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Old 11-27-2010, 11:42 AM   #6 (permalink)
nimblemotors
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Yep, radiator is needed the most when the car is stationary.
Having the heat soak up into the car and the vulnerability of underneath the car is an issue, given the aluminum must be thin if spread out over a large area, or it would add a lot of weight.
Note that in the Prius hybrid, the engine is stopped when the car is stopped! So the radiator would only needed when the car is moving.

I have another novel approach for a radiator I'm going to be testing in the MGeo.

Quote:
Originally Posted by endurance View Post
In theory, I like the idea until the first time I get stuck in bumper to bumper traffic on a 95F day and have all that heat radiating upward through the floorboards. Practically, I think it's going to be risky, as one medium sized rock between the wheels and you just lost all your coolant.

I do think there's potential there, but there are also significant engineering challenges to make it something that won't create new vulnerabilities and liabilities.
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