Michael D. Porter wrote:
> In a word, don't do it. Even when fully open, the thermostat provides
> some restriction to flow--this is necessary to allow coolant circulating
> through the radiator enough time to dissipate heat. Without the
> thermostat, coolant may pass through the radiator too quickly for
> adequate heat exchange.
Oh you can't be serious. Hasn't this one been debunked
enough times to finally kill it, at least on a proper
list like this? Or are you joking?
At any rate, this is just bunk.
On a more serious note, on some cars the thermostat is
required to ensure proper flow. A TR3 is a good example,
the thermostat routes coolant and should be replaced with
a blanking sleeve if you require it's removal.
As well, on some cars, the thermostat is required to
keep coolant flow uniform. Imaging the coolant entering
by cylinder 1, and being pumped out through the thermostat
at cylinder 4. If the thermostat is removed, there isn't
enough back pressure to maintain coolant at that
cylinder. This can cause uneven cooling of the block
and warping/cracking.
But there is no sense to the persistent rumour that
coolant can flow "too fast" to do it's job. The faster
the coolant flows, the better.
Think of it this way, if the coolant is being pushed
out of the radiator faster, it's being pushed out by
water that is fresh from the engine and even hotter. As
we all know, hotter things lose their heat faster
than cooler things, so the best way to lose a lot of
heat in a hurry is to get the radiator as close as
possible to the temperature of the engine (ie: as
hot as possible).
The faster the coolant flows, the better here.
--
Trevor Boicey
Ottawa, Canada
tboicey@brit.ca
http://www.brit.ca/~tboicey/
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