Aluminum Valve Covers - do they help keep head temps down?

bus914 · 14 Oct 2013, 8:22 pm

Do they help keep head temps down?

bajachris88 · 14 Oct 2013, 9:25 pm

Be cool if they had copper! 👍

Craig Torrens · 14 Oct 2013, 9:35 pm

bus914 wrote:Do they help keep head temps down?

no

matberry · 14 Oct 2013, 9:47 pm

Craig Torrens wrote:
bus914 wrote:Do they help keep head temps down?
no

x2

68AutoBug · 14 Oct 2013, 11:01 pm

bus914 wrote:Do they help keep head temps down?

HI
I have these finned alloy tappat covers.. I believe that they should work on keeping heat down.. the alloy fins work as a heatsink in which hot air blows over the fins..
cheers
Lee

HappyDaze · 15 Oct 2013, 5:20 am

They may increase the 'impression ratio'.👍

Governor · 15 Oct 2013, 6:28 am

HappyDaze wrote:They may increase the 'impression ratio'.👍

Only of they have EMPI written on them ...lol

vlad01 · 15 Oct 2013, 3:36 pm

physics says yes they work! in practice it would only be few 100ths of a degree as the fins have stuff all surface area. In fact the stock black covers will radiate heat faster since its black

lets put it this way, I were to use that sized heat sink on my computer's CPU with that many fins, it would die in about 3 min and CPU will burn.

What I have is a square of silicon about 10mm x 10mm that has just under 1.5 m2 of surface area for the heat sink and still runs hot. how much heat does an engine make?

modulus · 15 Oct 2013, 3:39 pm

HappyDaze wrote:They may increase the 'impression ratio'.👍

I guess that's the ratio of:

What you think they might do
===================
What they really might do

i.e. about 10:1.

bus914 · 15 Oct 2013, 4:13 pm

Yeah I thought that there may be some benefit since Porsche carrera engines were fitted with similar looking ones on the bottom. Considering that the covers are insulated from the head by a cork gasket there will never be proper heat transfer anyway. Unless the idea is that they start transfering heat once they get saturated with oil?

68AutoBug · 15 Oct 2013, 4:40 pm

well they do look COOL... lol😂

I get cool just looking at them... 😂

Mine are higher than normal vw tappet covers , so that high lift ratio rockers etc could be used... the spring bales are about 20mm approx higher..

VW used chromed tappet covers in scandinavia in the 50s [60s] as the chrome holds the heat... needed in extremely cold weather..

the bails wouldn't transfer any heat so its only cooling the oil that flows onto them...

the push rod tubes were made thin to transfer the heat from the oil as the cooling air from the engine flows over them..
the [hot] cooling air is always cooler than the oil..

LEE

HappyDaze · 15 Oct 2013, 4:42 pm

modulus wrote:
HappyDaze wrote:They may increase the 'impression ratio'.👍
I guess that's the ratio of:

What you think they might do
===================
What they really might do

i.e. about 10:1.

I was thinking more along the lines of:-

Number of 👍
=========
Number of 👎

Joel · 15 Oct 2013, 4:44 pm

About the only thing they help is creating more oil leaks.

68BUS · 15 Oct 2013, 5:19 pm

bus914 wrote:Yeah I thought that there may be some benefit since Porsche carrera engines were fitted with similar looking ones on the bottom. Considering that the covers are insulated from the head by a cork gasket there will never be proper heat transfer anyway. Unless the idea is that they start transfering heat once they get saturated with oil?

If is was in a porsche it may be more about weight reduction of a few grams. Use the ribs as strength and lose some material out of the channels.

Or they decided it looked good.
Which falls under the 10:1 ratio rule.

vlad01 · 15 Oct 2013, 6:33 pm

68BUS wrote:
bus914 wrote:Yeah I thought that there may be some benefit since Porsche carrera engines were fitted with similar looking ones on the bottom. Considering that the covers are insulated from the head by a cork gasket there will never be proper heat transfer anyway. Unless the idea is that they start transfering heat once they get saturated with oil?
If is was in a porsche it may be more about weight reduction of a few grams. Use the ribs as strength and lose some material out of the channels.

Or they decided it looked good.
Which falls under the 10:1 ratio rule.

yep, the ribs for rigidity.

just about every modern synthetic plastic type rocker covers have ribs just like those and that ain't for cooling 😂

AA003 · 16 Oct 2013, 6:43 am

68AutoBug wrote:VW used chromed tappet covers in scandinavia in the 50s [60s] as the chrome holds the heat... needed in extremely cold weather..

One for mythbusters.

vwo60 · 16 Oct 2013, 7:38 am

Until some one actually does a controlled test to determine if they reduce the temperature or not, it is all a guess work.

matberry · 16 Oct 2013, 8:13 am

Joel wrote:About the only thing they help is creating more oil leaks.

👍

68BUS · 16 Oct 2013, 9:03 am

Regarding the oil leaks thing. That is a benifit.
Saves time changing oil. Just top it up regularly and it cleans as it goes.
Saves money on oil filters too cause you don;t need to change them.

Geeez, you motorsport guys need to get with the program😂

HappyDaze · 16 Oct 2013, 9:10 am

68BUS wrote:Regarding the oil leaks thing. That is a benifit.
Saves time changing oil. Just top it up regularly and it cleans as it goes.
Saves money on oil filters too cause you don;t need to change them.

Geeez, you motorsport guys need to get with the program😂

And most importantly, very ENVIRONMENT - FRIENDLY !

The oil is returned to the EARTH....where it came from.

vlad01 · 16 Oct 2013, 11:00 am

AA003 wrote:
68AutoBug wrote:VW used chromed tappet covers in scandinavia in the 50s [60s] as the chrome holds the heat... needed in extremely cold weather..
One for mythbusters.

no need, its physics. highly reflective metallic surfaces like aluminum and chrome will reduce radiated heat.

look up black body radiation.

try a frying pan thats bare alloy on the bottom and black on the inside. Heat it up nice and hot. hold it out in front of your face. you will feel the heat blazing out on the black side, turn it around and virtually nothing from the shiny alloy side. Its physics 🤓

BRUTUS · 16 Oct 2013, 2:25 pm

I used to roughen and then paint my aluminium ones black, but was regarded by most as somewhat eccentric...

Craig Torrens · 16 Oct 2013, 2:30 pm

HappyDaze wrote:And most importantly, very ENVIRONMENT - FRIENDLY !

The oil is returned to the EARTH....where it came from.

😂😂

AA003 · 17 Oct 2013, 6:29 am

vlad01 wrote:
AA003 wrote:
68AutoBug wrote:VW used chromed tappet covers in scandinavia in the 50s [60s] .
One for mythbusters.
no need, its physics. highly reflective metallic surfaces like aluminum and chrome will reduce radiated heat.

look up black body radiation.

try a frying pan thats bare alloy on the bottom and black on the inside. Heat it up nice and hot. hold it out in front of your face. you will feel the heat blazing out on the black side, turn it around and virtually nothing from the shiny alloy side. Its physics 🤓

Nothing to do with physics. Read again.

vwo60 · 17 Oct 2013, 8:51 am

I powder coat all my alloy tappet covers flat black, do not have a leak on any of mine, use the correct size orings under the head of the bolts that hold them on, make certain that the bolts have a unthreaded section under the head for the oring to seal on. replacement orings are avialable from any bearing place, i cannot comment on the bale type alloy tappet covers as i have never used them.

vlad01 · 18 Oct 2013, 8:40 am

AA003 wrote:
vlad01 wrote:
AA003 wrote:
68AutoBug wrote:VW used chromed tappet covers in scandinavia in the 50s [60s] .
One for mythbusters.
no need, its physics. highly reflective metallic surfaces like aluminum and chrome will reduce radiated heat.

look up black body radiation.

try a frying pan thats bare alloy on the bottom and black on the inside. Heat it up nice and hot. hold it out in front of your face. you will feel the heat blazing out on the black side, turn it around and virtually nothing from the shiny alloy side. Its physics 🤓
Nothing to do with physics. Read again.

wtf? 🤪 it has everything to do with physics.

everything single thing in the universe is govern by physics.

Hello... wake up!

bajachris88 · 18 Oct 2013, 9:16 am

He's talking about Scandinavia in the 50's.
A physics text book doesn't have a formula to determine that 😂

Sociology is a different science altogether.

AA003 · 18 Oct 2013, 7:12 pm

By George he's got it!😂

Bizarre · 18 Oct 2013, 8:58 pm

where is Baja Wes when you want him ???? 😉

68AutoBug · 18 Oct 2013, 10:53 pm

Maybe its sciencetology ... lol

well if the alloy tappet covers are painted matt black...

I believe it will make no difference.....

there are many people who believe flat black paint will work wonders with heat..... just spray it on...

I believe I may have painted My cylinders SILVER with hi temperature paint...
the push rod tubes are painted silver. [metallic]

cheers

LEE

vassy66T1 · 19 Oct 2013, 10:24 am

This gets my vote for the most ridiculous post and equally ridiculous answers that lasted a length of time that was ... ridiculous!

68AutoBug · 19 Oct 2013, 11:36 am

vassy66T1 wrote:This gets my vote for the most ridiculous post and equally ridiculous answers that lasted a length of time that was ... ridiculous!

that flywheel will run cooler when painted black too...😂

HappyDaze · 19 Oct 2013, 11:44 am

Lee, you don't have to paint EVERYTHING....that would be ridiculous.🙄

68AutoBug · 19 Oct 2013, 12:00 pm

HappyDaze wrote:Lee, you don't have to paint EVERYTHING....that would be ridiculous.🙄

Yes Greg I do...

and black isn't My favorite colour.. especially flat black.. 😂

but a fellow in the USA believed My engine would be running hotter because My cylinders were painted silver instead of black.
Maybe because all old wood stoves with ovens etc were all black
??

LEE

It just makes pulling apart and putting back together very difficult..😂 LEE

modulus · 19 Oct 2013, 2:23 pm

68AutoBug wrote:[...] My cylinders were painted silver instead of black.
[...]
It just makes pulling apart and putting back together very difficult..😂 LEE

Lee, you could try doing your engine assembly with the lights on :- you do have electricity in Scone, don't you?