What are you trying to accomplish? I’m as heavy as 25,000 combined with my V10, and the stock-spec radiator is fine, once the 40k Tru-Cool is added.
Brilliant question.
There are two efficiencies when it comes to ICE engines; Volumetric efficiency and thermal efficiency.
Volumetric efficiency is measured by brake mean effective pressure (BMEP) which is the average pressure forcing the pistons down to create torque at the output shaft.
Thermal efficiency applies to all heat engines from a thermodynamic standpoint. The hotter the engine can run above ambient (where it sinks heat to) the higher it's thermal efficiency.
Engineers have been attempting to develop ceramic engines that can run much hotter to increase their thermal efficiency for many years now.
....That's one reason why radiator caps are designed to pressurize the radiator.....to keep the coolant in a liquid state so the engine can operate above 212F, the boiling point of water at ambient pressure. ....Works the same way a pressure cooker works.
For those interested in thermodynamics the efficiency limit for all heat engines is defined by the Carnot cycle. This is a theoretical limit that no real engine can obtain.
There are other thermodynamic cycles: Gas engines (Otto Cycle) Diesel engines (Diesel Cycle) and turbine engines (Sterling Cycle). All of these are less efficient than the Carnot cycle.
Fun fact: A gallon of gasoline contains around 115,000 BTUs of energy. About 70% of that energy is lost as waste heat through the radiator.....and another 10% or so is lost through friction in the drivetrain, tires and wind drag. So around 20% of those BTUs get you down the road.
There are new technologies like hybrids the use the Atkinson cycle to increase thermal effeciency.
What is the main difference between Otto's cycle and Atkinson's cycle?
An Atkinson cycle has a greater work output and a higher thermal efficiency than the Otto cycle at the same operating condition. The compression ratios that maximize the work of the Otto cycle are always found to be higher than those for the Atkinson cycle at the same operating conditions.
