Radiator question - which is more effective....

Please can anyone tell me which is more effective:

A STANDARD Elan S3 wide radiator OR a 3-CORE narrow Elan S4 radiator :question:

I have one of each and am about to replace the Dellorto engine in my +2 with a Stromberg one, and I know they run a bit hotter… :wink:

Thanks,
:arrow_right: Matthew

Hi, no question, an S3 one, I’ve had both, and the “wide” on eis much better. A friend of mine has a Spitfire, which uses both versions too, (with slightly adjusted inlet/outlet tubes,) and he’s just changed to a wide one, and he concurs.
Hope that helps
elans3

Thanks, elans3. That’s exactly what I wanted to hear… :smiley:

Matthew,

I changed to the wider “original” rad last year. Before I fitted it, I had it completely rebuilt (including an extra row of cores). Approx ?70.

Last Summer’s high temperatures were no problem. Well pleased !!

Regards,
Stuart.

For those who have access to Street Rodder magazine here in the states or otherwise, the June issue has lots of information on cooling as related to hotrods, all of which applies. The July issue continues the thread.

Rob Walker

Engine cooling at slow/stopped speeds is more a function of airflow through the radiator core than wider/deeper radiators.

Briefly put, if there is no airflow through the radiator, any cooling is by radiation, which is a cubic function of temperature and you do not want to see those types of temperatures.

Take off the engine driven fan (if still present) and install a modern temperature controlled radiator fan. That takes care of pushing through air. The The Workshop Manual on pages K9-K12 discusses this, as well as installing a blanking plate and cutting exhaust holes in the wheel arches.

Some people are installing electric water pumps (Davies-Craig) to ensure sufficient water circulation at low engne speeds.

Once the vehicle is moving, natural airflow generally takes care of cooling, with the proviso of proper exhausting of the hot air.

Once properly setup, there should be no problem with cooling.

David
1968 36/7988

Have to disagree there I’m afraid, David. On my sprint with an extra row in the radiator, and all the other mods - air filter to the side, extra holes etc, I can’t drive flat out at temperatures of ~27?C or more. And even driving slower, the engine temp is above the ideal 70?C. One useful tip is a hand switch parallel to the thermo switch, so that you can switch the electric fan(s) on when coming to the end of a fast run (say entering a town) - this keeps the temperature down, much better than waiting for the temp to rise high enough for the thermo switch to operate.
Gordon

I must be lucky, my road plus 2 with a small 3 row radiator runs happily in all conditions up to 40C plus at fast or slow speeds without problems. I do have a modern shrouded fan fitted which helps significantly compared to the orginal one at low speeds. The original smaller radiator was generally Ok up to about 40C in traffic with a ducted fan but became marginal at high speeds in very hot conditions

My Elan with the same radiator and 170hp gets marginal in the same conditions after 15 minutes of racing and I am considering going to a three row version of the older wide radiator despite the extra weight and drag, our race regulations dont allow modern light weight aluminium ones.

regards
Rohan

recently replaced my narrow 2 core radiator with a triumph wide 3 core in combination with the filler neck directly mounted above the thermostat.
( clive boy sells those) and the result is fantastic.
My car is a 69 plus tow stromberg.
The only alteration I still want to do is install a manual overriding switch so I can control the fan manually. I want to add that I was able to mount a modern kenlowe type fan behind the radiator although the cap between the fan and the waterpump pulley is very small.
cheers
Robin