Drives61: I moved about 8 months ago and in the move the box with all my dyno test disappeared. It is the height of the racing season here which keeps me very busy. Between that and getting a new dyno room built I don't have time for a lot else. Once the season winds down and the room is done( by early winter I hope) I will be doing more testing and will be able to show you guy hard proof. I want to dispell a few of the urban myths that keep floating around. :yesnod:


[Modified by Pete79L82, 9:53 PM 7/12/2002]

 

Since we are on this subject, let me add a little something. Smokey Yunick stated 160 for power and 180 for mpg. I have yet to see this disproven! I notice many people go for the extra hp of the 160. Since then I read some research that operating at 160 has 3x the wear as 180. The oil is more efficient at the higher operating temp! By the same token I saw a test "Car Craft" where they dynoed a car a differnt temps. The difference between 180-220 was about 25 hp. Isn't that interesting.

 

Good experiment Norval! I did the math, but it usually does take an experiment to get a good feel for something. I've been pullin the thermostats out of my cars for decades. I'm in Sacramento CA now and I was driving in 110 F weather with the A/C on full blast and flooring it every chance I got. While on the freeway my guage was hovering around 200, at most 210. But, when I exited and sat in traffic for 15 minutes the gauge climed to 230 and scared the *!@% out of me. Once traffic cleared and I got back up to 40mph it cooled down real quick back to 210. The next day my a/c fan belt flew apart due to the melting I gave it the previous day.

I talked to a friend of mine and he brought up a good point. He indicated that there are two flow rates that we need to be concerned about. One is the coolant flow, and the other is the air flow through the radiator. If there is not enough air flow through the radiator (like the air dam is missing, fan clutch too weak, radiator shroud damaged, missing, or too many gaps in the seals) then increasing coolant flow by removing the thermostat may not have a noticeable effect. However, removing the thermostat DOES eliminate the thermostat as being the problem.

 

norval, i'm curious to know if you have noticed any disparity between the two heads operating temperatures.
is there any train of thought as to why the coolant ports in the back of the head are blocked off by the manifold? it seems to me (completely uneducated) that the back of the block would run warmer than the front due to the water being more heat saturated, having a longer path through the heat generator (engine) than if the water comes in the front of the block and goes straight up and out. anybody have input on that?

 

On a small block the back of the head runs hotter than the front of the head. The center of the head will be hotter than either end. To help balance the temperature you can run external water lines like in the pic. This help to increase water flow to the back of the head and not force it to run through the entire head to exit.



Pete

 

very :cool: , pete. next question: is there enough meat in a factory manifold that does not have bosses to drill and tap for ports like what you have done? and another thought now that i'm thinking of re-engineering what the general came up with, what if you were to cap off the heater fitting in the front of the water pump and feed the heater core with water from this point? certainly would be plenty warm for a heater, then you could just direct it right back into the front of the manifold like production. just a thought. ignorance is bliss--untill you break something. :rolleyes:

 

I have a 4 coner outlet manifold also, and was told to connect the two rear ones together not to go front to back. I was told this by a an engine builder and also a few mechanics. Why? Also one front port is plugged the other is for the heater.

 

Did they give you a reason to hook the two rear lines together? I have studied the water flow on a small block indepth and that doesn't make any sense to me. If you hook the two rear lines together the water doesn't have anywhere to go. But I am always open to new ideas that I may have missed.


Clutchdust;
There is enough material in a stock manifold to put water lines on it. Sometimes there is a small rib there that may have to be ground away to get a flat surface to tap into. As far as rerouting the heater lines that would work also. That would be the same routing that Pontiac used on their motors.

Pete

 

geez, pete, way to bust my bubble :rolleyes: . i thought i was being all :cool: and original! JK :cheers:


[Modified by clutchdust, 10:36 AM 7/15/2002]