lets talk radiator design

so, im planning a radiator change. needs to be a very heavy duty and robust cooling system. im looking for the level of overkill that equates to killing a small spider with a 20 lb hammer.

im planning aluminum to reduce a little front end weight. will be bolted to the core support, so no rear mounted radiator ideas.

also planned on running dual electric fans with a shroud.

so, my options are plentiful. theres a couple of bolt in three core aluminum radiators, some 4 core, and all the way down to single core. all bolt in. i can get a little more creative with non-bolt in, and come up with a bunch more options.

so, my decisions come down to how many rows? crossflow or downflow, and why? offset inlet/outlet, or inline inlet/outlet, and why? what will provide the maximum amount of cooling for a given radiator opening/fan cfm/core size?

i know that theres probably a lot more to it than this, but first step is radiator. then on to water pump. water pump will be belt driven for reliability. serpentine reverse flow small block chevy. im thining aluminum water pump, but i doubt the weight reduction for the amount of money will not be worth it in this case over cast iron. im looking for maximum dependability, and agin, maximum cooling. i was thinking using a late 80's truck water pump with the heavy duty cooling options. any better ideas?

anything i should consider with hoses? anything that would make the cooling system more robust and effective other than hight quality molded gates hoses?

and yes, im overthinking and over engineering what should be a buy bolt in parts and put together job. i plan on playing with twin turbos on this thing at some point.

At least 2 rows, more is better, for fans you want the biggest shrouded fans you can get (flex-a-lite tends to make good fans) and put them in an extractor arrangement (putting them in front disrupts and reduces airflow while the car is moving). On the front you want shrouds between the radiator and front bumper opening to prevent any air that enters the front inlets from escaping over or below the radiator or around the sides (see: S2k for example)

For a water pump, if you want max cooling power independent of revs then go with electric. They can run flat out while the engine's idling.

Dunno about the other stuff.

A little bit of topic but could be relevent.

At our ice races last Sunday, two of the modified cars had overheating problem. I'st 14degrees f. Both are running junk yard parts. One thought he needed more air flow, the other knew his problem. Gunked up cooling system For the other, I told him, if he is overheating at these temperatures, there is something wrong with his cooling system. Just a thought.

BTW you know that if you're running twin turbos oil cooling is just as important. You should have an oil cooler after each turbo, put them either behind the radiator with a fan moved to the front, or mounted separately somewhere that they'll get good airflow. Using inlet ducts that run to pipes that run to a "backwards" duct feeding an oil cooler is an option.

They are your friends:

https://www.griffinrad.com/