Quote:
Originally Posted by Firebirdjones
Biggest issue with them is the tube size. They use tubes of about 1/4-3/8" which is common among cheaper aluminum radiators, not much surface area for cooling (bigger is better).
Larger tubes and a higher "fin per inch" count equals a much more efficient radiator.
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Not going to dispute which radiator may be better but the statement about surface area is incorrect.
Surface area may increase but not in proportion to the volume of the tubing.
Surface area of the side = 2 x 3.14 x radius x length
Volume = 3.14 x radius squared x length
Ratio: 2πr(r+h) / πr²h = (2(h+r)) / (rh)
1/4 by 10 in tube
Surface area of the side = 2 x 3.14 x .125 x 10 = 7.85 sq. inches
Volume = 3.14 x 0.015625 x 10 = 0.490625 cubic inches
Surface area of the side to Volume ratio = 8.2
1 1/4 by 10 in tube
Surface area of the side = 2 x 3.14 x .625 x 10 = 39.25 sq. inches
Volume = 3.14 x 0.390625 x 10 = 12.265625 cubic inches
Surface area of the side to Volume ratio = 3.4
The amount of flow may be helping the Griffin cool better but bigger is not always better. As an example a factory 4 core radiator will normally cool better than a 2 core, even though the 2 cores are normally larger in diameter than the 4 core.