Quote:
Originally Posted by slowmover
There's no "risk" in running 58-62. Big trucks run 62-66. A little above them, but below the idiots in cars is "the rocking chair".
As to towing, you didn't need a Class V hitch. Class IV would have worked.
Towing plus A/C use: HD clutched mechanical fan.
The downside of a straight six is weight. A lot of Iron to keep cool. I wouldn't screw with old school in this. In fact I'd get the radiator, fan shroud and fan from a big block van.
Then you can mess with thermostat temps.
I'd also add a second A/T cooler (plate and fin) downstream from radiator that will bypass cold fluid (B&M Racing). Centered low across rad face, but "within" fan shroud profile and out ahead of all else.
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I cropped a lot out for brevity.
The "risk" in running substantially different speed than the flow of traffic is well known and well documented. I'm not going to get into it here other than to say that drafting people is a dramatic reduction in fuel usage...and it's much easier to maintain a good draft distance if you find groups of people going a consistent speed. Around here that speed is 70-80mph.
For the hitch, the Class IV and V hitches were all physically similar in size, and likely would have the same negative effect on FE. Since there was only a $10 difference in price, I just picked the one that looked like it would "tuck in" to the underside the best. I might have picked the wrong one, looking back at other photos. A Class III might be just fine for my application, i.e. towing a trailer with a Miata racer. They are a bit less complex, with less flanges and plate surfaces hanging out there. It probably would have been a better choice. But any hitch hanging down there would still have a pretty bad effect on FE.
I have a Derale 2 speed electric fan, but haven't installed it yet. I had it ready to go, but the replacement radiator side flanges were slightly different than the OEM radiator. So my 0.25" clearance to the water pump ended up as 0.25" interference! At the moment I'm running the OE heatsink-style clutch fan without a shroud. With no towing temps are stable, but it probably would not be good enough to tow 5000lb.
I do plan on replacing the stock A/T cooler with a separate plate & fin one, thanks for the suggestion on the B&M Racing one!