Advantage/Disadvantages of moving the radiator to the back?

[Yellow 13]

I've been wanting to do this to the supra ever since I saw the Dent Sport 240 (S13?) in a magazine.

Heres what I can think of:

Advantages:
-Longer coolant lines=More coolant=More cooling capacity
-Weight reduction
-Cool factor


Disadvantages:
-Poor airflow?
-Losing weight over the rear tires.

Help me add to the list so I can make my decision.

 

[ToyoHabu]

Disadvantages -
no ram air must use large expensive electric fans all the time
more weight - extra pluming, coolant
more complexity
more failure points
much more difficult getting air out

advantages -
move weight around
radiator less vulnerable to damage thats why you see off road race vehicles using it.
those are the primary reasons to do it despite the disavantages with the second usually the only real reason

 

[speed]

There's a reason they keep them in the front on race cars.









It works better.

 

[americanjebus]

Its a reasonable move w/ the dentsport 240 because of the way it was built. It uses ram air because of the ductwork made specifically for that setup and has no big airflow restrictions behind it. Look at it its just open.

To make this practical on a MKIII would be REALLY hard. Weight distribution would be a plus but the complexity and work needed vs the gains is just NOT worth it. To achieve the effect that the 240 got you would have to chop out the rear end to provide an exit for the air you somehow got to flow over the radiator. If you had a targa maybe make a duct to push air behind into the hatch where the radiator is mounted w/ no glass in the hatch?

 

[Poodles]

it's a smart idea on a turbo car as you don't have to layer the heat exchangers (radiators and intercoolers)

more room for the intercooler

not to mention being albe to move weight to the back, which is a good thing when you go far major weight reduction as you can chop a lot off the back and not nearly as much off the front.

The performance of that 240 speaks volumes about what some out of the box thinking will get you. But you'd still be cutting up a Supra...

They didn't start with a clean 240 by any means, so if you have a bad Supra shell, why not?

 

[OneJArpus]

i would hate to get rear ended. Damage would be 100 X worse. Just look how the trunk looks, like a can. A 5MPH accident will look like 150.

 

[Poodles]

forgot to also add that race cars usually have them in the front because of the class rules

but look at GT or F1 cars, mid mounted engines with the radiators on the side so they can have a low frontal area

 

[OneJoeZee]

I'd rather attempt a V-mount in a Supra before I thought about doing this...

 

[speed]

forgot to also add that race cars usually have them in the front because of the class rules

but look at GT or F1 cars, mid mounted engines with the radiators on the side so they can have a low frontal area

This is true, but since the 240's frontal area hasn't changed, that point is null and void. And when I was doing my racing, I never heard of rules stating that it must be in front. It just makes sense, thats why its there. V mounts are the ideal mounting, as the air coming off the radiator will be hot, and passing that hot air over the top of the car will aid in reducing drag (hot air rises- duh), as well as keeping the engine bay cool.

when we built the two nobles, both ahve front mounted radiators. Why? cause it cools the best.

edit: oh, and any weight transfer issues are negligable since you're adding more volume of fluid, you're raising the wet weight.

 

[Poodles]

not when you need the weight in one place and not the other...

overall he's moved more weight to the back...

not saying I'd do it, but that car is seriously badass performance wise, I gotta dig up the issue to see when they did underhood (I think they did something weird that warranted moving it to the back, but I forgot...)

 

[Yellow 13]

Its seeming like a good idea to me. I'm thinking I wont cut the whole back off like they did but instead just cut out the rear floor pan and weld in a piece of sheet metal with a hole large enough for a radiator.

I have a hard top so I'll either run the ducting for it from some slots in the roof, from the metal behind the door windows, or the rear-side windows.

If I dont go through with it Ill probally try for a V-mount setup like Joe said.

 

[MK3Brent]

Advantage: Would hold up a lot better when driving in demolition derby. (mkiii's real home.)

 

[speed]

Its seeming like a good idea to me. I'm thinking I wont cut the whole back off like they did but instead just cut out the rear floor pan and weld in a piece of sheet metal with a hole large enough for a radiator.

I have a hard top so I'll either run the ducting for it from some slots in the roof, from the metal behind the door windows, or the rear-side windows.

If I dont go through with it Ill probally try for a V-mount setup like Joe said.

Woot, looks like lambarossa has a fan. Looking forward to pictures

 

[IJ.]

Is this thread serious?
(been taking it as a joke till now)

 

[Yellow 13]

Is this thread serious?
(been taking it as a joke till now)

Well then whats your input on the idea?

 

[OneJoeZee]

If I dont go through with it Ill probally try for a V-mount setup like Joe said.

I wasn't serious.

 

[IJ.]

One question..... Why?

 

[Yellow 13]

I wasn't serious.

You said youd attempt it before doing the rear radiator...

I took some measurements and it seems pretty doable.

 

[Yellow 13]

One question..... Why?

If theres no major downside, then why not?

I've got plenty of spare time+money.

 

[IJ.]

Major downside would be cutting into the structure of a unitised body shell....