11 replies to this topic

[hanra]

Opinions on these high flow thermostats? Going over the cooling system in the Mini. I wouldn't say I have any type of cooling issues at all, but it does get pretty hot around these parts. I wouldn't say the car overheats, but when it's 35 degrees, 100% humidity and your stuck in slow moving traffic it can get warm.

Currently 1330cc, hi flow water pump, 3 core radiator, 6 blade fan, 13psi cap, non-recovery system.

Currently have a standard type thermostat fitted without much drama.

[Shiney005]

But the idea of the thermostat is to slow down the flow. This is why we used to pull out a faulty one and replace it with a flat washer.
If the coolant flows too quickly it won't pull the heat out of the block and head.
Now ignore everything I just said as I have no idea what I'm talking about.

[Heath]

Certainly an element of the thermostat's operation is restricting the flow to increase the fluid head in the motor itself (raising boiling point) and making sure that some flow goes through the bypass circuit even when the thermostat is fully open.

 

I'd be surprised if a little Mini motor was using the full capacity of a standard thermostat orifice, even on a hot day.

[rexy]

I run them in most of the cars. They are a worthwhile improvement if the thermostat is a point of restriction in your system. In both the 383 sedan and the 496 ute the use of one of these ( with peripheral holes added to the flange) resulted in improved cooling on the very hot days of 38 deg plus.

[Heath]

With a big cube V8, that certainly makes more sense.

[hanra]

Yeah I think I might go backwards fitting it to the brick...

[76lxhatch]

improvement if the thermostat is a point of restriction in your system

stuck in slow moving traffic it can get warm

Sounds like the coolant flow is not an issue, if it only warms up when the air flow through the radiator is reduced I wouldn't bother.

[hanra]

Yeah, you have to remember the radiator is at the front of the engine in these cars. By front I mean passenger side!!!! hahahahaha

[LXCHEV]

Yeah great for hotty V8's... I've always run a high flow thermostat in my 383 Chev (over 10 years now with perfect manners even on hot days with a stock old 3 core radiator). Gets my vote.

[Dave6179]

My first car was a '69 Hillman Hunter, only had it for 10 months, over the summer included. A mates uncle told me to pull the thermostat out and it stayed cool on a hot day. My 2nd car was/is the HJ I still have now. First thing I did was... yep thermostat out. Boiled straight away! Then learned the water needs to flow at a slow rate to give it time to cool in the radiator. The 4 pot didn't create enough heat to cause an issue, but the long block 6 did.

Yer mighty Mini is only small, leave the std thermo in it.

[ls2lxhatch]

It is a common misconception that if coolant flows too fast in a cooling system then the cooling efficiency is reduced. If fact the opposite is true, the faster that coolant flows the more heat that can be transferred to the radiator. Faster flowing coolant increases the turbulence which also improves heat transfer to the coolant.

 

The thermostat reduces the cooling capacity of the system by reducing water flow. As the temperature increase the thermostats opens to increase flow. The engine should not reach operating temperature with the thermostat removed. If the engine overheats with the thermostat removed then there is a problem with the cooling system.

 

The Stewart Components website has a good explanation of each component of the cooling system.