Modding The Cooling System

[eski_riderKFX400]

Hey Fellas,
This thread is derived from another in which I said I'd discuss cooling system mods. Here is the thread:
http://www.z400central.com/invision/index....topic=45417&hl=

My interest as of late has turned to the cooling system. I said I'd talk about mods, but for now I'll just put forth some products.

This 10 fin BILLET Aluminum (whoa) inline radiator hose cooler I found on eBay. It's supposed to make a difference. Personally, I don't know. My opinion is that it's not worth the trouble, but I have been proven wrong many times. I've never tried it, but I do know how much heat is coming off the header!

This product is 3.75" long and you can buy it for $24.95.

Here's the ebay link and then the pics.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAP...&category=43971






This is a similar product also on eBay from the same company. This is a 20 fin cooler measuring 6" in length. You can buy it for $34.95.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAP...&category=43971



This is another radiator hose inline cooler from ProDesign. From Temecula Motorsports, it costs $28.99.

http://www.temeculamotorsports.com/eshoppr...er_Coolers_.htm



This replacement Cooling Fan Thermo Switch is also on eBay. It can be bought for $24.95. The stock switch powers up the cooling fan at 190F. This aftermarket switch doesn't specify what temperature of the radiator coolant will trigger the fan, but claims it won't let the radiator coolant go over 190F or under 175F.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAP...&category=43976



This is simply a coolant temperature guage that taps into the radiator hose. It does nothing to help cool your motor, but rather just keeps you informed as to the state of the cooling system. It is also on eBay, and the nicest of the temperature guages I saw. It can be had for $89.95. It has the easiest to read face and is also light emitting diode back-lit.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAP...&category=43972



Here is the ProDesign Billet Aluminum Mega-Flow water pump impeller. The claim is 35% better cooling efficiency. I'm not sure about that. But there's guys on here that swear by them. I would say the fact it won't fail the way a stock plastic impeller would is the #1 benefit of this product.



Up next is aftermarket radiators. Here's an IMS PWR oversize radiator. No info on how much more capacity, but no doubt this is a proven method to handle the increased heat from a modded engine.
eBay has the best prices I found at $339.95. Factory retail is $398.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAP...sspagename=WDVW



Here is the IMS Fluidyne Over-Size Radiator. To my knowledge, IMS used to team with Fluidyne, but now it appears they are teaming with PWR. But, this happens to by my radiator I bought used for a great price. I know this radiator for sure doubles the radiator coolant capacity.... look at the double row compared to stock single row!





Here is an aftermarket radiator for the Z/KFX from WalshCraftRacing. This radiator features 33% more capacity with a cross-flow design. It's pricey from Walsh at $399.95.

http://www.wrcracing.com/shop/index.php?ma...products_id=167



There may be other manufacturers of aftermarket Z/KFX radiators. These are the ones I know of.

For those who want to go big-bore, Athena makes a quality cylinder kit that features over-sized water jackets in the jug. Site sponsors carry this product, and on eBay, stock bore Athena kits are available as well which do include the oversize water jackets. This is a great feature which in my mind should also dampen and quiet the motor some, but not enough to be noticable. Probably only for Rs_taw's stethascope or the like! ha,aha.

I have the Athena big bore, and the jackets are noticably bigger, yet the head gasket does impede flow, but there has to be restrictions in the flow of coolant within the system anyway.



Now onto coolant additives/subsitutes. First a product I also use, Redline Water Wetter. I'll let their website do the talking on this one. A 12oz. bottle, $7.99. A case of 12 bottles, $86.29.

Water Wetter is a unique wetting agent for cooling systems which reduces coolant temperatures by as much as 30°F. This liquid product can be used to provide rust and corrosion protection in plain water for racing engines, which provides much better heat transfer properties than glycol - based antifreeze. Or it can be added to new or used antifreeze to improve the heat transfer of ethylene and propylene glycol systems. Designed for modern aluminum, cast iron, copper, brass, and bronze systems.



Here is another popular product, Engine Ice. Once again I'll let the website do the talking.

Engine Ice Hi-Performance Coolant is biodegradable, phosphate free & non-toxic; while reducing operating race temperatures by as much as 50°F and effectively keeping boil over temperatures to 256 °F or less and freeze-up protection to -27° F.

Engine Ice Hi-Performance Coolant is premixed with de-ionized water to protect your water cooling system from scarring, scaling and to effectively provide "prolonged optimum operating temperatures."

"Right out of the bottle" Engine Ice Hi-Performance Coolant is "ecologically safer" than regular coolants for wildlife and the environment. What's even more amazing is that it works far better than most any other engine coolant on the market.

Because of Engine Ice Hi-Performance Coolant's non-toxic phosphate-free formula, it's even safer for people and pets too!



Up next is a product from Maxima. It's called Maxima Cool-Aide. Do not know for sure, but it may be of interest to Super Moto racers, because it's approved for use on paved surfaces, meaning, the stuff shouldn't be slick like normal glycol. Put a dab of normal anti-freeze and rub it between your fingers, you'll know what I mean.

High-Performance Racing Super Coolant
Maxima Engine Cool-Aide is formulated to reduce engine temperatures and provides significantly better contact on heated surfaces allowing for greater and more efficient heat transfer. Cool-Aide comes in two forms – A 64oz., Ready-to-Use bottle that requires no mixing or blending and in a powerful 16oz. Concentrate. Cool-Aide mixes with water and antifreeze. Cool-Aide is for race use and does not offer freeze protection. Approved for race use on paved surfaces.




So I thought I'd put up what I know about. For sure there are other products I did not list and/or don't know about, maybe some of you can add to this.


As links of interest, I was going to include links to this post from our own forum. There are many good threads related to the cooling system. But, if you just type in "coolant" into the search engine for yourself, you'll find all kinds of tech info, pics, questions and answers, etc.

Perhaps we can delve into some tech about this topic... We can talk about what works and what doesn't and why. Who's used what, what's worthwhile, etc.

[eski_riderKFX400]

DogGone'it,
I forgot to include the many brands of radiator shrouds which I may get to later.

[madant15]

Another *free* cooling mod is to drill holes on each side of the front of your stock radiator guard, which helps direct much more air into the radiator, especially of you have scoops.

[Quadstud909]

whats the plus side of them gooney scoops that everyone runs?

[JETS_Z400]

Originally posted by Quadstud909@Jun 21 2005, 12:15 AM
whats the plus side of them gooney scoops that everyone runs?
<div align='right'>

[/quote]
Those "gooney" scoops direct alot more air towards the radiator than the stockers do! (not mention it`s more area for decals )

Hey eski...I`m pretty sure my dual inline coolers are those 10 fin jobbies (I know the first one I had ever gotten was that puny little one) & at that 20 finner!!! WOW!!!

[eski_riderKFX400]

Originally posted by JETS_Z400@Jun 20 2005, 11:07 PM
Those "gooney" scoops direct alot more air towards the radiator than the stockers do! (not mention it`s more area for decalsWooter )

Hey eski...I`m pretty sure my dual inline coolers are those 10 fin jobbies (I know the first one I had ever gotten was that puny little one) &Wooter Wooter at that 20 finner!!! WOW!!!
<div align='right'>

[/quote]

Tell us all your cooling mods and how they work! Please!

[JETS_Z400]

Just the 2 (10 fin) coolers (1 in the upper hose & 1 in the lower hose) & 8 capfuls of Redline Water Wetter mixed in w/ the 50/50 mix of coolant in the stock (for now) radiator & the Pro-Design billet water impellar = so far so good!...I`ve never had it overheat or anything yet anyway. I don`t have a temp gauge on it so I can`t say if/how much temp drop from normal it`s actually yielding (but the thermostat regulates that for the most part anyway...so I would have to think it would be very minimal).

[JETS_Z400]

OOOOOPPSSS! I left out the OMF scoops in that post.

[ALELKS]

I use a product by Pro-Blend called 40 Below.

[eski_riderKFX400]

Originally posted by ALELKS@Jun 21 2005, 04:40 AM
I use a product by Pro-Blend called 40 Below.

Thanks ALELKS! I hope other follow suit and keep adding other cooling system products to this thread!

I looked up your "40 Below" for info. Here it is.





Reduces water temperature up to 40 degrees.

Creates instant water cool down between rounds in drag cars.

Circle * Drag * Street * Industrial * Street Rods * Towing * RV's * SUV's.

Prevents coolant temperature from rising excessively while vehicle is towing, climbing, sitting in traffic or running with restrictedair flow.

In circle track cars, dramatically reduces engine heat rise during pit stops.

Coats the combustion chamber areas from the water jacket side and dramatically cools them. This enables leaner jetting and more power.
Add to radiator.

Originally developed for NASCAR Winston Cup race cars that run under the most severe heat conditions.

Two cans usually provide better results.

For water cooled motorcycles, drain all of the existing coolant that you can out of the system and then use 2-3 ounces of 40 Below + 2ounces of Prestone Super Anti-Rust + distilled water.

The passage that is in bold gets to what I was talking about in a post from the linked thread at this top of this thead. Here it is again.
http://www.z400central.com/invision/index....topic=45417&hl=
The passage in Large bold print says, "This enables leaner jetting and more power."

That's exactly how I jet! I jet for power! The old adage about jet rich until you get a stumble and then back off two sizes will for sure keep your motor cool, but you lose power! That method of jetting is for when performance ATV motors were air-cooled! And most of them didn't have oil-coolers!

The way I jetted the stock carb was to "bounce" off the bottom instead! I would go with each circuit maybe two jet sizes above lean cut-out or pop. Power baby!

However, when jetted like this, it's easier to tax the stock cooling sytem. A modified motor with greater output also taxes the stock cooling system. Hence, the need to increase cooling ability.
The Brits from Pro-Blend just backed up my philosophy on their website.

So there's my jetting philosphy... just keep the motor from cutting out lean, and if temperature becomes an issue, and you can't do anything for the cooling system, jet richer step by step until the cooling system can keep up!

Okay, . Now, I thought I'd mention a couple other products from the ProBlend website.

Xtreme Cool: Reduces coolant temperature up to 40 degrees!

Prevents coolant temperature from rising excessively while vehicle is climbing, sitting in traffic, running with restricted airflow or accelerating rapidly.

Excellent in Turbo, Nitrous & Supercharged engine applications.



Ice Water: Lowers water temperature up to 28 degrees.

Reduces rust, corrosion and cleans the cooling system.

[roadrunner]

Originally posted by ALELKS@Jun 21 2005, 08:40 AM
I use a product by Pro-Blend called 40 Below.


<div align='right'>

[/quote]

where is a good place to get this 40below?

[Monkeys400]

Today I was riding after i went down to the 150 main and I noticed the engine was pretty warm but not exactly hot hot. But I wanna get it cooling better.

Im getting water wetter, and get the radiator hose peice. Ill let you guys know how that is.

[ALELKS]

Originally posted by roadrunner@Jun 22 2005, 11:55 PM
where is a good place to get this 40below?
<div align='right'>

[/quote]

Advance Autoparts sells it.

Not sure about other parts stores though.

[roadrunner]

Originally posted by ALELKS@Jun 24 2005, 08:58 AM
Advance Autoparts sells it.

Not sure about other parts stores though.
<div align='right'>

[/quote]

cool, I know where I'll be stopping at this evening.
Thanks.

[dodgefan1]

i use the wetter water and think its great. but has any one tried EVANS NPG cooling products ,they don't use any water .they say their cooling product never overheats and does not freeze.