Miata cooling system thread
#361
A long time ago I did this, but I stuck the foam to the car, not the radiator since as you say it just melts off the radiator from temps. That actually lasted for a while. I used medium density foam from Lowes. It got damaged from installing/removing the radiator a lot so I removed it. This thread reminded me I need to redo it. Or use plastic sheets, that would be even better.
#364
Try going to Mcmaster:
McMaster-Carr
I bet the high temperature aluminum foil tape (325 F) will work, but the extreme temp stuff (600F) should definately work.
The fiberglass reinforced foil tape seems like it would be good for sealing as well
McMaster-Carr
I bet the high temperature aluminum foil tape (325 F) will work, but the extreme temp stuff (600F) should definately work.
The fiberglass reinforced foil tape seems like it would be good for sealing as well
Last edited by Dustin1824; 06-08-2015 at 12:57 PM.
#365
Dustin1824 is right on. I've had some aluminum tape on my radiator for about 6 months now and it still sticks. Surface area is important. If you take your time and get a nice smooth even tape line, it will work pretty good. I didn't even use anything fancy, just the cheap home depot stuff.
#366
Try going to Mcmaster:
McMaster-Carr
I bet the high temperature aluminum foil tape (325 F) will work, but the extreme temp stuff (600F) should definately work.
The fiberglass reinforced foil tape seems like it would be good for sealing as well
McMaster-Carr
I bet the high temperature aluminum foil tape (325 F) will work, but the extreme temp stuff (600F) should definately work.
The fiberglass reinforced foil tape seems like it would be good for sealing as well
wholly crap, apply while it is 200? Flame suit required?
#368
Sealing up the top of the radiator made a big difference for my MSM. Does anyone have any tricks for getting the sides of the radiator sealed up better? Such a pain to get to. I am thinking about cutting some sort of plastic to slide down the sides since metal tape won't stay put in there.
top cover out of your choice of plastic, but cut it out with "wings" to fold over the sides and cover up those two holes in the upper rad area near the headlights, if that makes sense.
#369
When I did a image search for "slotted aluminum radiator end tank" I did not get anything exciting. But if you could mill in or weld on a flange the length of the radiator and then just fabricate the cover you could just trim as needed.
Last edited by tazswing; 06-08-2015 at 03:54 PM.
#373
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I sealed my radiator with Gorilla Tape across the top gap, 1/2 lowes/home depot foam on the sides, and the bottom used vinyl tub/shower liner sealed with aluminum hvac tape.
The aluminum hvac tape would get gummy by the end of a driving season but never detached. The gorilla tape never detached or got gummy.
The caveat is that I'm in the Northwest, my hottest track days were probably 85 ambient last year. In desert heat my solutions may have melted.
The aluminum hvac tape would get gummy by the end of a driving season but never detached. The gorilla tape never detached or got gummy.
The caveat is that I'm in the Northwest, my hottest track days were probably 85 ambient last year. In desert heat my solutions may have melted.
#376
Actual running temp is a fraction of the difference between the temp of the engine (which should stay the same) and the ambient. What the fraction is depends on the car and the cooling efficiency.
So say my engine is at 200 deg, the ambient at 100 deg then the coolant will equalise at a point say 1/4 down that line. ie 175 deg. If the engine is at 200 deg and the ambient is at 80 deg then the coolant will be around 170 deg.
So the relationship is linear, but a 20 degree drop in ambient won't bring down the running temp by 20 degree. It will be some ratio of that at a max of 1/2.
Of course in actuality it's way more complex with engine head load fluctuating but the general physics is the same.
So say my engine is at 200 deg, the ambient at 100 deg then the coolant will equalise at a point say 1/4 down that line. ie 175 deg. If the engine is at 200 deg and the ambient is at 80 deg then the coolant will be around 170 deg.
So the relationship is linear, but a 20 degree drop in ambient won't bring down the running temp by 20 degree. It will be some ratio of that at a max of 1/2.
Of course in actuality it's way more complex with engine head load fluctuating but the general physics is the same.
#377
In industry we correlate ambient to top tank temperatures at a 1:1 relation for coolant package size considerations with all other conditions being equal at ambients above 70 degrees.
Aka a 1 degree rise in ambient relates to a 1 degree rise in coolant temps.
Below 70 degrees the correlation becomes less linear
Aka a 1 degree rise in ambient relates to a 1 degree rise in coolant temps.
Below 70 degrees the correlation becomes less linear
#378
To add another data point, we ran a stock plastic end tank automatic radiator fully ducted from an airdam with a reroute and blocked open thermostat on a stock horsepower racecar for 14 hours this weekend.
Coolant temps never rose above 190 F on a 85 F ambient day.
That's about as hot as we will see here in the Midwest so we'll be putting a thermostat in now that I have a feel for how much overhead cooling capacity we have in the system. I would like to see temps in the 195-205 range on the stock ECM
Coolant temps never rose above 190 F on a 85 F ambient day.
That's about as hot as we will see here in the Midwest so we'll be putting a thermostat in now that I have a feel for how much overhead cooling capacity we have in the system. I would like to see temps in the 195-205 range on the stock ECM