Radiators and Intercoolers

NewyorkKopter · 02-01-2006, 04:18 PM

Hey, I'm kind of confused about how radiators and intercoolers work, so is this how they work?-see pics

Radiator

my question to you is that does the heated air need a clean exit and entry in order for the radiator to work efficiently? like the Koenigsegg has the huge holes at the sides of the front bumper in front of the front wheels

Intercoolers

again my question is that does the heated air need a unrestricted entry and exit for the intercooler to work up to its max efficiency?

beyondloadedSE · 02-01-2006, 04:33 PM

Yes, it would make sense. Common sense tells ya that.

If you want a radiator or intercooler to work to its full potential than yes, you want a clear path. Thats sometimes why cars dont use front mount intercoolers is because they can cause overheating problems due to the intercooler blocking the air path of the radiator.

NewyorkKopter · 02-01-2006, 05:49 PM

o, thats true. so if you need a clean entry and exit for a good intercooler and radiator setup, how come the F40 only has an entry opening?

You know how the F50 has those huge nostrils in the front hood for the radiator, the CC has holes at the sides of the bumper for the radiator, I dont see any kind of opening on the F40. Where does the F40's hot radiator air exit from?

I see the entry for the radiator, which is the center opening in the front bumper, but I don't see any openings for the exiting hot air. Nothing at the sides of the front bumper , nothing on the hood except those two naca ducts that definetly don't function as an exit for the air from the radiator. So yea where does it take its leave from?

abaird · 02-01-2006, 06:16 PM

Wouldn't it just exit underneath the car?

NewyorkKopter · 02-01-2006, 06:34 PM

i doubt it because the exiting air would be pushing against the ground, basically causing lift. so where's the exit?

abaird · 02-01-2006, 07:00 PM

Wether you want to believe it or not, some air is going to go under the car. An air dam creates turbulance, this creates a low pressure system under the car which aids in cooling. It is the same on a ford taurus as on your f40.

NewyorkKopter · 02-01-2006, 07:53 PM

wait so any air dam would suck out the hot air from the front??

even an air dam like this?

but how would an air dam pull out the hot air if there's no opening on the floor of the car? because I don't think that cars like the F40, Enzo, Saleen S7, Carrera GT, all have openings under the car for the air dam to pull the hot air from their front mount radiators out.

Also isn't an air dam the same thing as a front splitter?

beyondloadedSE · 02-01-2006, 08:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NewyorkKopter

o, thats true. so if you need a clean entry and exit for a good intercooler and radiator setup, how come the F40 only has an entry opening?

You know how the F50 has those huge nostrils in the front hood for the radiator, the CC has holes at the sides of the bumper for the radiator, I dont see any kind of opening on the F40. Where does the F40's hot radiator air exit from?

i would guess from underneath the car as well...you have to remember, the exiting fluid velocity is going to be be significantly less than the oncoming fluid velocity after it hits the radiator due to friction.

A front splitter is used for downforce. I have a front splitter on my contour as you can see in my sig pic.

abaird · 02-01-2006, 08:35 PM

I don't know what a front splitter is, I will agree it is for downforce, but all cars have some sort of air dam and shrowding around the radiator or under the front of the car, that is there for a reason, if it is removed, overheating can become an issue because air isn't directed in the right area. No matter what, air will go under a car and like I said a low pressure area...blah blah blah. I will bet there are some sort of openings under every car you mentioned. Car companies spend a lot of time and money on this stuff so it may be something very subtle that the average onlooker will never see. If that makes any sense.

TheSilentChamber · 02-01-2006, 09:52 PM

Front air dam essentually has nothing to do with cooling. You can add one or take it off with no effect. The air flowing though a typical radiatior just dumps into the engine bay ultimatly ending up on the ground. On high end sports cars the engine is usually not located in the front, and the front end of the car is very low, so the radiators are usually slanted with the incoming air being flowed though the radiator and the outgoing air dumping under the car.

drdisque · 02-01-2006, 10:53 PM

ya, it doesn't need a whole lot of air flowing over it to work, its more of a heat sink, the air will never warm up the the temperature of the coolant rendering the radiator useless.

What you're also forgetting is that most of these cars have electric fans and theromostats so that whenever the coolant gets too hot, the fans turn on forcing air over it.

NewyorkKopter · 02-02-2006, 06:02 AM

ok so would it work like this?

and then with an air dam or front splitter

TheSilentChamber · 02-02-2006, 07:33 PM

The radiators are usually sloped back insted of forward.

NewyorkKopter · 02-03-2006, 03:08 PM

Really? I could've sworn it was forward

jk, but seriously, most supercars that I know of have it sloping forward, most probably to give it a ram air effect

TheSilentChamber · 02-03-2006, 04:43 PM

If the world were based off things "you know of" it would be a sad pathetic (probably incompetent) place.

POST REPLY TO THIS THREAD