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240 3 row radiator?

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Marvelous3

Who engineered this?
Joined
Nov 12, 2002
Location
Atlanta
Does anyone still make one of these? I called IPD today to ask them since they used to and they had nothing for me. 1800radiator displays one but they're NLA when I called to order it. Anyone have a supplier or source for one?
 
JY and then get it cleaned and resealed locally for $60-&100.
 
So no one makes a 3 row radiator for our cars anymore?

Doesn't do you any good anyway on a stock brick with AC AND an intercooler (except you can leak longer) abbreviated Northstar style

Water pump can only pump so much so fast

The problem is crummy air flow on these cars for what they're asked to do
 
All else being equal having a larger heatsink with the same airflow gives more cooling.
So yes, it does "do good". Ignoring the fact he can't get one...
 
All else being equal having a larger heatsink with the same airflow gives more cooling.
So yes, it does "do good". Ignoring the fact he can't get one...

I understand, but you can install a ONE ACRE radiator and the coolant FLOW will be the same, and may even be slowed.

The only benefit a larger radiator might give you would require removing all the crap in front of it in order to take any meaningful advantage of the few degrees improvement the 3 cores might provide (we're talking STOCK installs here). Not to mention the fact that the thicker the core(s) the more restricted the flow through the system by definition. Taxing the limits as designed MIGHT even net you an increase in operating temperature under the right circumstances.

And as I have posted elsewhere; you screw up the flow rate which is more important. Makes little difference that the larger radiator has the ability to keep things cooler if no adjustment is made to improve air, and to some degree coolant, FLOW. When you install the 3x larger radiator you SLOW things down.

Please note; I have never said it was a bad idea or that it theoretically could not help. What I DID say several times was that the improvement realized on a STOCK automobile will be negligible and the cost versus performance return isn't justified in my mind, if implemented with no other adjustments to the system.

There are better places to invest that time and money to improve engine protection and cooling. For starters, just change out the radiator every 5 years on a daily driver. CHEAP insurance. Next, improvements in the fan)s) system come to mind. Cooling systems are all about MOVING bad BTUs from one place to another.

The all metal rads that everyone seems to believe in are a risk too in my opinion (nowadays, didn't used to be that way). UNLESS you have one fabricated at a radiator shop you know and trust so you know what the ingredients are. Some of the crap they use in the 3rd world doesn't mix well with today's coolants or automobiles for that matter. Some of the coolant out there doesn't seem to like metal period. They can actually contribute to other problems like heater core, head gasket and water valve failures. POSSIBLE and not worth the risk to my mind. That's the greatest "pro" for the modern plastic/aluminum types and I am NOT a fan of them in general (no pun intended). The other "pro" about them is they are cheap, readily available so can now be treated as a maintenance item without breaking the bank. Didn't use to be that way. The price of copper is also a factor in all of this unfortunately.

My opinion based on physics and having installed many many radiators.

Marshall
 
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I understand, but you can install a ONE ACRE radiator and the coolant FLOW will be the same, and may even be slowed.

The only benefit a larger radiator might give you would require removing all the crap in front of it in order to take any meaningful advantage of the few degrees improvement the 3 cores might provide (we're talking STOCK installs here). Not to mention the fact that the thicker the core(s) the more restricted the flow through the system by definition. Taxing the limits as designed MIGHT even net you an increase in operating temperature under the right circumstances.

And as I have posted elsewhere; you screw up the flow rate which is more important. Makes little difference that the larger radiator has the ability to keep things cooler if no adjustment is made to improve air, and to some degree coolant, FLOW. When you install the 3x larger radiator you SLOW things down.

Please note; I have never said it was a bad idea or that it theoretically could not help. What I DID say several times was that the improvement realized on a STOCK automobile will be negligible and the cost versus performance return isn't justified in my mind, if implemented with no other adjustments to the system.

There are better places to invest that time and money to improve engine protection and cooling. For starters, just change out the radiator every 5 years on a daily driver. CHEAP insurance. Next, improvements in the fan)s) system come to mind. Cooling systems are all about MOVING bad BTUs from one place to another.

The all metal rads that everyone seems to believe in are a risk too in my opinion (nowadays, didn't used to be that way). UNLESS you have one fabricated at a radiator shop you know and trust so you know what the ingredients are. Some of the crap they use in the 3rd world doesn't mix well with today's coolants or automobiles for that matter. Some of the coolant out there doesn't seem to like metal period. They can actually contribute to other problems like heater core, head gasket and water valve failures. POSSIBLE and not worth the risk to my mind. That's the greatest "pro" for the modern plastic/aluminum types and I am NOT a fan of them in general (no pun intended). The other "pro" about them is they are cheap, readily available so can now be treated as a maintenance item without breaking the bank. Didn't use to be that way. The price of copper is also a factor in all of this unfortunately.

My opinion based on physics and having installed many many radiators.

Marshall

No, your opinion is not based on sound physics principles. Do a little heat transfer work and you might understand why. A 3 row radiator results in much more surface area. Try plugging more surface area into any heat transfer equation you can find that relate to heat exchangers and your result is going to be more heat transferred. So, bottom line is, you are dead wrong. I don't have time to go into this any further.
 
No, your opinion is not based on sound physics principles. Do a little heat transfer work and you might understand why. A 3 row radiator results in much more surface area. Try plugging more surface area into any heat transfer equation you can find that relate to heat exchangers and your result is going to be more heat transferred. So, bottom line is, you are dead wrong. I don't have time to go into this any further.

You continue to focus ONLY on the surface area aspect and ignoring the FLOW component of the equation. The BTU transfer only can take place in an improvement sense if the heated medium (in this case coolant) is MOVING through the core as well. Not to mention that one of the cores of a (3) flue are sandwiched in the middle therefore decreasing the amount of air available to the rearmost element even more so.........

Believe what you want to believe.

I am not "dead wrong" about anything. Show me some measurements and date regarding "bricks" and the great improvement simply adding core flues brings.. More data, less wank.

Marshall
 
You are completely incorrect in your assertions about heat transfer in heat exchangers. Don't try to defend your assertions, because you can't. Please stop propagating BS, it's not fair to the newbies.
 
A 3 row radiator results in much more surface area.


You are correct on that point. I've only acknowledged that about 10 times. Show me that the stock water pump and related plumbing can keep up and make any meaningful use of the increased system volume, and that the AIR FLOW through the core is not compromised further yet by introducing MORE drag to the equation and I'll be a believer.

Marshall
 
Never trust a guy in a radiator shop unless he's over 50, and has the grey hairs to prove it.

That said Alouis Radiator is a great old school shop.

Walked in with an 1800 radiator and they said 'That's an old Volvo radiator huh?'

Did a great job on it for reasonable too...
 
You are correct on that point. I've only acknowledged that about 10 times. Show me that the stock water pump and related plumbing can keep up and make any meaningful use of the increased system volume, and that the AIR FLOW through the core is not compromised further yet by introducing MORE drag to the equation and I'll be a believer.

Marshall

:bs:

The thickness of a radiator isn't that much of an issue.

Air gaps at the sides, between it and the condenser, and in the header panel that allow the air to circumvent it are however a cause of great losses.
 
You are completely incorrect in your assertions about heat transfer in heat exchangers. Don't try to defend your assertions, because you can't. Please stop propagating BS, it's not fair to the newbies.

I eagerly await you proving me wrong.

I will have learned something new today.

As for the "newbies" I'll stick with trying whenever I can to assist with proven practice

Marshall
 
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