How to Improve LXi Engine Cooling Performance

[davidbrady]

(11-24-2013 13:25)BirdPilot Wrote:  While going over my recently purchased LXi, one of the things that was added to the "fix list" was the radiator and shroud due to the amount of rust. I've been contemplating replacement of the shroud due to its design. The "orifice" style design employed on my 'Bird is about the least efficient was to design a shroud with respect to fan efficiency.

Thanks BirdPilot and welcome to the forum. What year LXi did you buy? I must say, you have discerning taste! :-)

I stumbled upon the lower plate fix. I took things apart for cleaning, inspection, and tightening, went for a test drive and discovered better cooling. If there's an appreciable gain by cutting louvers into the plate then it would prove to be a cheap and easy remedy, but after a more controlled test my gut feel is that it alone won't provide the improvement Chuck's looking for on Baker Hill. An improvement of that magnitude will likely require work in several areas.

I'd like to hear about the newer fan technology. What we're running today is a Borg Warner Cooling Systems fan, PNo: 4735-41393-07. It's 32" in diameter and 9 blade. Our shroud has a 32 5/8" orifice.

The fan shroud we have in our LXi's can certainly be improved. The square corners, the lack of a ring orifice, the fan distance from the radiator, and the fan distance from the shroud could all be improved. Like Chuck, I'm inclined to believe that our limiting factor is air flow rate - I don't think we're using our radiators effectively. This is my hunch after installing an upgraded radiator core which didn't seem to provide a proportional increase in overall system cooling capacity. I wonder if the fan is primarily moving air thru the radiator in a donut shape leaving large portions of the radiator without appreciable air flow? Is there hope in pulling a more developed air flow thru the core? Also, because of the fan offset within the shroud, the air coming off the trailing fan blade tips flows straight back into the block instead of deflecting off at an angle; this also has to cut into efficiencies. It probably wouldn't take much work to come up with a new shroud to improve on these items. I have an old shroud in my garage and the South Carolina/Georgia area is the nations fiberglass capital. It'd be interesting to come up with a design and get some quotes on manufacturing.