Oil COOLER airflow (was: Re: Dyno result)

[Mathew]

No no no... I will still have it so that the air flows directly through the fins. Its just that at present its mounted directly in front of the radiator with the inlet and outlet hoses at either top corner. I was considering replacing the factory front nose cone with an aftermarket one with large vent holes on each side of the main opening. I would then relocate the oil cooler into one of these side openings and this may require the cooler to be twisted a bit so that the inlet and outlet come in from the side which will mean the fins that were sorta running horizontally will now be running vertically.

M@

[zorruno]

not 100% sure what you mean, but because heat rises, a radiator system works
best with fins sitting thus:
| | | | | | | | | (think of one of those home oil heaters)

less effective like
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and least effective like
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but the effectiveness becomes less of a worry when the car is moving and
therefore pumping air through it. Stationary heat soak won't really be a
problem with an oil cooler, as the radiator is more effective at dissipating
heat anyway, and that has 1 or 2 fans. If your radiator stopped working,
your car would stop, but if the oil cooler didn't work, the radiator will
take over anyway.

I've noticed many of the power boys in the US dispense with oil coolers, and
just increase the performance of their water cooling. This is 'cause
- water transfers heat MUCH better than oil
- oil coolers add complexity & weight
- oil coolers lower oil pressure
- oil coolers usually sit in front of the radiator and reduce the radiators
performance