Ok, another coolant reservoir discussion

[Rapid Red]

I was told to fill it half way which is what I am going to do.
I also ordered a new cap for it just to make sure it sealed properly...

Fine with me, a question was asked and answered it.
Footnote: did not need to be TOLD what to do.

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[Lorne34]

Fine with me, a question was asked and answered it.
Footnote: did not need to be TOLD what to do.

I had reached out to Steeda regarding this and was not getting any response. So I decided to post the question here on this thread. They finally got back to me and this is what they instructed me to do. That is who I was referring to.
I appreciate your input and taking the time to share your thoughts as well.
I want to follow the manuf recommendations although i'm sure there are some variances.
I was not trying to offend you in any way.
My apologies.

 

[Rapid Red]

I had reached out to Steeda regarding this and was not getting any response. So I decided to post the question here on this thread. They finally got back to me and this is what they instructed me to do. That is who I was referring to.
I appreciate your input and taking the time to share your thoughts as well.
I want to follow the manuf recommendations although i'm sure there are some variances.
I was not trying to offend you in any way.
My apologies.

No offense meant or taken, not that weak. Some car guys just say what’s on their minds.

Not to be mean, kindly save the apology. As it comes across as placating.

 

[LOL WUT]

No offense meant or taken, not that weak. Some car guys just say what’s on their minds.

Not to be mean, kindly save the apology. As it comes across as placating.

You seem like a wonderful human.

 

[Lorne34]

No offense meant or taken, not that weak. Some car guys just say what’s on their minds.

Not to be mean, kindly save the apology. As it comes across as placating.

First off, I had to look up what "placating" meant.. lol
It's like when my dad would study the "it pays to enrich your word power" section of the readers digest (i'm dating myself here). Always good to learn new words.
I was not concerned about appeasement, just feeling bad because I reread my first response to your post and realized that I rushed it and did not fill in all of the details. Personally I felt it came off as dismissing your suggestion. Maybe that is a weakness of mine, but I always want to make sure I am treating people kindly.
No harm, no foul. I appreciate this forum and all the input.

 

[JAJ]

IMO, the factory and all aftermarket choices just look totally ugly…

I’m really surprised at this stage that no one in the aftermarket or even some guys on here have not designed a better coolant overflow bottle; instead of being an ugly tank mounted at the top, why not one that is designed to be vertical and hug the fan shroud…. OR be placed in another location where it is still easily accessible, BUT isn’t just “right in your face” after opening the hood.

There has to be a better way…

There are two design constraints the contribute to the way it's made. First, it has to have an air space volume that is exactly the right size to manage the cooling system pressure at high temperatures when the coolant has expanded from the heat. Too small and plumbing will burst. Too big and there might not be enough pressure to keep the coolant from boiling. It has to be just right.

The second constraint is the location of the cap. It has to be above the highest point in the engine so that air can't get into the water passages in the engine when it's operating.

Taken together, the volume and height requirements produce a container that is fairly big and that has to be fairly high. After that, it's a packaging exercise to find a convenient spot for it, and, as we see, Ford went for an obvious location that ticks all the boxes.

 

[NPTR]

Thinking of a nice happy medium - buying a second OEM one and painting it black. Clean up the look of the bay a bit, while sticking with an OE spec product.

 

[Lorne34]

Thinking of a nice happy medium - buying a second OEM one and painting it black. Clean up the look of the bay a bit, while sticking with an OE spec product.

I thought of that as well. There is also an option to put a slip on cover over it.
The thing that convinced me to replace it though was several posts about the plastic getting brittle from the heat. Not sure how valid and argument that is, but the inside of my oem container did not look pretty and the plastic was starting to dry out and cloud up. I trust steeda and they have used the tank on all of their test and race mustangs, so i'm sure i will have a good balance between looks and performance.

 

[Lorne34]

There are two design constraints the contribute to the way it's made. First, it has to have an air space volume that is exactly the right size to manage the cooling system pressure at high temperatures when the coolant has expanded from the heat. Too small and plumbing will burst. Too big and there might not be enough pressure to keep the coolant from boiling. It has to be just right.

The second constraint is the location of the cap. It has to be above the highest point in the engine so that air can't get into the water passages in the engine when it's operating.

Taken together, the volume and height requirements produce a container that is fairly big and that has to be fairly high. After that, it's a packaging exercise to find a convenient spot for it, and, as we see, Ford went for an obvious location that ticks all the boxes.

Thanks for that explanation, that is why I was concerned about getting the tank fluid level right as well as replacing the oem cap just to make sure.

 

[NPTR]

I thought of that as well. There is also an option to put a slip on cover over it.
The thing that convinced me to replace it though was several posts about the plastic getting brittle from the heat. Not sure how valid and argument that is, but the inside of my oem container did not look pretty and the plastic was starting to dry out and cloud up. I trust steeda and they have used the tank on all of their test and race mustangs, so i'm sure i will have a good balance between looks and performance.

Thanks for the heads-up on the covers...this is a nice solution for me, as I won't be tracking (spirited driving for sure, but no track time) so the cover will accomplish my goal of cleaning up the engine bay without swapping the actual part...thank you!

 

[Rapid Red]

Thanks for the heads-up on the covers...this is a nice solution for me, as I won't be tracking (spirited driving for sure, but no track time) so the cover will accomplish my goal of cleaning up the engine bay without swapping the actual part...thank you!

The covers make the tank look bigger & worse, carbon fiber is even more ugly.


A picture worth a thousand words.

.

Out of place. looks like a shower cap old ladies wear.

I do find concerns regarding welds cracking and leaking ........ ridiculous. When thinking about all the TIG welding, applications out in the world.

 

[Angrey]

There are two design constraints the contribute to the way it's made. First, it has to have an air space volume that is exactly the right size to manage the cooling system pressure at high temperatures when the coolant has expanded from the heat. Too small and plumbing will burst. Too big and there might not be enough pressure to keep the coolant from boiling. It has to be just right.

The second constraint is the location of the cap. It has to be above the highest point in the engine so that air can't get into the water passages in the engine when it's operating.

Taken together, the volume and height requirements produce a container that is fairly big and that has to be fairly high. After that, it's a packaging exercise to find a convenient spot for it, and, as we see, Ford went for an obvious location that ticks all the boxes.

It doesn't need to be large. If you operate the system within normal parameters (aka you haven't swapped a cap for a higher pressure and you run a max of 50/50 antifreeze), the most that the system can expand (on a GT350 it's 15.2 quarts or just shy of 4 gallons) is about 3-4% for pure water and about 4.5-5% for 50/50 mix. The system has a 1.5 bar (1.45 atmosphere) cap that will purge preventing rupture of the other system elements.

That equates to expansion of less than 2 cups for pure water and about 3 cups for 50/50 mix.

There's no need for a ginormous grenade. Again, I'm running the small and compact Radium unit and it levels about half full at steady state for normal driving cycles and a little lower if I get the coolant elevated. It has a capacity of about 3 cups. It is not an expansion tank but primarily a swirl pot to remove aeration. To fully purge the whole volume, I'd have to flog the car to well over 233F ECT (boiling point of pure water at 1.5 bar) and once it begins to boil at pressure no amount of expansion tank is going to suffice.

The whole point of an expansion tank is so that the system can feature the maximum amount of liquid coolant (cold) with no air at the top of the system. When totally full, the system can not expand to more than a few cups before the cap purges.

The other reason I like the radium unit is because there's no welds, it's two piece with a gasket and threaded fasteners. So you're not relying on human performance and quality control hoping that they got a decent weld thickness everywhere. Heat cycling and corrosion eventually attack the thinnest parts of the system and it's why welded aluminum units are heavily prone to leaks and issues because it only takes one thin spot to eventually leak.

 

[NPTR]

The covers make the tank look bigger & worse, carbon fiber is even more ugly.


A picture worth a thousand words.

.

Out of place. looks like a shower cap old ladies wear.

I do find concerns regarding welds cracking and leaking ........ ridiculous. When thinking about all the TIG welding, applications out in the world.

Super helpful pics - I think the cover looks best actually. I see the size point, but I’m OK with that. Material looks oem as well. Since I’m not concerned about performance of it, I’m going cover. Super helpful pics thanks for this!

 

[Rapid Red]

Super helpful pics - I think the cover looks best actually. I see the size point, but I’m OK with that. Material looks oem as well. Since I’m not concerned about performance of it, I’m going cover. Super helpful pics thanks for this!

You will be happy with the cover, much cleaner than a football.

 

[Amac8487]

I have the steeda, and have been happy with it. It’s been on for a little over a year with no issue. The only downside , is there is no window to view the level… however, I feel like having the viewing tube that many other companies have is a weak point. With as much pressure that is created in there, I didn’t want to risk the little plastic tube bursting.

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