FULL Fresh Water Cooling Systems and impact on builds?

212rowboat

i just purchased brand new risers and exhaust manifolds.  I strongly considered dry joint- but knowing the full fresh water cooling system is definitely in the mix, i just couldn't justify it.  (the risers are on a total different circuit than the manifolds, and wet joint risers are cheap compared to dry joints every five years or so. ) 

having a short block in front of me, it will never be easier to recam.  knowing the limitations of the heads and measuring out the length of the pushers in reference to the ratio of the rockers, i have room for a sausage cam a friend of a friend has possession of and i can get on the cheap- brand new, never ground.  Sausage cams are popular in towing rigs- building torque down low and when coupled with a low-stall torque converter, provide a much better towing experience.  figuring that same torque would be nice on the water, and because i'm not interested in RPM's/power curves above 4500, it seems like a great fit.  I would hesitate to use it on a raw water cooled engine because of the overlap and inversion, but...... on a closed system?  why not?  is there something i'm missing? 

Handymans342

Does it have any affect on the motors output if you cool it at 170 vs 210? I noticed most boat motors run cooler than car motors. 

212rowboat

in theory you could run it to those temps, which ARE better for performance and economy, but the FWC kit comes with a regular 160* marine thermostat... i think the catalyst engines run north of 180*, but the computer is programmed to manage that.  for a carb'd engine (which mine will remain) you could likely get by with it depending on what temperature the ThunderboltV triggers the high temp warning... if it's a MPI engine and no tuning of the PCM fuel trim to temperature strategies have been made, i'd wager you're better off sticking with the 160* stat.  

Handymans342

My Yans run at 180. Is that good for diesels?

212rowboat

optimal for diesel's is 200* +/- 5* for best power and economy (complete burn)... *depends on type... gassers is 190*~210*, again based on type.  

Marine engine use lower temperatures and fatter a:f ratio's to reduce or eliminate knock, which is more likely based on the load they are constantly under.  

rasbury

I'm confused on  closed water cooling- mine "is" but it has raw water also- are any of the systems 100% closed?

212rowboat

thanks for the info, Al... turns out the cam NiB is actually a 'marine cam'- which is what he also calls an RV cam, and aka 'sausage cam'... to me they're two (at least) different things- a RV and a marine- and it's all about the LSA not the profile.  so... I'm using that camshaft.  
I didn't think about the risers being wet- and the ability to pull back in... I was thinking more about the threat of the jacket on the riser or manifold- or bad gasket/blown gasket. 

Ras:  

1/2 kit = raw to exchange and then manifold out... block alone on closed system.  

Full kit= raw water to exchange and to riser.. block and exhaust manifold on closed system. 

you can tell easily by looking at the riser/manifold union/connection- if there is only one inlet, it's a half system... if there is a hose on the front of the manifold AND on the front of the riser, it's a full system.  

rasbury

I will look but assume it is the half system.