Twin turbo water lines, any harm in restricting heater core flow?
04-26-2018, 05:52 PM
#1
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Twin turbo water lines, any harm in restricting heater core flow? I'm installing small twins on a C5. Right next to the block, gravity drained. The car will be almost pure street and a daily driver, so I want to hook up the water lines for reliability/longevity. The best way I've come up with to plumb coolant through them is to re-route the heater core feed from the water pump through the turbos in series before the heater core. The whole loop is going to end up being about 8 feet long. I'm using mostly 1/2" hose, but it necks down to 3/8" for about a foot before and after each turbo.
I've seen other people do similar stuff (re-route the heater core loop) and never heard of any problems, but the factory heater core hose is 5/8", and I'm making it much longer and smaller diameter, so will this cause any problems, or am I worrying about nothing?
I've seen other people do similar stuff (re-route the heater core loop) and never heard of any problems, but the factory heater core hose is 5/8", and I'm making it much longer and smaller diameter, so will this cause any problems, or am I worrying about nothing?
04-27-2018, 08:49 AM
#4
pretty much all factory turbo cars use water to keep temps under control in the turbo. Its a really good idea on anything that is gonna see daily use for long distances.
most of us on here just hotrod our stuff around for short distances. Oil cooling is ok for that.
most of us on here just hotrod our stuff around for short distances. Oil cooling is ok for that.
04-27-2018, 06:06 PM
#5
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You could just tee off those lines so the turbos run in parallel with the main heater hose. You'll still get water flow and it will not affect the heater circuit.
05-01-2018, 06:30 PM
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Thanks for all the responses, guys.
Yes, this exactly.
You think so? I would love to just tee the lines if it would work. I was worried that the turbos would end up getting very little flow, because the path through the heater core would be so much lower restriction. I have no idea how much flow the turbos really need, though. Enough to keep coolant from sitting in them long enough to start boiling, I guess.
I've seen that done using the rear steam ports and the plumbing ends up really slick--one hose off the back of each head to each turbo, then tee into the front steam pipe going to the radiator. The only reason I don't like it is that you're taking what's already the hottest coolant in the motor and feeding it to the turbos. I'd rather feed them straight off the water pump, but man, the idea of no hoses crossing back and forth across the firewall to and from the driver's side turbo is really appealing.
I've seen that done using the rear steam ports and the plumbing ends up really slick--one hose off the back of each head to each turbo, then tee into the front steam pipe going to the radiator. The only reason I don't like it is that you're taking what's already the hottest coolant in the motor and feeding it to the turbos. I'd rather feed them straight off the water pump, but man, the idea of no hoses crossing back and forth across the firewall to and from the driver's side turbo is really appealing.
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05-30-2018, 02:57 PM
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Just to follow up on this, for what it's worth. I talked to another C5 owner with a similar setup. He also started out by re-routing the entire heater core loop through both turbos in series. Not sure if his hoses were 1/2" or 3/8", but he said it was too restrictive and his heater pretty much stopped working. He went to a tee setup like stevieturbo suggested and it's run for years since with no problems, so I will be doing the same.
06-02-2018, 02:06 PM
#10
I wonder how it would work out if you put a nipple in the thermostat housing, ran a line to the turbos, then a return line
to the top hose, or radiator-not sure how it would affect engine cooling, Maybe run it back thru a trans cooler before
the radiator. Not sure how much cooling effect from a heater core, pretty much hot water going in/out.
to the top hose, or radiator-not sure how it would affect engine cooling, Maybe run it back thru a trans cooler before
the radiator. Not sure how much cooling effect from a heater core, pretty much hot water going in/out.
06-04-2018, 05:28 PM
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I spent some time looking at this diagram and it helped me understand a lot better: http://www.billavista.com/tech/Artic...CoolingSystems
As far as I can tell, the "pressure" side of the water pump is hot (pumping out to the heater core and the top of the radiator) and the "suction" side of the water pump is cold (drawing in from the bottom of the radiator). So, I think a loop like you're describing would work pretty much the same as teeing the heater core lines--hot coolant would flow from the upper radiator hose through the turbos, then into the thermostat housing.
As far as I can tell, the "pressure" side of the water pump is hot (pumping out to the heater core and the top of the radiator) and the "suction" side of the water pump is cold (drawing in from the bottom of the radiator). So, I think a loop like you're describing would work pretty much the same as teeing the heater core lines--hot coolant would flow from the upper radiator hose through the turbos, then into the thermostat housing.