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There are many philosophies on how
to properly cool Corvette engines. From electric blower fans to water additives, people
will try just about anything to keep that temperature gauge down. But many Corvette owners
overlook the obvious, a good radiator.
Let’s start with something as
basic as the thermostat. A thermostat is supposed to modulate, just like the thermostat
in your house turns the furnace on and off. When the coolant reaches the thermostat setting
it opens and lets flow go through the radiator. The radiator, if capable, will drop the
temperature down to a point the thermostat modulates. This sounds pretty simple but this
doesn’t always happen.
In many cases, the thermostat opens
and the radiator isn’t effective enough to lower the temperature. So it goes 30-40
degrees higher than the thermostat. You can’t solve this
problem with blower fans, high-octane booster, or an $8 bottle
of special water.
Depending on what year Corvette,
the problem can vary, but the solution is always the same. Aluminum radiators can solve
your overheating problem. Why are aluminum radiators so much better?
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Look at the cut away
view of a typical four-core brass/copper (Fig. 1) radiator. The
area “a” indicates
where the tube is in contact with the fin. This is the only area that provides heat dissipation.
The area “b” is dead space and does not provide any
cooling.
Fig. 1 Typical (4) four tube brass/copper
design
The trick to better cooling is wider
tubes. This increases the “tube to fin” contact area, which determines the radiator
efficiency. A typical copper radiator uses 3/8” wide tubes (Fig. 1) while the aluminum
radiators (Fig. 2) use tubes from 1” to 1 1/4” wide. When a radiator is designed
with wide tubes, the tubing wall thickness must be increased to prevent the tube from
expanding or a term known as “ballooning”.
Fig. 2 Typical aluminum tube design
Designing a brass/copper radiator
with wide tubes is not practical because the radiators could weigh as much as sixty pounds.
The lighter weight aluminum can be designed with a heavier wall thickness with very little
effect on weight. Several major companies including Delphi, Visteon, Griffin, and many
others have adopted this theory and no longer make any brass/copper radiators.
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Almost every racecar today is currently
using an aluminum radiator because of the benefits described above.
The chart below illustrates the test
results when comparing two equal size radiators.
As you can see, the brass radiator was rated almost 30% below the factory design.
If your Corvette was originally equipped
with an aluminum radiator, then it must stay that way to function
properly. If the original factory radiator was brass & copper
then you might want to consider upgrading to aluminum. This
is a great idea for cars with Big Blocks or air conditioning.
When considering a new radiator, ask
a lot of questions. If your dealer believes the only difference
between the copper/brass and aluminum is the cost, look somewhere
else. Anyone suggesting you deviate from an original
aluminum radiator either doesn’t know any better or just
wants to sell you what's in stock. A good radiator is the only
way to protect your engine from excessive heat.
Aluminum radiators work better! Still
not convinced? Read what others had to say...
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