GEN 1 Mishimoto Radiator upgrade experience?

[letsgetthisdone]

So, while my truck runs much better/cooler with a light trailer, or without a load and just offroading. I can still get it over 230 on water and 255-260 on oil towing my enclosed trailer with the rzr and camping gear (probably 6k lbs) to Utah.

Going to speak with my tuner about what he is doing for timing (not enough can raise EGT and cylinder temps, raising coolant temp). And I'm trying to see if anyone makes an actual high flow thermostat, not just a lower temp one. The opening on our is only 1-1/16". Kinda smal for moving a lot of water when the motor is spinning 5k rpm towing a trailer up a long grade.

Also thinking of trans cooler and auxillary oil cooler. Or maybe I'll just get a diesel for towing before dropping another $2k on cooling mods and then still having it be an issue.

 

[EricM]

I think you are running into the limits of the F150 electric fans. The F150 electric fans are impressive, but still about a magnitude off of the performance of fully clutched-in belt driven fan. IIRC a high end OEM E-fan setup is in the 5K CFM range, whereas an old school belt driven fan could do around 50K CFM with the clutch fully engaged.

The 6.2L in the Super Duty has a belt driven fan with an electric clutch, so that pretty much tells you all you need to know about what it takes to cooling the 6.2L while towing heavy loads. Ford isn't throwing away the small bit of MPG than an e-fan would nets them in the SD trucks for nothing.

 

[letsgetthisdone]

The clutch fan on an F250 absolutely does not move 50,000cfm lmao. Thats like... rooftop air handler (commerical building HVAC) airflow.

These temps are seen at 70mph, so it's not an airflow/fan issue so much. I too am concerned I am just on/over the edge of the trucks capabilities. Hence the thought of just getting a diesel before spending more money on the Raptor for towing.

 

[EricM]

The clutch fan on an F250 absolutely does not move 50,000cfm lmao. Thats like... rooftop air handler (commerical building HVAC) airflow.

These temps are seen at 70mph, so it's not an airflow/fan issue so much. I too am concerned I am just on/over the edge of the trucks capabilities. Hence the thought of just getting a diesel before spending more money on the Raptor for towing.

Belt driven fans on half ton trucks 20 years ago were over 10K CFM. I gotta think they've upped the airflow on the HD trucks given the 3x the towing capacity increase since the 90s. Maybe they don't pull 50K, but they are easily double or triple any e-fan CFM, if not more.

 

[letsgetthisdone]

The good OEM e-fans are 4500-5500cfm. Mechanicals, it varies by the diameter, but yes, double or triple would be believable. 50k CFM is going to be a nig 5' diameter hydraulic motor fan...

Turbine Hydraulic Fans - Electric Fan Engineering - The Highest Standards in Cooling

Turbine hydraulic fans are custom-designed for extremely difficult cooling applications commonly found on buses, off-highway vehicles, pumps, and generators.

www.electricfanengineering.com

 

[B E N]

Are you running premium fuel when tuning? Even while cruising empty these trucks pull timing on low grade fuel.

 

[letsgetthisdone]

Yes, I only ever run premium fuel. Unfortunately we only 91 octane here, but its not the end of the world for an NA application.

 

[B E N]

91 should be fine. I don't tow with mine so I haven't been able to log it. I have a couple of idea's for you:

Open up the hood vents a bit, they have some slotting on the bottom but there is not a lot of room for air to escape with the skid plates etc. It's a nearly free mod and I really believe it will help. This will let water in when it rains but based on your location I don't think that matters much...

Switch to a 170 or 185 thermostat and have your tuner set you up for it. Stock is 205 to help with economy and emissions. You may be able to keep enough timing in the truck to keep the heat down, it will give you a little more breathing room as you start to heat soak as well.

This table is spark vs ECT, essentially as you get over 180° the PCM starts pulling timing at a rate of 1° of timing per 2° of temperature, at 200° it starts pulling it at a degree of timing per degree of temp . Going to a lower temp thermostat may hurt your fuel economy slightly.

If you have e85 available ask your tuner to set you up for flex fuel. I have been running 50% e85 for a while. You may get less range (I do not, I get a slight range increase over running straight 85 octane) but the octane increase (91 to above 95) will really help the pcm keep timing under load. You will make a little more power due to the latent heat of vaporization, and it (at least in my case) brings your fuel cost down about 50 cents a gallon.

I ran a full race radiator on my 11 ecoboost. It was a really nice piece and did help, but when towing heavy (11k over passes) heat soak was still a real issue. If I had known about E85 blending then I would have done that in a heart beat. Right before I found the Raptor I was prepping to add hood vents to it.

 

[letsgetthisdone]

Based on that timing vs ect table, its 0 change at 200* (running on the timing map). And its adding below 200 and pulling above 200.

I spoke with Carl yesterday (tuner). He has a similar map in a lot of trucks, and we discussed timing and how the ECU work. Came to conclusion I'm just running it hard. Especially since his timing isn't very different from stock for NA setups, the ECU is going to find the timing the engine is happy at anywyas and it's probably right around where stock would be. He did ask for a datalog next time I tow that route/trailer. So I'll do that for him.

I had forgotten about opening up the hood vents. I'll try that.

 

[B E N]

Good luck, please follow up if the hood vents or tuning prove fruitful.