Member Jonathan Kay Posted September 2, 2016 Member Share Posted September 2, 2016 Well done. Great to see those data.Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CageyH Posted April 12, 2019 Share Posted April 12, 2019 Dragging this back up, I assume I can use the Duratec mounting brackets on a Radtec K series radiator? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revilla Posted April 12, 2019 Author Share Posted April 12, 2019 Mine was a standard radiator, I don't have experience of a Radtec to know whether the shape of the side flanges and overall depth will make it a good fit or not.Reading back though I did say I would report back if there were any problems with the setup on my car and that was two and a half years ago and I've since forgotten about it.It's all working very well, oil and water temperatures well under control under all conditions, never seen anything going too high since. One of the best modifications I've done to the car.The only odd thing I've noticed is that before I fitted the oil cooler, the oil and water warmed up at very different rates. The water would come up to temperature very quickly and the oil would take quite a long time. Since fitting the oil cooler, they seem to warm up almost exactly in sync. It's as though the oil cooler and radiator mounted very close are acting like a decent heat exchanger, so now the water seems to warm up a little slower but the oil warms up a bit quicker. The thing I don't really understand is that for it to work that way, with the oil cooler in front of the radiator, to my mind that suggests the airflow must be going the wrong way through them (i.e. from back to front, water to oil). I guess close to the bottom of the radiator there's probably a lot of air flow turbulence which is closely coupling the two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CageyH Posted April 12, 2019 Share Posted April 12, 2019 Thanks. I also have a standard Caterham radiator in the garage, so I can dig it out and measure the side flanges. The mounting is the same, so I don’t expect to discover a problem.I think it makes good sense to add thermostatically controlled cooler to my car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leadership Team SLR No.77 Posted April 12, 2019 Leadership Team Share Posted April 12, 2019 A Laminova is a better solution ....Stu. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CageyH Posted April 12, 2019 Share Posted April 12, 2019 I am not sure it will fit with the Freestyle inboard suspension and the PRRT mods I have on my car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7 wonders of the world Posted April 12, 2019 Share Posted April 12, 2019 A Laminova is not the best solution as it pins both oil and water at the same temp - far from ideal.The laminova will help during the warm up period to get the oil up to temp but if your looking to effectively manage excess oil temperature then you need a cooler, preferably with a thermostat too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revilla Posted April 12, 2019 Author Share Posted April 12, 2019 So what would you say were the ideal oil and water temperatures on a K? I have an 82 degree thermostat as do most and my water runs pretty close to that. That was also the "normal" temperature for my oil unless I really pushed it, when it climbed too high. I think the thermostat on the cooler is set to 80 degrees, so now both run at about the same temperature anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7 wonders of the world Posted April 12, 2019 Share Posted April 12, 2019 I'm assuming you obtained your parts via Think Andrew ? pretty sure they offer a 92 degree oil stat option for a filter sandwich plate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CageyH Posted April 12, 2019 Share Posted April 12, 2019 The two options are 80 and 92 degrees. Which is best suited? The 92? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revilla Posted April 12, 2019 Author Share Posted April 12, 2019 No I got mine from Matt Lewis Racing: http://www.mattlewisracing.co.uk/product.php/972/149/sandwich_plate_thermostat___matt_lewis_racingThey also sell a 92°C version.Prior to fitting a cooler, under most conditions my oil wouldn't have got to 92°C, it was only on extended runs of mile after mile of motorway or dual carriageway that it started to climb significantly, and then it did get too hot. I'm sure if I tracked it, it would have got pretty hot but for most of my road driving, which is reasonably spirited country B-road stuff, the oil sat at 80-85°C even without a cooler. So I opted for the 80°C version to try to keep it there even when pushing it continuously, which is the effect that fitting it has had.I know for a Duratec the recommended oil temperatures are a lot hotter than this, but I thought for a K it was reasonable. Even if I did swap to a 92°C sandwich plate, my car would spend 90% or more of its working life well below this, it just doesn't naturally run that hot most of the time.What would be the advantage of running a 92°C thermostat? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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