Someone in the Question and answer section suggested I post this question here.

I called myself searching here but I am an old guy. Sorry for the question if it has been discussed before, if so please link me to it.
I am thinking of building a trans/engine cooler using quick disconnect and a 12v DC or 115 volt AC pump. The fluid would be routed through some type of ice/cold water tank. Maybe an ice chest on wheels?
I want to install the quick disconnects in the tranny lines. I also wonder if I could not do this for the engine coolant?
Why?
I think it will lead to faster cool downs in between rounds.
Any thoughts?
Thanks for your constructive input.
Allen

Plenty of those set ups for engine coolant for heads up stuff. Ive never had the trans get hot enough to worry. A decent cooler and its good to go in 10 minutes. Engine oil never gets as warm as I'd like.
Doug

Being that both (engine and trans) run closed system you dont want to run quick disconnects(at least
the ones I'm use to) because they seal when open.. as Doug said you really dont need them.. and if
you use open ones then you would dump oil or water when open(when swapping over)

The quick disconnects I am referring to are for tractor hydraulic systems. They do close when disconnected and I have used them on my tractor for years with no leaks. This is with very high pressure.

In my bracket racing experience the more things I can duplicate run to run, the more consistent the car will be and better able to run the number. For example, I know if I come out of the burnout box over 160 degrees of coolant temp with my previous engine I was running .020 slower. That will cost the race. IT has cost the race actually. At the last race I ran my dial was 8.69. I was at 170 degrees when I left the box and I ran an 8.71 I Lost. paid the buy back, changed the dial to 8.70, I came out of the box at 150 degrees. I ran a 8.69. Another loss. I could have made other mistakes for sure, but on that day I had 8 runs. 6 were at 160 degrees or less coolant temp. All of those were 8.69 Consistency wins. Times all over the board loses.
I want to be as consistent as possible, and I feel being able to leave the pit with a cold engine and tranny will remove a variable that can be controlled and help accomplish that.
Thanks for your input.
Allen

I am a bracket racer also and I dont see that much variance with E-85.. I also would leave the burn out at
a certain temp and trans a certain temp.. air pressure checked every round

I run the Jiffy-Tite disconnects in my tranny cooler lines. Mr P-Body, could you please explain what you mean? I know you have a lot of experience using and developing that type of stuff. Did I create a potential problem?

I race too and have considered something like that to cool the tranny. I know in later rounds you'll hear some racers firing up their leaf blowers, but I just use a fan directed towards the pan. I assume the cooler connections wouldn't work very well considering where they come from/feed and that dedicated fittings in the pan would be needed.

Thanks

My thought was a T fitting in the line close to the cooler up near the front of the car. I would have a remote cooler in a box on wheels with 2 flexible lines that I could connect. Then use a small pump to pump the cold fluid in and the hot fluid out? Or just circulate the existing fluid with a small volume 12 v DC pump?

Anything to keep it cool will help I am sure.

I wish I could be at the exact same temp every time i get in the water box, but in 15 years of racing that doesn't happen many times.

Allen

Normally in the lanes I have to fire up the car to keep the coolant up to temp before I hit the burn out
box.. I dont have to worry about the trans temp.. they dont vary much at all.. I do have gauges on all
of that.. the biggest variance is the water temp.. if I dont keep a eye on it, it can cool down to much
and if I cant get the temp up by the time I hit the burn out my ET can vary a bit.. I also throw out
my first test pass.. that seem to screw up my numbers

First, I have to say that I don't bracket race much. I might not have needed to say that after you read this post, but..............

A few years ago, I had the opportunity to sit in on a bracket 'class' at Gateway ran by the previous year's winningest racer. He had a multi-page sheet of info that he had filled out for each and every pass he had made. And then used a spread sheet with current data to determine his anticipated ET. I may still have a copy of it laying around somewhere.

He said the biggest mistake he saw guys make was to try and run the same ET every time. He said that the most successful way to run was to know what the car would run given the conditions it would run in. He didn't dial until the last possible moment. As long as he had enough data to know what the car would run, he would just dial that number, whatever it was. Much easier than chasing a target number every run.

Can't verify that theory myself. But he lived by it. I can't think of his name right now, some of you guys probably know him. He used to run the 'Rental Car Nationals'. Ring a bell with any of you guys?

I did the same thing but I used electronics to record my data.. I sold all my stuff when I got out of racing
due to health.. but I used a ET logger also which would take the temp, baro and it would come up with
my ET for each run.. very actuate.. the biggest problem for me was having a couple of stokes
and I lost my edge on the starting line

Man, that sucks and I am sure sorry to hear that. I have a good friend that had a stroke a few months ago. It hit him hard and he is very depressed. Not doing good at all.

Best to you!

This year wasnt good for the wife and I... she had a brain tumor and I had my other stroke.. then I had a couple
of surgeries on my back that both failed.. not good in my books... right now I can barely walk for a couple
of minutes

Sorry about your health.

I have documented runs on this car going back to 08 with the old engine. Humidity, temp, pressure, time of day. lane, track, ect... the previous owner and I have kept very good records.
In every case, engine temp played a role in ET. I am unable to change my ET after I enter the water box.
Why not try and keep that under better control and be ahead of the game?

Allen

Believe me.. thats one thing I tried to watch closely.. like I said.. if I was back in the lanes I could
keep it where I wanted it.. being E-85 I would normally have to fire it up a couple of times

I have one There are plenty of them out there used all the time in Stock, SS, Comp, Pro Stock, T/S and heads up racing. Many are homemade using an ice chest and submersible pump with ice and water. They are quite affective you just need to have the ice.

There are also iceless versions that just need water and chill that water through a refrigeration unit. This is the type I have. Fill it with water once and that will last all weekend. No need for bag after bag of ice. But they come at a much higher price point. Mine was actually and old beer circulation unit to chill beer at bars. We just adapted it for use here. Mine is plumbed into one of my water lines using one of these. There is trap door inside to direct cold water in and hot water out. Can get the engine to 50 degrees fairly quickly and no need for the fan or water pump to run. Mine is plumbed into one of my -12 coolant lines and uses -8 jiffytite fittings for quick messless easy connection.

Thanks

I've never had my trans fluid get too hot that it needs a remote remote cooler. I have a fan on my B&M cooler which rarely gets turned on, & when it did, 30 secs of idle & the temp plummeted to nearly off the guage. I understand what the OP is tryn to do, but that seems a lot of extra work for something as simple as a fan can control.

He had a post in the question and answer area before this one and recommended this cooling pump for transmissions that a lot of hard core bracket racers use, especially double class racers.


http://jonestransmissionpumps.com/

I saw that but I do not want that weight if possible. I also want to reduce the battery load on the car.
That is close to what I want to do, just where it can be separate it from the car.
I may not do the trans, but I am gonna figure a way to do the engine.
Thanks for the input.
Allen

Years ago I used a bug sprayer to cool the engine