Body integrated radiator method, requires no grill or openings...

[blackjackel]

Just had an Idea, why don't they make the outside body of the car conductive to heat and use it to cool the engine instead of a radiator? Imagine if the whole hood and front sides of the car were made out of metal and were directly connected to the engine through water much the same way a current radiator is...

This would make it so that there are no required openings and would greatly decrease aerodynamic drag. If the surface area isn't enough, perhaps they could have a few fins that are parallel to wind path to increase surface area if needed...

[pasadena_commut]

Originally Posted by blackjackel

why don't they make the outside body of the car conductive to heat and use it to cool the engine instead of a radiator?

It would be one heck of a pedestrian hazard. Anybody foolish enough to touch those parts of the car while walking by would burn themselves - even after the car sat for a while. Moving the radiator to the outer skin also makes any fender bender a much more serious event. Radiator fins projecting from the car would be dangerous. Its bad enough for a pedestrian who is grazed by a passing car without having to worry about being slashed by blazing hot radiator fins!

[MazdaMatt]

Novel concept, but my first impression was Dangerous. Wise use of ducting air flow would be a better direction to for more fuel efficient cooling.

[Daox]

This has popped into my mind as well while thinking about things. Aero drag could be significantly reduced without the drag of the cooling system. However, this idea has too many cons to be considered. Here are a few:

1) Cost
2) Lack of avaliable surface area for larger engined vehicles especially when considering A/C
3) Intake air ducts are at the base of the windshield. You wouldn't be able to get cool air through them anymore or they would have to be relocated.
4) Safety

[TrikeKid]

The cost of replacing your "radiator" would outweigh the gained aerodynamic efficiency. Average radiator is ~$100 (for a non-aluminum unit), and anyone that's wrecked a newer car will tell you that a new front end is a good bit more than that. Proper direction of air flow will do better for cooling than any fancy radiator hood, Tatra made a car before WWII that was air cooled and ran cooler than most modern vehicles.

[Tango Charlie]

Safety, schmafety. I like the idea. Let's try it!


How about a bellypan/radiator?
Hmmm...

[ATaylorRacing]

I have a better idea....why don't we make the engine block utilize no water at all....we could put cooling fins around the cylinders and maybe even a fan in the middle of the motor! Dart...I just remembered that this has been done on motorcycles, corvairs, VWs, and even Porsche...they even put the motors at the rear of the car to make a very air slippery front end. This idea goes along with my old ones of cling on bifocal lenses and bifocal sunglasses....I am always too late....my motorized cooler was also one I was too late on.....maybe I can get a patent on a 1.0 ltr 3 cylinder 55 hp motor in a under 2000 lb car!!!!

[adrive7]

Originally Posted by Tango Charlie

How about a bellypan/radiator?

Combine that a pile of dry leaves and you have your basic elements of a fire.

S'mores anyone?

I knew a guy that roasted his taurus after he parked it on top of some dry leaves. Heat from the Catalytic converter lit the leaves. Torched the whole car.

[donee]

Hi All,

Probably the biggest problem with this idea is that if you drive down the highway, and then get stuck in traffic or a long off-ramp light, and its 100 F outside. There is no air-flow over the radiator, and the only heat loss is radiation. On a regular car the fan just comes on. But how is one going to push air through the flat radiator? The design might have to have little flapper vanes, that stay shut when there is air flowing front to back, but pop up when a fan underneath comes on. Another way to do this would be an electric variable speed coolant pump. To take care of the hot stop problem, the coolant pump could ramp up to full speed.

[Johnny Mullet]

You could hit a deer and by time you get home you will have dinner already cooked!