v8 cooling

[TLCHopII]

Not to hijack;
What is the short and technical reasons a cross flow radiator is more desirable than a down flow?
It seems that at a glance, water will seek it's own level, therefor, they would be equal provided that fin count, tube size & count, materials used and outlet fittings are the same.
thank you in advance for filling this void in my knowledge.

 

[Michael Hanson]

Downey what are the specs on your rad?Better warranty?Thicker alum?More tubes? I dont mind paying for a better product if its scientifically verifiable. Thanks, Mike

 

[67azcruizr]

Maf's aluminum radiator's, if I'm not mistaken are a custom made FJ40 radiator from RON DAVIS Ron Davis aluminum radiators for racing, offroad, performance street car, and other custom applications. My first two radiators from MAF actually had RON DAVIS spray painted on the core. All of them are cross flow and have cooled V-8's (both carbed and FI's) for me here in AZ very well. Mechanical fans seem to cool a little bit better. Oh yea, and shrouds are exremely important.

 

[76 PTO]

Really appreciate all the advise

 

[terrx]

I ordered a "custom" radiator from Howe. They have a table of standard "custom" sizes, so after a lot of measuring on a frame with body & 1" lift on it (no motor) I found one that fit side-to-side between the headlights and top to bottom from frame to hood. I got standard chevy inlet/outlets, except the lower/outlet I had them clock it at about 7 o'clock and angled slightly to better align with the water pump. From time I ordered it to delivery was only a few days. Very surprising coming from the opposite coast. The down side is fabbing a bracket and shroud (2 weekends). Good side is $220 and it runs 180-190, from Rubicon to death valley and everywhere in between. Quality seems good. TIG welded, etc. A friend dropped in the same one in his TPI 383 FJ40 (heavy rig - 8K pounds) that a $500 Advance Adapters AL rad couldn't keep cool and he's been happy too. I went for name brand. Howe, Ron Davis, Griffin are probably all good. I can't imagine these guys could still be in business if they were putting out junk. Don't know about the others but the guys on the phone at Howe seemed like seasoned pros.

 

[alex e]

I went Downey aluminum, just ask Jim why.

 

[Downey]

Not to hijack;
What is the short and technical reasons a cross flow radiator is more desirable than a down flow?
It seems that at a glance, water will seek it's own level, therefor, they would be equal provided that fin count, tube size & count, materials used and outlet fittings are the same.
thank you in advance for filling this void in my knowledge.

I asked our Radiator manufacturer the same question many moons ago, can't remember the technical answer but it had to do with steam (which is much hotter than water)??? Possibly more steam trapped in an upper tank on a down-flow---not getting cooled by flowing through the fins????? Perhaps somebody who knows more about radiator science than I can chime in here.

 

[Downey]

Downey what are the specs on your rad?Better warranty?Thicker alum?More tubes? I dont mind paying for a better product if its scientifically verifiable. Thanks, Mike

Not higher quality than anything else on the planet, just all the right stuff in the right places. Our FJ40 Radiator bolts into the stock U-shaped housing, is cross-flow the width of the stock Radiator, not as tall as the stock Radiator (which is a positive for Saginaw Steering clearance), is the identical core used for 600 h.p. IROC cars, bla, bla, bla. The main features are:
(1) mounting already included---no brainer.
(2) correct size hose fitting for old school, LT-1, LS-1, etc.
(3) auto tranny cooler built-in.
(4) temp sender bung built-in (for elec. fan).
(5) steam port built-in at no charge (if needed).
(6) 16 different FJ40/60 part numbers.

 

[terrx]

Not sure but I believe the benefit of cross flow is the cap is on the cooler side of the core, allowing a higher coolant pressure to be maintained on the inlet side & motor, which translates to higher coolant temp before boiling, which results in more efficient heat transfer. Or something like that.

 

[TLCHopII]

Thanks for the input!
Steam could form a "bubble" and possibly restrict flow to some of the tubes there by reducing the overall cooling efficiency.

The cap on the "cool" side vs. "hot" could/should(?) be able to be offset by using a slightly higher temp cap again provided the cooling system capacities are matched?

Shoots time to let my fingers do the walking. This has got me thinking about why my SBC cruiser runs hotter on the freeway than wheeling or in bumper to bumper traffic.

Thanks again. Will post a sep. thread if I find anything out worth reporting.

 

[Rice]

Thanks for the input!

Shoots time to let my fingers do the walking. This has got me thinking about why my SBC cruiser runs hotter on the freeway than wheeling or in bumper to bumper traffic.

Thanks again. Will post a sep. thread if I find anything out worth reporting.

Running hot only on freeway usually points to undersized (or restricted) radiator.

 

[Michael Hanson]

Were any of my question addressed?