![]() Most people still think of oil cooling as air cooling, because really it’s just acknowledging that oil (which you have to have in an engine for it not to freeze up) does help to a degree with cooling, so let’s route it around the engine more to support this, and stick a radiator out the front to cool the oil. Similarly, oil isn’t an ideal coolant, as oil doesn’t conduct or carry heat very well. So air cooling is only effective on small engines, bikes like the Honda Grom, or engines not intended to rev very high and produce a lot of power, like most cruiser engines. But as time has gone on, we’ve refined the way we’ve fuelled our engines, running leaner fuels and at higher compression, in an effort to both increase efficiency and power. It’s fine when it’s cold out and the engine doesn’t get too hot. The problem with air cooling is that air isn’t the best coolant. Then, bikes became air/oil-cooled, and now many are air/liquid-cooled (i.e. Air cooling fins on a modern Harley-Davidson 117 engine That’s why we know cylinder heads of big air-cooled bikes have fins on them - to help the air get to more surface area. It’s the same basic reason why a light bulb gets hot (especially older, filament-style bulbs) - they’re far less than 100% efficient at converting electricity to light, and the waste radiates out as heat.Ĭombustion engines have always been cooled in some way. This is also true for electric motors - so even larger electric motorcycles (like the Livewire) are liquid-cooled. That takes heat away from the liquid flowing through the radiator.Įngines are hot because they’re not 100% efficient at converting fuel to kinetic energy - they’re closer to about 30% efficient. The goal of engine coolant is to help transfer heat from the engine to the air outside, via the radiator.Īir blows through the radiator - or is impelled through by the radiator fans. Please enable JavaScript in your browser to submit the form What’s the Goal of Engine Coolant? A Quick Guide to Mixing Coolants (Don't Do It).Organic Additive Technology (OAT) Corrosion Inhibitors.Inorganic Acid Technology Corrosion Inhibitors (Silicates, Phosphates, etc.).Corrosion Inhibitors: Organic vs Silicates/Phosphates, and OATs, HOATs, SI-OATs, etc.What do manufacturers say about Propylene Glycol?.Propylene Glycol: Pros and Cons as a coolant.FAQ 2: Why not use pure ethylene glycol?.FAQ 1: What's wrong with ethylene glycol as a coolant additive?.Propylene Glycol vs Ethylene Glycol – What's the Better Coolant?.Cooling System Pressure and Water Expansion.Sidebar – How can coolants operate above the boiling point of water?.Heat conducting fluids in engine coolant.Overview – What is engine coolant made from?.Perception vs Reality – Common Pitfalls in Personal Experience of Coolant Performance.Measuring coolant performance – Metrics.Measuring coolant performance directly (at the engine).How do you measure coolant performance?.If there’s something wrong or maybe just not expressed well, I always appreciate your support, and am happy to cite you if you wish. But thermodynamics is a massive subject studied by many specialists, and it’s their wisdom I’m trying to distill into article form with a balanced tone. General disclaimer: I try to really comprehensively understand everything, and have a solid education in engineering/physics behind me to help. If you have any questions, or want to make a clarification, I’d welcome it. I’m going to cover a lot of stuff in this article and try to make it comprehensive. Most high-performance electric vehicles have liquid cooling. The problem is that there is a lot of evidence that shows that these approaches can be harmful to your engine for the average user, especially when done without care.Ĭoolant is one of those things - like suspension or brakes - that we have to keep understanding in the advancing age of electric vehicles. “Water wetter” (which is also appropriate in some use cases).Any old automotive coolant lying around (regardless of whether it has silicates, phosphates etc.(Oh, I know I’ll get flak for this… but I do know it has its uses, like long-term storage) Propylene glycol-based coolants, the most common of which is “Evans Waterless Coolant”.Water only (usually demineralised, but sometimes - though rarely - tap water).People will recommend coolants that won’t cool your engine properly, may cause corrosion, and may just lead to engine failures.Īmong the sporadic guidance I’ve seen touted on many forums have been advice to use: Go on any forum and ask what coolant to use for your motorcycle (I dare you!) and someone in the crowd will almost definitely lead you massively astray.
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