TIME TO CHILL
Internal combustion engines aren’t very efficient. They’re basically big air pumps that turn fuel into kinetic energy, via a controlled explosion in the cylinder. During this process they create heat, lots of heat, which isn’t ideal for two reasons. Firstly, it wastes a fair chunk of that potential energy. More importantly, too much heat can cause serious damage. Unfortunately, we can’t avoid the creation of this heat but we can manage it. That’s why every engine is fitted with cooling devices, such as radiators, oil coolers, intercoolers or chargecoolers, and sometimes even brake cooling ducts too. When we tune our engines, either by naturally aspirated tuning or adding boost into the mix, we have to beef up these cooling parts to keep up with the extra heat that’s created.
WHY DO TUNED ENGINES NEED BETTER COOLING?
Engines produce power by mixing air with fuel. In a petrol engine the mixture is ignited by the spark plugs, in a diesel engine it’s simply squeezed together. Both methods force the pistons down the cylinder bores, and it’s these forces that turn the crankshaft and eventually the wheels. To increase the power output of an engine, we have to add more fuel and air. The ratio has to stay roughly the same, so we just stuff more of both into the engine. The direct result of this is a bigger explosion and even more heat. As such, we need better cooling systems to keep these higher temperatures within the same safe working limits.
TYPICAL DAMAGE CAUSED BY EXCESS HEAT
If temperatures get too high – oil, water, inlet air, and brakes – it can lead to some pretty catastrophic results. The most common issues resulting from excessive temperatures include:
ENGINE OIL BREAKS DOWN
It gets thinner and doesn’t lubricate the vital moving parts of the engine properly, bearings run dry causing wear and eventually failure.
