drill holes in thermostat

[bobcowan]

Originally Posted by Bob In Ct

This whole thing about the coolant not being in the radiator long enough to cool-down does not make sense to me. If it's not in the radiator long enough to cool down wouldn't that mean it's not in the engine long enough to heat up?

Is there any science here to back this theory up, or did this just get started and now there is no stopping it?

Bob

You're exactly right. When we talk about cooling, what we're talking about is transfer of heat. Heat is energy; and energy can neither be created nor destroyed, only altered.

The whole process of cooling is to move the energy from where it's highest, (engine) to where it's lowest (ambient air). It's done through a two step process, first to the fluid in the engine, then to the air in the radiator.

There are a number of facters that affect this transfer. Some fluids are more efficient than others - water is better than anti-freeze. Contact with the heated surface. Water solutions form a surface tension layer that decreases energy transfer. Surfactents like Water Wetter decrease that surface tension and increase efficiency.

Time on station is what we're talking about now. The thermostat or restricter plate causes enough restriction in the fluid flow to keep the fluid where it needs to be for just that little bit longer. Think of touching a hot pipe. A quick slap of your finger may not cause significant damage. But lay it on for a couple of seconds, and you'll get enough energy transfer to really hurt.

A good water pump at high rpm's will flow enough fluid to prevent this heat transfer. You measure the fluid temp, and it appears to be good. But the engine - heads in particular - are overheating. We all know what that does.

[FUNFER2]

I'll add a question to the discussion, because it's of importance to cooling.
What PSI cap, should any given high performance engine have and why ? (non stock engine)

[fsiewert]

Remember horsepower equals heat