cooling system for blown alcohol bracket car?

Discussion in 'PSI Superchargers Tech Questions' started by blownfastback, Mar 15, 2008.

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  1. eli

    eli Banned

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    Damm, well then "never mind", but it worked fo me.
     
    #21
    eli, Mar 17, 2008
  2. Leon

    Leon New Member

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    Running water isnt a bad idea if you dont mind trying to keep the head gaskets from leaking and dont mind having to run an overflow tank for the water and running a radiator cap. The only advantage would be keeping heat in between runs so the engine wont go cold.At idle,it will be on the rich side,so it wont get hot anyway.besides, the filler will help to keep the cylinders round and stable.Just have to do it before doing final hone as it will kick em out of round.
     
    #22
    Leon, Mar 17, 2008
  3. TOL

    TOL Active Member

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    The product that Lorenzo mentions is "Water Wetter" from Redline. There are two versions. One for water and one for water/glycol. Does work amazingly well in blown street cars and endurance cars. The water version is legal for use at the strip as far as I recall (might want to double check that)

    I tend to look at blownfastback's dilema in two lights.

    Block....filling the block with grout will give max stability and the bores will stay rounder. Leaving a wet block unfilled with something is a bad recipe. Might as well fill it with water, if nothing else, which will avoid hot spots and even out the thermal gradients. Wet blocks simply aren't meant to be pushed when filled with air.

    Heads....water heads are pretty thin in places, unlike solid billet heads. They rely upon water to avoid hot spots. Leaving them full of air will probably increase the likelihood of detonation/preignition.

    For all out strength my vote would be to fill the block with grout & heads with water & water wetter, and run a burp tank, and plumb accordingly. Plan B would be to fill both with water and water wetter. Put lots of hylomar on both sides of the copper gasket, to prevent water migration, and run a burp tank. The volume of water in either case is a great thermal equalizer.

    Keep in mind that once you fill a block with grout, it becomes a dedicated drag piece. You can keep your future options open by filling the block with water.
     
    #23
    TOL, Mar 17, 2008
  4. art d

    art d New Member

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    back in the "good old days'" before ethylene glycol, permanent anti-freeze, we used alcohol as anti-freeze. never more than a 160* thermostat. First warm day, always boiled over. So, alcohol as a coolant has a past.
     
    #24
    art d, Mar 17, 2008
  5. eli

    eli Banned

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    I'm sure that they wouldn't let you run alky in the radiator in a GAS burning car, some one like you might figure out a way to direct that alky into the cyl's. to make more power, (I think they call it cheating) YOU know when you cant keep up with the rest of the pack, (in your case the alky funny car heads you use with the bigger valves in your pro hahaha mod ),and still can't keep up, the reason I would run alky in the radiator of a blown car is you have to use copper head gaskets and they are not known to seal water to good and it WILL seep into the cyl's, I would rather have alky seep in instead of water, water don't burn. and try reading my "signature", before you try making a fool out me! ;) :p WJ I'm only trying to help, and I taught my pablum tasted funny yesterday. :D P/S I don't hide behind my sons name. mybe you should use the nickname, "The Door, The Door"
     
    #25
    Last edited: Mar 18, 2008
    eli, Mar 18, 2008
  6. eli

    eli Banned

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    " Thank you "these young'un's think they know every thing, I forgot more than they will ever know.:D
     
    #26
    eli, Mar 18, 2008
  7. kosky racing

    kosky racing Comp Eliminator

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    Zerone

    Hey Eli and anyone else interested go to E bay #170201971376 you will find what Eli was talking about. Mike:)
     
    #27
    kosky racing, Mar 18, 2008
  8. Will Hanna

    Will Hanna We put the 'inside' in Top Alcohol
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    bracket racing

    hello, my name is will hanna, and i'm an alcohol racer.....

    i've also got around 10 years experience of serious bracket racing.

    if you're going to be competitive bracket racing, you're going to have to keep that thing cool. when you start going rounds and that track crew and track manager has been out there all day and starts looking in that cooler with the slushy ice water and coldbeers, you're going to get hot lapped. that's why i liked the alky carb set up because it was so easy to keep cool in the south texas heat.

    now granted, i don't have any experience running a blown motor with water jackets. but if it was me, i would be doing everything i could to keep that motor cool. TOL has a good point, maybe fill the block and run water through the heads. you might look into the setup alot of the comp/pro stock guys are using now where they plumb a quick disconnect into the heads, and cycle water (in their case iced down) through an external cooler back at the pit. that may be the hot lick.

    in a bracket car, i don't think you can get enough gauges to monitor stuff and keep notes of how they affect performance. monitor water temp, and cylinder head temp. another trick most don't pay attention to in bracket racing is trans temp. if you run conventional fluid, as that trans temp goes up, start dialing up. learn your combination and talk to your fuel system guru of choice of how to adjust it for certain changes in conditions. you may need to richen the barrel valve half a flat or so, or more, each round you go to control engine temp. basically you're going to have ot get a feel for it.

    depending on what kind of breather system you have, alot of the pro mod guys hook an air blower on the vacuum side to the breather tubes to suck the hot air out of the motor. get you some good valve cover gaskets and if you have time, take the covers off to let some heat radiate out of the motor.

    keep good notes, make sure you can see out the side of the car to drive the stripe on the big end. when dialing, remember you have to get there, you as a driver can make it tight with the brake.:D
     
    #28
    Will Hanna, Mar 18, 2008
  9. bryanbrown

    bryanbrown Member

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    I have a dragster with a bbc and 8-71. Filled block, water in the heads. It had solid heads on it, but it would get way too hot after 3-4 rounds in a couple of hours. With the water it stays pretty cool. I also put a carpet dryer fan blowing over the pan after each run. It depends on what you're gonna do. If you're just running a quick 8, or even q16, you could probably get away with nothing, but anything over 4 rounds(plus time trials) is alot of runs in a few hour period. Mine has done as many as 6 rounds in one night, with no problems. Even with the water, it still gets really hot after that many runs, so I can't see running it with nothing.

    edit: This was running 1/8th mile brackets. If you're planning on running top dragster at points meets, you'd probably be okay with nothing, as there is much more time between runs
     
    #29
    Last edited: Mar 18, 2008
    bryanbrown, Mar 18, 2008
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