Engine Performance This section is for discussion on all engine building related questions.
Sponsored by:
Sponsored by: KPower

A very different coolant reroute

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old 10-23-2009, 07:14 PM
  #1  
Elite Member
Thread Starter
iTrader: (2)
 
miata2fast's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Dover, FL
Posts: 3,143
Total Cats: 174
Default A very different coolant reroute

I know you guys are sick to death of reroutes, but I have gone a very different "route" in cooling the engine.

In order to maximize horsepower from my N/A, I built a remote electric water pump for my car. Some engine builders reverse the flow of water so that water enters the cylinder head first before going into the block. I am going the nitrous route, and have 12:1 compression currently.

I have reversed the flow of water so that it does enter the cylinder head first.
Water comes out of the top of the radiator and enters the front of the cylinder head. I did this project about 1 1/2 years ago, before I even heard of reroutes. I just put the car back together, and it runs cool. Maybe too cool. To try to keep the temps as close to ideal as possible and to try to get a correct reading, I pump some water to the back of the cylinder head, but it is water that has not gone into the radiator. There is some cooling (of water going to the back) from the water pump, because it is remote. I put a mechanical temp gauge at the back of the cyl head, and it reads about 160 degrees all the time. At the track (drag racing), it gets a little warmer. Rarely above 180.

My question is this. Instead of water running down the radiator, and coming out the bottom, the water enters the bottom and comes out the top. Am I looking for trouble? Is pumping warm water to the back a recipie for disaster? Do you think I am getting a dangerously false reading?

I will try to get pics soon. Your comments.
miata2fast is offline  
Old 10-23-2009, 07:53 PM
  #2  
Elite Member
iTrader: (13)
 
cueball1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Tigard, Oregon
Posts: 3,875
Total Cats: 2
Default

The trouble is you are fighting the natural flow of heating and cooling water. Didn't you do any labs in school with cold and hot water? Water warming rises, cooling sinks. May work but it likely decreases the efficiency of the radiators cooling effects. How much will take someone smarter than me to answer.
cueball1 is offline  
Old 10-23-2009, 08:12 PM
  #3  
Elite Member
iTrader: (1)
 
NA6C-Guy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Birmingham Alabama
Posts: 7,930
Total Cats: 45
Default

Don't fight nature, it knows what its doing.
NA6C-Guy is offline  
Old 10-23-2009, 08:28 PM
  #4  
Elite Member
Thread Starter
iTrader: (2)
 
miata2fast's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Dover, FL
Posts: 3,143
Total Cats: 174
Default

Originally Posted by cueball1
The trouble is you are fighting the natural flow of heating and cooling water. Didn't you do any labs in school with cold and hot water? Water warming rises, cooling sinks. May work but it likely decreases the efficiency of the radiators cooling effects. How much will take someone smarter than me to answer.
Remember, I am showing very cool temps on the gauge. Also, the pump I am using is a universal that can go on any motor up to the mega cubic inch big blocks. That thing will move some water!

Also, the water enters the bottom. Its natural flow (because it is hot) will go along with the flow of the water pump. Will it not? Am I sounding retarded?
miata2fast is offline  
Old 10-23-2009, 10:02 PM
  #5  
Elite Member
iTrader: (7)
 
SKMetalworks's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Renton Washington
Posts: 1,731
Total Cats: 4
Default

Originally Posted by miata2fast
Remember, I am showing very cool temps on the gauge. Also, the pump I am using is a universal that can go on any motor up to the mega cubic inch big blocks. That thing will move some water!

Also, the water enters the bottom. Its natural flow (because it is hot) will go along with the flow of the water pump. Will it not? Am I sounding retarded?

Did you know in Austrailia the toilet flushes the opposite way ?
SKMetalworks is offline  
Old 10-23-2009, 11:35 PM
  #6  
Junior Member
iTrader: (1)
 
stranges12712's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Niagara Falls, ON
Posts: 431
Total Cats: 2
Default

Originally Posted by sbkcocker499
Did you know in Austrailia the toilet flushes the opposite way ?
yup learned that on the simpsons
stranges12712 is offline  
Old 10-23-2009, 11:42 PM
  #7  
Senior Member
iTrader: (7)
 
albumleaf's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 1,151
Total Cats: 92
Default

Originally Posted by cueball1
The trouble is you are fighting the natural flow of heating and cooling water. Didn't you do any labs in school with cold and hot water? Water warming rises, cooling sinks. May work but it likely decreases the efficiency of the radiators cooling effects. How much will take someone smarter than me to answer.
I highly doubt this is going to make much of a difference, if anything, it might be more effective in this case.

I don't know exactly what the inside of the cooling section looks like in a BP, but ASSUMING that convection has an noticeable effect, the boundary layer at the cylinder wall might create some extra turbulence increasing conduction.

I'd have to know more about the system to make a simple model, but if he's getting the temps that he wants, I don't see an issue with it.
albumleaf is offline  
Old 10-24-2009, 12:05 AM
  #8  
Former Vendor
iTrader: (31)
 
Savington's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Sunnyvale, CA
Posts: 15,442
Total Cats: 2,099
Default

My worry would be the fact that even a slight loss in coolant in your system will cause the pump to run dry and wreak havoc on all sorts of stuff. Either pull coolant from the lower port, or switch to a cross-flow radiator.

Reverse flow systems interest me greatly. I've considered playing with one on my car. Could you post some photos of your setup?
Savington is offline  
Old 10-24-2009, 11:34 AM
  #9  
Junior Member
 
eyesoreracing's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 109
Total Cats: 16
Default

You live your life 1/4 mile at a time, no? No worries, then. By the time anything has a chance to get warm, you're done already.

Convection only has an impact after the engine is shut down and is heat soaking. In this case, water might revert to its original flow direction. Not a big deal, I think.

And I don't know about Australian toilets, but I just got back from New Zealand and they flush straight down. No swirling at all!

-Dave
eyesoreracing is offline  
Old 10-24-2009, 10:32 PM
  #10  
Elite Member
Thread Starter
iTrader: (2)
 
miata2fast's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Dover, FL
Posts: 3,143
Total Cats: 174
Default

Originally Posted by Savington
My worry would be the fact that even a slight loss in coolant in your system will cause the pump to run dry and wreak havoc on all sorts of stuff. Either pull coolant from the lower port, or switch to a cross-flow radiator.

Reverse flow systems interest me greatly. I've considered playing with one on my car. Could you post some photos of your setup?
That is one hell of a good point. I have had some problems when water was a little low. I can not believe that never occured to me.

I will get pics soon.
miata2fast is offline  
Old 10-26-2009, 11:28 PM
  #11  
Elite Member
Thread Starter
iTrader: (2)
 
miata2fast's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Dover, FL
Posts: 3,143
Total Cats: 174
Default

Here are the pics I promised.
Attached Thumbnails A very different coolant reroute-img_4885.jpg   A very different coolant reroute-img_4888.jpg   A very different coolant reroute-img_4892.jpg   A very different coolant reroute-img_4914.jpg   A very different coolant reroute-img_4951.jpg  

miata2fast is offline  
Related Topics
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
slomiata
MEGAsquirt
5
10-07-2015 01:11 PM
FrankB
Race Prep
10
10-02-2015 09:00 PM
shooterschmidty
Engine Performance
8
09-30-2015 10:28 PM
Voltwings
WTB
5
09-11-2015 08:23 AM



Quick Reply: A very different coolant reroute



All times are GMT -4. The time now is 09:38 PM.