Hello everyone,
CSF has joined the forums to spread awareness about our new line of high performance / race-spec line of coolers for the F8x M3/M4 platform.
We'll be releasing 3 coolers at SEMA in two weeks! - 1st up for public release is our new:
”GAMEOVER" High Performance Heat Exchanger
By this time, everyone has read the spiel on the benefits of a high performance heat exchanger for these vehicles so we'll just skip to presenting why ours is the best option available on the market.
- Please see the bullet points (in our e-flyer above) as well as our comparison charts to other options on the market today. (zoomed below for easier review)
We'll have 2 versions of this cooler available.
STREET (presented in these charts) as well as a limited test-run of
Race-Spec larger more hard-core units for dedicated race-cars.
STREET- 2-row B-TUBE core with 45 rows of cooling tubes
- "Drop-in fit", requiring no modifications to install
Race-Spec- 2-row B-TUBE core with 50 rows of cooling tubes
- Requires some modifications to install. Such as; the slightest trimming of the underside top cross support and top plastic shroud. Also slight trimming of OEM plastic mounting brackets - An experience race-builder / tuner should be able to handle these modifications with no problem.
* I know the questions will start coming on what exactly is required - I will put some detailed instructions on our race-spec version later this week
Street version installed
Before going any further, we feel it is important to state that CSF is the
ONLY company that is the actual cooling system manufacturer of the full heat exchanger from the options that are currently available on the market today. Because of this fact, CSF possesses:
- Competitive advantages
- OEM Tier-1 Thermal transfer technologies
- & the economies of scale (when it comes to cooling components) to offer the best value to the consumer.
You can read more about our 4-generation company history on
SPEEDHUNTERS
WHAT IS B-TUBE TECHNOLOGY??
Short Answer:
- More Surface area contact with the coolant inside the tube (~15% more surface area contact than normal welded oval tubes)
- Lighter
- Thinner
- Stronger
- Best flow due to the structure. This allows the tube to not be pinched close when joined to the header plate (like most oval welded tube).
It really is amazing how many dead or almost dead tubes there are in most aftermarket high performance radiators.
Long Answer
Unlike a regular oval shape "O" type radiator tube, CSF uses a specially engineered tube in a shape of a "B". These "B-tubes" are carefully formed and then brazed over the seam to seal. CSF is able to use thinner and lighter aluminum material (better cooling efficiency) because this design is actually stronger than normal "O" shape tubes that are welded.
The design (inlet in the middle of tube that is seam brazed) increases the heat transfer surface area of the tube by approximately 15% over regular tubes. You get the efficiency of 2 smaller tubes vs. 1 large tube within the same space criteria. With "B-tubes" you are able to get "dual liquid laminar flow."
The tubes are made from aircraft grade special clad aluminum and are intricately formed on our high precision 6-stage tube-forming mill. No other aftermarket radiator manufacturer uses this technology. This technology raises the bar and sets the standard for high performance radiator cores.
HIGH PRECESION MULTI-LOUVERED 6.5mm FIN
The fin height of the core directly effects:
- The efficiency of the core / heat exchanger (thermal rejection capabilities)
- The flow of the air through the core (core density (i.e fins p/inch)
The smaller the fin height the more dense the core is, and also the more surface area contact between the fins and tubes. More surface area contact means more heat rejection from the transfer of the heat out of the coolant and into the air that is passing through the core. Also the smaller the fin height the more tubes you can pack in the same size core.
When it comes to thermal transfer, there has to be a harmonious balance between 3 major characteristics:
- Air flow
- Frontal Surface area
- Fluid Capacity
- You also have to keep in mind that when you're stacking coolers in front of each other, the attributes of frontal coolers will directly effect the performance of coolers placed behind them (in this case you have the radiator, DCT Transmission cooler, and AC Condenser behind as well as the Oil cooler placed perpendicular below)
The OEM unit has a 1-row 27mm thick core with a 6.0mm fin height. This is a very efficient core. With CSF increasing the core thickness to a 2-row 42mm core, we opted to only increase the fin height slightly to 6.5mm. We tested this core configuration on our in-house wind-tunnel machine, and we found this to have negligible effects of the performance of the rest of the cooling system.
Important Note: We're fortunate to be working with Yost Autosport on their race program as their cooling supplier. Because of this, we were able to have their entire cooling system out of the car for 2+ months to reverse engineer, inspect, and test against our high performance offerings.
We sized our cooler to leave more space at the bottom of the cooling system to give best airflow to the DCT cooler as well as unimpeded exit airflow for the oil cooler that is placed perpendicular to the rest of the cooling system.
TESTING & VALIDATION
We're working with 2 respected BMW affiliates to help publish our testing data.
- VF Engineering, long-time R&D partners, will be helping us with lab/dyno testing that will be published after SEMA to back-up our own lab testing.
- Yost Autosport who has been testing our race-spec cooler in their new endurance M4 race car. They will be using our full 3-piece cooling package in the "25 Hour of Thunderhill Race" in December.
PRICE & AVAILABILITY
This is the 1st forum that we've ever joined as we don't sell directly to the end consumer. We support the automotive distribution channel through our network of distributors and select direct-dealers (many of them who are forum sponsors).
MSRP & MAP - $799 USD
(NO Discounting whatsoever on this product).
Race-Spec - available now - 18 pieces left
Street - Will start being available December 1st-15th.
For all pre-orders, please contact our R&D partner / distributor/dealer - VF ENGINEERING. You can also PM us if you have any questions.
If you'll be attending SEMA, please come by our booth in central hall (#21653) to check out all of our our new M3/M4 coolers on display and the debut of the new PSM Dynamic wide-body Yost Autosport M4 endurance race car
