Jump to content
SAU Community

A Silly Radiator & Gearbox Question

Roy

By Roy,
in Engines & Forced Induction

 Share

Recommended Posts

TTT Grand Master

TTT

Posted
Posted

ROY - Have you considered an AUTO r32 radiator?

I believe they are twice the thickness of the manual ones.

when I had to change my one on my old R32 I'm pretty sure the one that was in there was the thickness of a finger and the auto one was double that.

GTR32 Rising Star

GTR32

Posted
Posted

Hi Roy;

Are you certain that it's radiator capacity - or lack thererof - that's making it marginal after fitting the new front bar, or that increased rad capacity will fix it ? It might be a weakness elsewhere that the new bar has exposed, and that another rad won't fix. I did a lot of experimentation with cooling when I had a Jensen Interceptor with a 440ci Chrysler big block, no room in the engine bay and absolutely crap aero around the engine, a real nightmare even with a huge radiator. Luckily I hooked up with a guy named John Bennet who you may have heard of - he was/is making Ecotech water pumps for chevs/fords etc n Melb. He proved to me using a perspex backed pump and electric motor that that original pumps were awful; they either cavitate most of the time or actually reverse flow. A lot of people payed mega $ for new radiators - one guy with an HQ ute and a BB chev had two rads and 4 thermo fans and it still boiled. New pump and no more prob. That said I think the Nissan has an OK pump but I'd suggest finding the weakest link in the cooling system first, before spending $$$ on a new rad.

Jensen owners were always getting bigger radiators in an effort to stop overheating and it did bugger all. The real problem with them was that the engine sits almost horizontal and the air in the system gets trapped in the block - instant boiling. I fixed mine by relocating the thermostat to the bottom radiator hose and using a de-aeration tank plumbed into an external thermostat bypass. And it would not overheat.

Sorry for the long post, just wanted to share my experience.

Cheers

DCIEVE Mentor

DCIEVE

Posted
Posted

Without increasing volume, the next area would be surface area and air flow through the core. Im assuming the manufacturers do a pretty good job with the core from the factory so any aftermarket radiator is going to give a marginal, at best, increase in surface area due to improved design etc.

If its only a small improvement you after then I would concentrate on improving ducting through the radiator and importantly getting the heated air away once its passed through.. ie a bonnet vent

Roy Grand Master

Roy

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Thats iteresting. I have read about the Davis Craig water pumps...but the expense have never really considered one.

The front bar has hekped out of sight with coolign though. After 3 laps of Sandown the water temps are about 2-3degrees cooler then after 2 laps with the std bar. But it would be nice to be able to punch our 4 laps and not have water temp get above 95deg C.

I have also thought about a Nismo thermostat...but not sure if its $100 pissed into the wind

Roy Grand Master

Roy

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Without increasing volume, the next area would be surface area and air flow through the core. Im assuming the manufacturers do a pretty good job with the core from the factory so any aftermarket radiator is going to give a marginal, at best, increase in surface area due to improved design etc.

If its only a small improvement you after then I would concentrate on improving ducting through the radiator and importantly getting the heated air away once its passed through.. ie a bonnet vent

Yeh, ducting is sorted. Any air goign through that bar opening goes through the intercooler 100% and the radiator wasnt too bad...but you are right a alloy sheet will make sure that the air doesnt duck out the sides...actualy...i think that will be enough as thats somethin i wanted to do about 2 yrs ago as a fiend had it all doen on his 200SX..but it completely slipped my mind :)

predator Grand Master

predator

Posted
Posted

do you have a GTR grille and bonnet yet Roy? while you may scoff at the idea of a non-slanty bonnet, it's for a valid reason on the GTR's..

and of course that 10kg that you actually save on the bonnet vs a possible couple of kg on a radiator..

Roy Grand Master

Roy

Posted
  • Author
Posted
do you have a GTR grille and bonnet yet Roy? while you may scoff at the idea of a non-slanty bonnet, it's for a valid reason on the GTR's..

and of course that 10kg that you actually save on the bonnet vs a possible couple of kg on a radiator..

Bonnet check...grille is just money i dont have and what, about 1kg. Thats the 3 pints i just drank:)

I have a tasty R32 badge to go where the grill normally goes...my car is goignt o look so tuff , just need to make sure it goes half as quick as it looks :)

predator Grand Master

predator

Posted
Posted

yeah, grille is for prettiness factor.. that nismo fifuser thing as well I've wondered about, but i think that has some tiny benefits as well in directing things down.

but on the 'acid-rain-marks-in-the-engine-bay o-meter' I noticed the GTR bonnet definitely allows that extra bit of airflow into the engine bay, and across the top of the radiator

GTR32 Rising Star

GTR32

Posted
Posted

My bad, I meant Ecotherm.

The Eco-Therm fluid management system was originally invented by Melbourne’s John Bennet, although various specialists including John Eleuteri from Guildford Radiators in WA have now picked up on the idea.

Eco-Therm sees the vehicle’s standard thermostat removed and placed in a directional flow control (DFC) unit complete with venturis.

During engine warm up, the coolant is simply by-passed through this DFC to another similar unit and then back to the engine.

At operating temperature however, the thermostat in the DFC opens. But instead of going straight to the radiator, the coolant goes first to a header tank where steam and bubbles are bled off.

The hot liquid is then transferred to the radiator, which can work at optimum efficiency because of the lack of conventional steam and bubbles.

Essentially, Eco-Therm reduces cavitation and hence makes a significant contribution to engine cooling. The system also requires modifications to the vehicle’s water pump impellors, in order to produce a quicker coolant flow.

R32 TT Mentor

R32 TT

Posted
Posted
I have one of those ghey bonnet lips, and boot lip...just need to get busy and do all the detail stuff on the car that will hopefully help it all work...for today anyway im keen to get the car sorted.

Heya Roy,

Just in case... have you looked at using plain Distilled water and Redline Water Wetting agent?

A bit of a read, but this white paper is interesting if you haven't already seen it.. (2nd link)

http://www.redlineoil.com.au/product-infor...asp#waterwetter

http://www.redlineoil.com.au/Uploads/Downl...0TR%2002_03.pdf

It might be enough to get you over the line keeping the same radiator?

dangerous_daveo Grand Master

dangerous_daveo

Posted
Posted

Roy, something you might not have thought of (tho I guess you have) is WHERE the intercooler is mounted. My mechanic has had a few people come in with the problem of the air goes thru the cooler, gets far to turbulent, and doesnt go thru the radiator effectively. All he did was move the cooler say an inch closer to the radiator and problem solved. No more over heating.

That or go to a V mount :P

Roy Grand Master

Roy

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Well im not sure if that theory makes sense. With regards to turbulent air...thats what you want. When you have turbulent air you get more effecient heat transfer...so eliminatign turbulent flow is actually a step backwards.

The problem would be if you have turbulent air and there is a means of the air going around rather then through the cooler. GTR32 touched on that with an earlier post , that it may be a good idea to make up some fibrelgass or alloy guides to stop the air goign round the raditator/intercooler. I have the top/bottom pretty well shielded up, but the sides between the radiator and intercooler can be improved on my car

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing


  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • BaronOBeefdip
      Baron's R34 GT-R build thread - car in Japan for 5 years -_-

      By BaronOBeefdip · Posted

      Back again. I returned to Japan in Jul/Aug to spend time with the car on my birthday and remind myself what all the sacrifice and compromise is for. It happened to line up with the monthly morning meet in Okutama, which I have been wanting to go to for a long time. It's a unique event at a unique spot with really rare, interesting, and quirky cars. It's where all the oldheads and OGs gather. The nighttime scene at DKF certainly has its place and should be experienced if you're into cars, but there's too much bad attention and negativity around it now. IMO the better time is Sunday morning at DKF or Okutama; it's more chill and relaxed. I'm glad I was finally able to go, but not sure it's worth the drive from all the way from Nagoya immediately the day before, unless I was already staying in Tokyo for the days right before the meet, because you have to wake up quite early to make it in time. Funnily enough though I didn't drive the car all that much this trip because it was just too damn hot. While there were zero issues and running temps were nominal and the A/C was strong, RBs already run crazy hot as it is. Sure, it took it all like a champ but something about driving these cars in the ridiculous heat/humidity bothers me and makes me feel like I'm asking too much of it. I'm just me being weird and treating the car like a living thing with feelings; I'm mechanically sympathetic to a fault. Instead I was mainly driving something else around - a KX4(silver) 2001 X-Trail GT, that I acquired in May. There's a few different flavors to choose from with Xs, but visually it's the Nissan version of the Honda CR-V. Mechanically it's a whole different story as this, being the top-trim GT, has an SR20VET mated to a four-speed auto and full-time AWD! It was a very affordable buy in exceptional condition inside and out, with very low mileage...only 48k kms. Most likely it was owned by an older person who kept it garaged and well-maintained, so I'm really happy with how it all worked out. It literally needs zero attention at the moment, albeit except for some minor visual touch-ups. I wanted something quirky, interesting, and practical and for sure it handily delivers on all three of those aspects. I was immediately able to utilize the cargo and passenger capacity to its full extent. It's a lot of fun to drive and is quite punchy through 1st and 2nd. It's very unassuming -in the twisty bits it's a lot more composed than one would think at a glance- and it'll be even better once I get better tires on it(yes, it's an SUV but still a little boat-y for my liking). So...now I have two golden-era Nissans in silver. One sports car and one that does everything else; the perfect two-car solution I think👍 The rest of the trip...I was able to turn my stressed brain off and enjoy it, although I didn't quite get to do as much as I thought. I did some interesting things, met some interesting people, and happened into some interesting situations however, that's all for another post though only if people really want to know. Project-wise, I went back to Mine's again to discuss more plans and am hoping to wrap that up real soon; keep watching this space if that interests you. Additionally, while working in the tormenting sweatbox that is the warehouse, I was able to organize most of the myriad of parts that my friend is storing for me along with the cars, and the 34 has a nice little spot carved out for it: And since it can get so stupid hot in there, that made it all the more easy -after I was standing there looking at the car and said 'f**k it'- to finally remove all the damn gauges that have mostly been an eyesore all this time. Huzzah. The heat basically makes the adhesive backing on the gauge mounts more pliable to work with, so it was far less stressful getting this done. I didn't fully clean it up or chase the wiring though; that will happen once I have the car in closer possession. Another major reason to remove all that stuff is to give people less reasons to get in my car and steal s**t while it's being exported/imported when/if the time comes, which leads us to my next point... ...and that is even though it's time in Japan is technically almost up since it's a November car and the X would be coming in March, I'm still not entirely sure where my life and career is headed; I don't really know what the future looks like and where I'm going to end up. I feel there's a great deal of uncertainty with me and as a result of that, it feels like I'm at a crossroads moreso now than any point in my life thus far and there are some choices I need to make. Yes, I've had some years to consider things and prepare myself, however too much has happened in that time to maintain confidence and everything feels so up in the air; tenuous one might say. Simply put, there's just too much nonsense going on right now from multiple vectors. Admittedly, I'm struggling to stay in the game and keep my eyes on the prize. So much so in fact, that very recently I came the closest I ever have before to calling it quits outright; selling everything and moving on and not looking back. The astute among you will pick up on key subtext within this paragraph. In the meantime I've still managed to slowly acquire some final bits for the car, but it feels nice knowing there's not much left to get and I'm almost across that finish line; I have almost everything I'll ever want for my interpretation and expression on what it is I think an R34 should be. 'til later.
    • Bwagz
      Engine model

      By Bwagz · Posted

      Thanks for that, hadn’t used my brain enough to think about that. 
    • MBS206
      R33 GTR running -9 with no tune

      By MBS206 · Posted

      Also playing with fire if they start to flow more air down low than what the stock twins can. It's not even up top you need to worry, it can be at 3000rpm and part throttle and it's getting way more flow than it should.
    • Piggaz
      Garrett G Series

      By Piggaz · Posted

      Any G40/1000 or G40/1250 results out there?  
    • joshuaho96
      R33 GTR running -9 with no tune

      By joshuaho96 · Posted

      You still want a proper tune on the stock ECU though. Stock tune + stock ECU with GT-SS/-9s is probably playing with fire if you're running more than stock airflow/power.
×
×
  • Create New...