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Old 06-18-2020, 12:03 AM   #27 (permalink)
EcoCivic
Master EcoModder
 
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: Memphis, Tn
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I have an update. I pulled the radiator back out and added flaps to the shroud just to be safe. I can not have this car overheating under any conditions, it is my only functional vehicle at the moment and it must be reliable.

I finished installing my new AC condenser and did some testing on my new fan setup to see how well it works and it is definitely a massive success. I ran the car for about 30 minutes bleeding the air out of the cooling system, recharging the AC, and doing testing and the highest coolant temp achieved was 186 degrees after 30+ minutes of idling with the AC on in a 100+ degree garage. 186 degrees is totally normal, the coolant runs between 182 and 188 when driving normally so 186 is great. The lower radiator hose wasn't very hot either, I could comfortably hold it. This tells me that the cooling system still had a good amount of capacity left even under those conditions. I plan to do a more scientific hot idle test on a hotter day, measuring ambient temp in the garage and such.

Also, while I had my AC gauges on it, I checked pressures with the gaps on the sides of the radiator open and closed and I found that the high side pressure seemed to be about 10 PSI lower with the gaps closed since less hot air from the engine compartment was getting back in front of the condenser through those gaps. I think that's a decent drop for such a simple mod and I suspect the difference may have been much greater with the hood closed and the bumper on since the engine compartment would have been under more pressure and the bumper may be under slight negative pressure, increasing the amount of hot air that gets pulled back through those gaps and ends up in front of the radiators. I didn't think to close the hood when I tested the pressures, but I will try that when I test this again.
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