Under car A2W heat exchanger
 

Back in the late 70's I had a Fiat X 1/9 while I was stationed in Minot, ND. Believe it or not, it was a very good car in the snow.

For those of you that don't know what an X 1/9 is, it is a mid-engine (1300cc) sports car that Car and Driver rated as one of the best handling cars in the world. It was!

While stationed at Minot, I had a hard time getting the engine to stay in the proper temperature range even with the radiator completely blocked off with cardboard. What was happening was that by the time the coolant had passed underneath the car to the radiator (located up front) and returned to the engine it was so cool that the engine had a hard time coming up to temperature and staying there. The car had a very small radiator because a lot of cooling occurred from the coolant passing under the car to the front and back again.

What if a heat exchanger was made for the Stillen SC that was made up of copper tubing located under the car. The air flow would be cool under the car and not compound the problem of too much hot air up front. Yes, the hot engine bay air is there but it is being mixed with cool air that flows under the car coming in from several directions. The under car heat exchanger could be made rather large and also increase the amount of coolant over the stock system.

If you look at the underside of the drivers or passengers seat area, you will see that there is a lot of room that tubing could be tucked up under the car and still get good air flow.

Maybe it is a crazy idea but then so was flying at one time.......

The extra piping would have added resistance to flow (larger tubing would help the flow but decrease cooling). You would need fins on the tubing which would be very susceptible to damage under the car.

It sounds like one of those "if it worked, more hi-po cars would have it" things to me.

But I'm no engineer. ;)

I am an engineer and I think it could be made to work for the Z. It really is all about surface area, that is what fins give you. I'm thinking a flat type of tubing that would offer a low profile while still exposing maximum surface area. Yes, a pump upgrade would likely be needed.

I need to do some calculations and see what radiating area the Stillen heat exchanger has and what it would take to at least double that (I think it could be tripled).

For now it is what we call a napkin design. Something us engineers do during lunch time, doodle an idea on a paper napkin and then start to work out the details.

I think if you design a bigger reservoir tank that went into the trunk and circulated to the front of the car, then it would have enough time to cool before it goes thru the heat exchanger again. Seb from specialty z suggested this to me when I got my car tuned. Only thing is the cost to fabricate the system.

That is a pretty good idea......itsaclipord are u still on the Stillen heat exchanger?

I wouldn't use copper..you are asking for leaks.

Yes, a larger reservoir tank will help but that only increases the thermal mass of the coolant. It still needs to be cooled or you get into the heat soak problem again.

Copper has very good thermal conductivity and has been used in cooling systems for many years. It seals well (solder connections) and is malleable so it will flex under vibration. This heat exchanger will not run under high pressure like the cooling system of a car so it should not be prone to leaks.

If you have ever looked at the back of an old refrigerator you will see a flat condenser cooling coil made up of copper tubing. That configuration is what I'm thinking will work with larger diameter tubing.

@ bolio, yes I am still on the stillen heat exchanger. I have been contemplating on upgrading due to heat soak during summer. I guess im just kind of waiting on how the a2a pans out or what other people come out with next to solve the the problem.

I have worked with copper tubing in high vibration environments...it doesn't last. Why not just big rear reservoir with good hoses.

Guys, This wont help...

Its the after cooler in the manifold which is the issue.

It doesn't not have the cooling power to cool 120 degree air, as it cools best around 101 degrees.. being a 101 type.

No matter how cool your coolant is or how fast its moving it wont help this situation.

If your water temp is 115 Degrees and your pumping 120 degree air through that aftercooler (which works best at 101 degrees)... do you guys see where im coming from?

the Hot air the blower is producing is a big issue aswell

If you guys want to stay A2W, remove 9" section of the charge pipe after blower
put in a tube style intercooler, move your battery to the back or car, put in a separate pump and res for your tube style intercooler. Then use your stock stillen intercooler for your tube style intercooler, buy a frozen boost for your manifold cooling.


This will cool down the deadly hot air coming from that blower, which will take a lot of stress off the aftercooler.

Evohunter, I respect what you are saying but the laws of thermodynamics says you are incorrect. The greater the temperature differential is between the coolant and the air to be cooled will decrease the temperature of the air to be cooled better. What I am trying to figure out is how best to get the water in the heat exchanger cooler without adding to the heat problem up front. Right now we have a power steering cooler, oil cooler, radiator and SC heat exchanger all competing for cool air.

This just an idea that I have so please, no one get worked up about this. Literally, let's keep the topic cool.