originally Posted by chazza

Mini's had the radiator facing the inner wheel arch

And that is a real pain when you have a cross wind coming from the LHS on a warm day.
Oh, that does happen often enough. Add to that the air pushed though the radiator came from a warm engine bay.

Originally Posted by chazza

Don't forget that the outside air is always significantly cooler than the water inside the radiator; so for that reason alone I disagree with AJ about the 4-core.

I expect he was saying, "don't expect a 4 core to cool 33% better than a 3 core due to the last row getting warmer air".

Originally Posted by chazza

If you deem the intercooler is a problem where it is, don't forget that it can be mounted anywhere there is airflow and still perform its job. For example Hilux has it mounted horizontally on top of the engine; whilst this is no use in a 101, there must be somewhere else it could go. Mini's had the radiator facing the inner wheel arch

Cheers Charlie

In front of the radiator is the single best place for an intercooler. If you do the maths on the volume of air moving through the intercooler/radiator and the heat lost by the intercooler it becomes clear that intercoolers don't heat air much at all.

To throw some rough numbers at it.
If you have an AC radiator out front, that will shed 5-10kw of heat at the most.
An intercooler for a 200kw 6BT Cummins has to shed ~24kw of heat at the most.
A radiator for a 200kw 6BT Cummins has to shed more than 200kw worth of heat.

The intercooler isn't the problem.