Guys,
what is going on here?
An aerodynamical thread w/o me?
I like to learn more here!
I am an admirer of the Turd as well. There is a thread about that car (you may already know):
http://www.clubcobra.com/forums/show...threadid=11523
Don't think too much about air entering the radiator vs. exiting.
The idea once was just to keep the heat from the radiator away from the engine.
On other cars where the air is supposed to exit under the car nobody took total air volume into account - I think.
This rerouting causes tremendous heat at the windshield though!
Just ask a GT 40 driver.
And again, I am still supporting the idea to let some air move through the engine compartment, instead of forcing it all through the radiator.
That way your footwell won't heat up as much, plus your engine is able to radiate it's share of the heat - about 15% via the metal surface. (Radiator: 30%)
Desert Heat (at the end)
On todays cars the engineers try to keep coolant temp in a very narrow range, say 10K, to get a more uniform air/fuel mixture for the engine mangement system.
They almost seal the engine compartment and regulate via fan.
Aerodynamics may be a point here as well, keeping the engine compartment turbulent free. But at what price?
Todays cars need a/c ON even at moderate ambient temperatures plus need various additional fans to cool accessories like starter or intake valves ...
(Soon they need a fan to cool the fan...)
Dominik
