| ** This is a radiator test roudup, for those that skim lightly. :) ** Please read at least the last paragraph This is something we have been gearing up for over the past several months and we are right at the verge of performing the testing. The idea with the testing is to determine what radiator design offers the best thermal dissipation. The test rig:
There were several components that we have built to construct the system: 1) 5-gallon water/glycol reservoir, thermally insulated, and set atop a conventional propane burner assembly. 2) We have employed the original electric water pump I designed many years ago for the VG30 block to function as our fluid pump. This pump is capable of moving 31 gallons of water per minute. =) 3) A spal 16" 2360CFM fan is used to provide ambient cooling airflow through the radiator core. This is used in conjunction with one of our fiberglass shrouds. Foam strips are also used to ensure a leak-free fitment between the shroud and the core. 4) A medically-certified dual probe temperature system is also used to provide the coolant temperature within the reservoir. We are using two sensors to monitor this temperature and the average of the two values will be used in our calculations. 5) An appropriately designed test stand was built to hold the radiator, water pump, and the electrical components used to switch the pump on/off as well as the electric fan on/off. 6) The electrical power that will be used to drive this system will be provided by way of an idling Z32 with the power leads attached to the battery terminals via jumper cables so we can have a voltage-regulated power source capable of providing consistent system power. 7) Our dynojet is equipped with its own weather station that will provide information such as ambient temperature, atmospheric pressure, and humidity. This will be an important source of environmental information we will use to ensure that each of our tests are performed during identical environmental conditions. The total system water/glycol content will be fixed to 5 gallons with a water/glycol mixture ratio of 50/50. A 50/50 mix of water/glycol has a specific heat of 0.75BTU/lb F and we are using 5 gallons. We have a density of 8.727 lbs/gallon for this mixture for a total of 43.64 lbs of total coolant. This nets us a total of 32.73 BTUs required to increase the temperature of this volume of coolant by one degree. We will be testing the performance of the radiator starting at 200F and down to a luke warm temp of 100F as it bleeds off the heat. A 100F drop in temperature equates to a total BTU of 3273 units. Each of these tests will be video taped in HD so anyone interested can watch the entire testing for themselves. The radiator testing procedure will heat the coolant solution with the pump running until the system reaches a steady state temperature of 200F, at which time, the propane will be shut off, the electric fan turned on, and the clock started. The test will measure the drop in temperature of the total coolant quantity vs. time, which will result in data we can use to to produce a BTU/time plot. This plot will reveal the thermal dissipation rate of the radiator as a function not only of time but also as a function of the relationship between the temperature of the internal coolant with respect to the ambient cooling air temperature. With all other variables being held to fixed parameters, we will finally be able to see how any radiator performs over a span of coolant temperatures. This first run of tests will not be the last. In addition, I will employ one of our dual fuel pump control modules to provide a controlled amount of power to the water pump so we can see how coolant flow volume affects the heat dissipation rate. I have even considered performing tests to see the effect of varying water/glycol mixture ratios as well as the effects of using other products such as Water Wetter and the like. Here are a few pictures of the testrig: 
We currently have 3 various bar/plate core configurations we will be testing - this was the main purpose of this R&D project - to test the efficiency of 3 new radiator cores we designed to see which of the 3 offer the best performance. In addition, I will be removing the double-pass AshSPEC radiator that is currently in my personal Z. I would like to test several other radiators that are on the market but I seriously suspect that none of the other radiator manufacturers/retailers out there are going to be very excited about this test. So, with that said, if you have a radiator on hand that you are not using we would be more than happy to test it alongside of these other units so we can present as much data on as many different radiators that are available! Of course, we will return your radiator back to you after the testing. :) Please contact me personally via email, ash@ashspecz.com if you are interested in having your radiator tesed. Thanks!
Enthusiasts soon understand each other. --W. Irving.
Are you an enthusiast? If you are out to describe the truth, leave elegance to the
tailor.
Albert Einstein
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AshSPEC Radiator Efficiency Testing 2012! >>>>>>> - 
