Purely for the sake of discussion and/or debate, has anyone considered controlling the airflow through the oil cooler as a means of controlling oil temperatures? It was (and still is) a popular concept with aircraft (P-51, for example). They use cowl flaps on the air exit nozzle of the air cooler. The effectiveness of an oil cooler is proportional to the temperature differential between the oil and the cooling medium (air) and the pressure differential between the front and rear face of the cooler. No air flow equals no pressure differential -- hense no cooling. In its crudest form, its like putting a piece of carboard in front of the oil cooler when you don't need lower oil temperatures. I just finished building an elaborate air management system for my oil cooler (ram inlet, diffuser in front of the cooler, and constricting outlet nozzle exiting through a low pressure side vent) which is condusive to adding an internal, non-obstrusive and non-visible "cowl flap" to control the airflow. I haven't added the flap yet, as I'm not convinced that low oil temperatures will be a problem on a high compression big block that will see mostly track use, with limited street time. I have avoided oil thermostats because I am not fond of their multiple sharp internal bends that restrict oil flow. Any thoughts from you engineers?
Pappy
|