5 PRODUCTS (LESS THAN 50 EUROS IN TOTAL!) FOR OPTIMAL RADIATOR MANAGEMENT

Jacopo Colombo

11 August 2024 • 6 min. read

The main component of the liquid cooling circuit of 2 and 4-stroke kart engines, the radiator plays a crucial role in the performance and reliability of engines (to learn more, read Teck talk | The radiator). This is why it is essential to ensure, approximately after each day on the track, that the radiator is cleaned and checked properly. Why? If this component, but, more generally, if the cooling system works inefficiently, due to an excessive accumulation of internal/external dirt or due to a lack of maintenance, the risk of overheating of the engine increases, with consequent drops in power and, in the worst case, breakages, which can cost, in addition to withdrawals, even several hundred Euros in repairs! To avoid unnecessary headaches, we indicate the 5 products that will make your life easier in the ordinary management of your radiator and will allow you to have an engine that is always at maximum performance. The cost of this kit? Less than 50 Euros!

Editor's note
Do you have a kart with a liquid cooling system? Read these articles to make the most of it:

N.B. Do you think there are other products that can be added to this selection? Don't hesitate to share them with other TKART users in the "Contributions" section at the end of the article. The community will be grateful to you!

Lamellar comb

During track activity, it is not uncommon for the fins of the radiator core to bend due to impact with debris, reducing the passage of air, therefore penalizing the ability to cool the water properly. In this sense, periodically checking the fins of your radiator is a crucial step to ensure that this component always operates efficiently. What should you do when you check for bent or incorrectly aligned fins? The advice is to use a lamellar comb, a tool usually used in cleaning condensers and air conditioners which, however, is also very useful for kart radiators. In fact, compared to the use of pliers (one of the most common procedures), the lamellar comb allows you to straighten several fins at the same time, saving time and... Effort! It also allows you to act by reducing the risk of breaking the reed valves. The product we propose has a plastic handle and a head made of stainless steel and aluminium alloy bristles, whose rigidity and width is adjustable thanks to a mobile plastic element. This will allow you to adapt it depending on the "fin pitch" of your radiator’s fins. Be careful, however: regardless of the flexibility that is "imposed", it is important to carry out the repositioning activities of the fins gently, to avoid damaging them, permanently compromising the radiator.

Editor's note
The fins can have a more or less wide angle of inclination between them, so they can be more or less close to each other. One of the conventions used to measure the fin pitch is to check how many millimetres 20 fins cover. To learn more about the other variables that characterise the radiating masses of kart radiators, read “Track Test Tech | Kart radiators: given an equal surface area, how much does the type of radiator core count?".

Indicative price

About 7 euro

To buy: amazon.it
Photo credit Amazon