Scirocco radiator blues

[EfiniX]

Well, I think my Scirocco radiator experiment is coming to a close. During normal driving, I'm right between 196*-206*. Run it even moderately and it warms up. Of course it does. The thing is that with normal driving after some spirited shenanigans, it just doesn't cool back down unless I'm coming down a hill.

I figure smaller radiator = less efficiency = no getting the job done. I know if I put a stock radiator back in, I'm going to be denting it with my turbo like my OEM, so I'd like to avoid that. even something moderately slimmer would be nice.

So what are my options?

 

[thomcasey]

How is your flow t the radiator? My son stole a brand new Scirocco radiator from me for his VR4. He has been running it ever since without issue. Has no problem with +90° days, he daily drives it.

 

[MellowVR4]

Quoting EfiniX:
Well, I think my Scirocco radiator experiment is coming to a close. During normal driving, I'm right between 196*-206*. Run it even moderately and it warms up. Of course it does. The thing is that with normal driving after some spirited shenanigans, it just doesn't cool back down unless I'm coming down a hill.

I figure smaller radiator = less efficiency = no getting the job done. I know if I put a stock radiator back in, I'm going to be denting it with my turbo like my OEM, so I'd like to avoid that. even something moderately slimmer would be nice.

So what are my options?



I think the problem is that the intercooler blocks a lot of the air flow to these smaller radiators. I have the same problem sometimes in the summer with my scirocco radiator. I thought if you use a 1g dsm radiator it'll sit a little farther back for better room.

click

 

[slugsgomoo]

do you still have a/c? any ducting? what kind of mix are you running for coolant?

For my scirocco, I have an issue sitting in traffic, but i have an obnoxiously oversized oil cooler that I'm going to move. That said, even with that, I'm able to run ~180-190 even doing pulls with mine so I think there might be more to it.

I know one of the things I'm going to do for my car is blankets for the turbine and manifold, as that seems to make a huge difference. On 362 when Ryan had that, with the blanket on the FP manifold, you could touch the top of the manifold (well, the blanket) after pulling into your driveway when the car was fully at temp.

frankly the scirocco should be more efficient since it's a twin pass, but it does seem extra sensitive to ducting & airflow.

 

[diambo4life]

Radiator fan. Which one are you using? Makes the biggest difference in the world. If it is any type of "slim fan" - I don't care whether it is rated at 10,000,000CFM, that is your problem.

-Mike.

 

[EfiniX]

Quoting MellowVR4:


I think the problem is that the intercooler blocks a lot of the air flow to these smaller radiators. I have the same problem sometimes in the summer with my scirocco radiator. I thought if you use a 1g dsm radiator it'll sit a little farther back for better room.

click



The T3/T04 wasn't making direct contact with the radiator, but the amount of clearance was so tiny that any work always led to dents, many predating my ownership.

 

[EfiniX]

Quoting diambo4life:
Radiator fan. Which one are you using? Makes the biggest difference in the world. If it is any type of "slim fan" - I don't care whether it is rated at 10,000,000CFM, that is your problem.

-Mike.



I've got a thin off-brand high-flow puller, and one of the stock fans pushing.

Recommendation?

 

[slugsgomoo]

Quoting diambo4life:
Radiator fan. Which one are you using? Makes the biggest difference in the world. If it is any type of "slim fan" - I don't care whether it is rated at 10,000,000CFM, that is your problem.

-Mike.



/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wtc.gif wish I could fit something other than a slim fan /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wtc.gif

 

[WaRrIoRs16]

Quoting EfiniX:
Quoting diambo4life:
Radiator fan. Which one are you using? Makes the biggest difference in the world. If it is any type of "slim fan" - I don't care whether it is rated at 10,000,000CFM, that is your problem.

-Mike.



I've got a thin off-brand high-flow puller, and one of the stock fans pushing.

Recommendation?



Recommendation

I had a slimfan with no ducting or shrouding and the car would over heat. I've since gotten that cooling fan/shroud and now the temps are within spec. I don't remember the exact temps I was seeing, but they were well within the ideal range. However its uncommon to have 80+ degree weather in my area.

 

[diambo4life]

Quoting EfiniX:
Quoting diambo4life:
Radiator fan. Which one are you using? Makes the biggest difference in the world. If it is any type of "slim fan" - I don't care whether it is rated at 10,000,000CFM, that is your problem.

-Mike.



I've got a thin off-brand high-flow puller, and one of the stock fans pushing.

Recommendation?





This is what I did bro. Made a big difference.
click

 

[transparentdsm]

i was looking for this post to add it, i forgot the title of it.

 

[GSTwithPSI]

Quoting diambo4life:
Quoting EfiniX:
Quoting diambo4life:
Radiator fan. Which one are you using? Makes the biggest difference in the world. If it is any type of "slim fan" - I don't care whether it is rated at 10,000,000CFM, that is your problem.

-Mike.



I've got a thin off-brand high-flow puller, and one of the stock fans pushing.

Recommendation?





This is what I did bro. Made a big difference.
click



What Mike said. I've dicked with a million fan setups, and from my experience the off-brand cheap fans are garbage. That goes for Mishimoto's slim fan line as well. They are no better than the Ebay junk you get for cheaper.

I'm running a SPAL fan just like Mike linked to, and it works amazing: click

If your car is running hot at cruise, a better fan won't help, though. Is that the case? Is there currently any shrouding on the back side of your radiator?

 

[EfiniX]

Thanks, GSTwPSI

The radiator has a custom shroud covering the backside. The car temp is right at 200 during cruise, and gets predictably hot going up long hills. The real issue is that it doesn't cool when I'm driving in traffic, so fans would seem to be a good place to start.

click

The fan panel has since been removed, so the back-side is mostly open-air. This was done to address overheating, and it did work. And to be fair, the car doesn't get so hot that it throws a CEL, but 216 is toasty and shouldn't be what I'm seeing just sitting in traffic after driving hard.

Thanks for the link!

 

[GSTwithPSI]

I'd remove any shrouding that's present. Unless it's designed to promote airflow through the core (Like the shroud WaRrIoRs16 linked to) it's hurting your radiator's ability to cool efficiently. I think we talked about this a while back, and it didn't go over well. Bottom line, shrouding has the potential to hurt cooling if not applied in a certain fashion.

Second, ditch the crap fan and get a quality SPAL of FAL fan. You'll never look back, I guarantee it. Pair a good SPAL fan with the stock pusher and you should be good.

If I kick on my A/C at idle and let it run, my 2 fans being constantly on will pull the coolant temp all the way down to what the T-stat is rated at (180*).

I've worked through my fair share of cooling issues, and I feel your pain. I don't think I've seen 216* since I worked out my own cooling issues, so running hot can definitely be corrected if you take the right measures.

 

[EfiniX]

That's another interesting data point. I'm running a 190* t-stat. I actually have a 180* on hand from before my last round of cooling work. I changed it because I thought 196*-200* was my happy place. Should I go cooler?

 

[diambo4life]

Stock temperature is fine. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif