Racing radiator, what's your opinion?
 

I need a better radiator for my FC3, its an '88 GTU n/a that I take on the track. I'm currently looking into a double pass aluminum from Howe Racing. If you race, what do you run, how does it work for you, etc? What are your thoughts on double passes vs. single?

AWR, and Mazda Comp have very good set-ups fpr ~500.00 they are bolt in, and as large as you can use without mods. They are good for ~500hp IMHO. I run a custom Griffin, with an AST. It works great. I would also do all the cooling mods, search my name, I have written up all the mods before. Later, Carl(also try "in2twins", my other screen name

AWR, and Mazda Comp have very good set-ups fpr ~500.00 they are bolt in, and as large as you can use without mods. They are good for ~500hp IMHO. I run a custom Griffin, with an AST. It works great. I would also do all the cooling mods, search my name, I have written up all the mods before. Later, Carl(also try "in2twins", my other screen name)

sorry a bit off topic but it should help the thread maker as well:

what is an AST? and how does it work/what does it do?

An AST is an air seperation system, when you heat water, it breaks down(evaporates), and gives off gases, primarily oxygen, but also hydrogen(It Bubbles). what an AST does, is it works off thye high side of yoyur coolant system eliminating the gases, and keeping the maximum level of coolant possible in the system. The net temp. reduction varies, but it is good for 7-10* in my system. Carl
You can also go to a higher PSI radiator cap to delay the temp at which the water turns to gas, and vapor.

disclaimer, I am not a chemist, this is my "layperson" understanding of what is happening with an AST. ;)

i think thats right, water is h20, when you heat it the o seperates (dunno where the h2 goes?) and forms bubbles.

you can move the boiling point to a higher temp by keeping the system under pressure

the ast, i think, takes the bubbles and lets them leave the cooling system, or maybe lets the h2 and the o recombine in a cooler spot? anyways lots of cars have ast's, most of the current mazdas, vw's, the 787b etc etc

i'm running a k2rd radiator, double pass, and its the biggest thing that will fin in the stock opening

The AWR piece is nice if you are using all the OEM equipment(ECU and sensors). any one of many custom radiator companies can build a radiator to fit. I used one of the stock car guys and they built it to my specs for $350.

Sounds good, thanks for the help... Howe Racing's allows you to specify the dimensions and you can tell them where to add the mounts so I still may use them. I'm going to look up the AWR also. I'm glad to hear that I'm on the right track with the double pass. Where do you get an AST (or is it an additive)?

I used a AFCO unit, $220 for the radiator and about $80 in connection parts. It is a nice unit if you do not have the stock sensors to deal with. It is a double pass radiator.
I just finished up the install this weekend, so I am not sure how it will perform, but looks alone it should be fine.

I have plans for mine, call me, and I will share, It is a monster, plumbed for an AST. Carl 707-696-2705

Carl, thanks for the help... I'm probably going to end up buying the one from Neofreak.

Glad that worked out. Later, Carl

For the track folks: When dealing with cooling liquids please don't forget about cooling your oil because your oil cools your rotors.

Havre Fun ; )
David

Yep, already have that covered with the oil... just need some lines, but they're easy to find.

Recently learned: H20 seperates into 2H2 (two molecules of bonded hydrogen atoms) and O2 (one molecule of two bonded oxygen atoms) when more than one H2O molecule is present.

I dunno if heating will just separate H20, but when water gases it's just water vapor.  I remember cause I got an F back in grade school claiming it does turn into H2 and O2 gases. :p:

Water turns into water vapor at 1ATM of pressure (i.e. sea level) at 212F or 100C.


-Ted

It seperates into H2 and O2 without the presence of other elements.

IIRC, it requires electrolysis to seperate into those. It does turn into vapor when heated to 100 degrees C, though, like you said.