Cooling a race engine

Ok I have a 499 Ford 15 to 1, half filled block.

In general I dont have a lot of heat issue if I run heads-up and make one pass in a hour. Car stays 180-200 mostly around 190. The issue is if I bracket race.

Does anyone run a radiator that keeps them from having ZERO cooling issues?

I guess you could run a giant radiator and a thermostat, but I never wanted to carry that much extra weight on the nose (the water is heavy, too). My stuff cools down pretty quick when I run the water pump and fan between rounds. Do you have electric pump & fan?

Yeah I run a Mezierre electric pump and a 22" x 13" Griffin radiator. Like I say Im ok until I get down in the quarters or so bracket racing. Hot hot does your engine get? Mine cools down quick between rounds but if I run much it will heat up quick. I run water and water wetter.

After a pass it's usually 200-205. Ten minutes of running the fan and pump, it's about 140. You have a good shroud? They really help.

proper shrouding is the key, on both sides of the radiator.

richter69 wrote:proper shrouding is the key, on both sides of the radiator.

What he said^^^^^.

Any 15.1 engine is gonna heatup quick unless its on Meth. If I leave the line at 170* it will be 200/205* w/gas when I get back to the trailer. Same round after round if its not round robin.

Don't have a shroud, and I have my fan on the outside

bbf-falcon wrote:Any 15.1 engine is gonna heatup quick unless its on Meth. If I leave the line at 170* it will be 200/205* w/gas when I get back to the trailer. Same round after round if its not round robin.

Mine is fine in the first couple of rounds buts wants to heat up after that.

Put a good full coverage shroud on that thing and be amazed. I have a Griifin Sciroocco style radiator and a full shroud with two 7" fans. Ya CAN'T burn me down at the tree.

I hope I am not hijacking the thread....

I have never run a filled block. How will filling to the bottom of the water pump holes change the cooling characteristics of my 13-1, gas, aluminum headed, 521 w/ electric pump and aluminum 23 x 15" radiator w/ electric fan? Maybe that's not the right way to ask the question. What limitations will I see?

460Dave wrote:I hope I am not hijacking the thread....

I have never run a filled block. How will filling to the bottom of the water pump holes change the cooling characteristics of my 13-1, gas, aluminum headed, 521 w/ electric pump and aluminum 23 x 15" radiator w/ electric fan? Maybe that's not the right way to ask the question. What limitations will I see?

I'm sure you will get a better answer but I did not see a lot of change from a regular block to a filled one.

maverick wrote:Put a good full coverage shroud on that thing and be amazed. I have a Griifin Sciroocco style radiator and a full shroud with two 7" fans. Ya CAN'T burn me down at the tree.

Radiator on inside or outside?

Looks like I need to make a purchase!

Or just fab one up with light gauge aluminum sheet.

You have a pm.

Thanks

[quote="Moodyblues"]

460Dave wrote:I hope I am not hijacking the thread....

I have never run a filled block. How will filling to the bottom of the water pump holes change the cooling characteristics of my 13-1, gas, aluminum headed, 521 w/ electric pump and aluminum 23 x 15" radiator w/ electric fan? Maybe that's not the right way to ask the question. What limitations will I see?

Interesting question and when I asked about it I was told not to half fill a block in a performance boat use situation. I was told the fill would hold heat once the block heated and would take longer to cool down. Remember a boat engine is under load all the time. Then it was mentioned the fill kept heat located at the lower end of the block and there is less water flowing in this area to cool the mains bearings. Yes the oil does the cooling, but the mains are subjected the most to heat in a filled block. Good to see this works well in a drag car.

Moodyblues wrote:
Radiator on inside or outside?

Fan in the inside pulling is more efficient, if that's what you mean.

I run a basic alum fox body radiator, a procomp pump, and 180 thermostat, and have absolutely no issues with my 466 10.7 to 1 iron headed motor staying cool at track or street.
Oh and a cheapie 40 dollar summit fan on a switch

460Dave wrote:I hope I am not hijacking the thread....

I have never run a filled block. How will filling to the bottom of the water pump holes change the cooling characteristics of my 13-1, gas, aluminum headed, 521 w/ electric pump and aluminum 23 x 15" radiator w/ electric fan? Maybe that's not the right way to ask the question. What limitations will I see?

Main difference is your oil temps will be higher. An engine oil cooler would be a good idea.

460Dave wrote:I hope I am not hijacking the thread....

I have never run a filled block. How will filling to the bottom of the water pump holes change the cooling characteristics of my 13-1, gas, aluminum headed, 521 w/ electric pump and aluminum 23 x 15" radiator w/ electric fan? Maybe that's not the right way to ask the question. What limitations will I see?

I have never filled a block for cooling purposes.The block is filled to the bottom of the waterpump holes to stabilize the cylinder walls on a somewhat thinner bore.

I understand the purpose of filling a block. I was wanting to know how that changed the cooling characteristics. How much of an increase in oil temp might be expected? My pan is not currently set up for an oil temp gauge. Should this be added? Will it be hot enough to pay attention to? How hot is "too" hot?

Run for a minute, shut down for a while...run for a minute, shut down for a while...From what I've seen, normal operating temperature for engine oil is higher than most drag racers can get it. I know if I got my oil too hot, I'd have been running way too long...and I'd long since have emptied the contents of my radiator onto the track.

Most racers don't have enough oil temp. Drag racing, its almost hard to build oil temp, unless you do a prolonged run in the pits.

To save on alcohol, I would slap two of my N2O bottle heaters on the oil pan and let it get up to temp.

If block is filled till water pump holoes, and your planning street time, increase tank volume in radiator by 1 gallon. You can have custom tanks built. Ron Davis racing radiators did one for my fox body mustang, same center two 3/4" flat tubes, but two slightly larger tanks. Made a world of differnce cooling 840hp NA on AZ streets. Lincolin Mark VIII electric fan and stock water pump. Used the March braket kit to hang all the 5.0 accessories and run a serpentine belt. Problem is, there are no 460 water pumps designed to spin that way. Be cool- cooler adapter and spinning it backwards didnt hurt much.

The Marine water pump can be spun either direction. Only problem is it is made for the cast iron front cover so you need to add some weld in one spot to make it seal to the regular aluminum front cover. For drag racing, yes oil temp likely not to be an issue. Becomes an issue on the street. Thinking about it a filled block may be better for drag racing as far as oil temp goes.

Steve