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Unread 10-12-2004, 07:44 PM   #5
JWFokker
Cooling Savant
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Kingston, NY
Posts: 269
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It's actually pretty complicated to calculate optimal radiator size especially considering how much variation there is system to system so any answer would be entirely theoretical. A general rule of thumb is that bigger is better since the radiator won't impact your flow too much going from a single 120mm core to dual 120mm core or larger. There is a significant temperature difference going from a single to a double heatercore and gains drop off after that unless you're really pushing a lot of heat into the loop. In your case, it's probably not worth it to go bigger than a dual 120mm rad, simply because the gains won't be worth it for the logistical problems involved with a bigger rad. It's a subjective thing. But with your fans, I'd shoot for a 1" heatercore instead of a 1.5" or 2", because they really don't have the static pressure necessary to effectively cool a heatercore that deep. My 2-342 gave me identical temps to my new aluminum transmission cooler with the same fans at the same speeds and the tranny cooler is only 0.75" thick. With low speed fans it really doesn't pay to use a thicker core.

As for the reservoir, while the Mag 3 doesn't get very warm so it won't impact your water temps much, it might be better to get a reservoir that the Mag 3's intake will fit into. It's a rather large pump to build a reservoir for and you'll get just as good flow rates if you just have the intake inside the reservoir.
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