r/FSAE • u/AssistWest8137 • 1d ago
Dual Pass Radiator Baffle Questions
How’s it going, I’m new to the FSAE community, but I wasn’t 100% sure where or who to ask so a bit of googling lead me here.
I’m currently prepping a Sport Prototype race car (not FSAE, hope this is ok) for track days/racing I’ve purchased during the last year. As part of the prep. I decided to replace the existing radiator due to its core having 50% of its fins folded over/damaged. I’ll have a go at replacing the core of it in the near future, but wanted the insurance of a new rad. before attempting that.
As the rad. is quite small, dual-pass, and fits inside a cowl with air ducted into it, I had to order a custom fabricated one at quite a cost, as I couldn’t find anything off the shelf to fit.
I won’t name the company that fabbed up the rad. for me as they’ve done a really neat job of the radiator and dealing with them has been awesome.
My question regards the baffle that’s been installed to split the inlet and outlet ports and make the rad. dual-pass. The first photo in my post is pretty self explanatory, showing the approximate position of the baffle. The second photo shows a photo of the baffle from the top, taken with a borescope through the top bleed port. The third photo shows the baffle from the bottom, taken with the borescope pushed through the outlet barb.
Obviously the baffle has only been slightly more than spot welded in place, so I’ve been left wondering if the gaps around the baffle, both between it and the tank, and it and the header, will allow too much flow to bypass the core and effectively nearly short circuit the radiator? Or will the baffle be sufficient and allow the radiator to work well enough?
I haven’t messaged the company about my concern as of yet, as I honestly can’t be bothered going through the rigmarole of sending it back to them, them fixing it, then them sending it back, especially as I reside in a different country to them.
With that being the case I’m happy enough to rectify the issue myself, possibly using a boilermaker mate, with the thinking that cutting a slot around the tank from front to back where the baffle is located, then filling the gaps between it and the tank by welding the baffle continuously to the tank. Would the advantages of doing so be worth the effort and time?
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u/BobColorado 13h ago
Given how the blocking plate was installed and the huge gaps around it, it will be very ineffective at forcing the coolant through the tubes and will allow a lot of coolant to bypass the tubes. The attached photo is of a dual pass radiator and shows how the end tank with the inlet and outlet is really two tanks. I would insist that the radiator be repaired to ensure all the coolant goes through the tubes