Running hot, need bigger fan and other tricks advice please

[strictlypersonl]

Originally Posted by auratkachakkar

I used to spend a lot of time on circle tracks in SC , NC and GA . We didn`t run a thermostat , but we did run restrictors/orifices in place of the tstat . With nothing in there , the coolant circulates too fast to get good heat transfer from the engine to the coolant ..... you have to slow it down . The only way to do that was to play with various sized holes until you found what worked .

I'm going to quote MadBill because he is a good explainer and I am too lazy to type basically the same thought.

"I think the concept arises from the fact that sometimes removing the thermostat worsens an overheating problem. Since with less flow restriction the coolant circulates faster, 'obviously' the overheating must be because it is moving 'too fast' through the radiator. The actuality is that the flow resistance provided by the thermostat (which of course is at the outlet of the system) greatly increases the pressure in the block and raises the boiling point so that local hot spots don't flash to steam and insulate the metal from the coolant. Such a process can snowball until a major meltdown occurs.

There is no support in physics for the 'too fast through the rad' theory, but excessive flow rate can create local cavitation in nooks and crannies of the block which would worsen the situation."