TheSamba.com :: View topic - Aluminum valve cover for cylinder head heat dissipation?

Tue Jun 16, 2015 3:11 pm

ArnoudH wrote: These were made recently:

And are said to reduce heat.[/img]

Hey they look really cool!!!!!! :lol: :lol: :lol:

Tue Jun 16, 2015 4:01 pm

If something was going to work, those would do it. Too bad the gasket insulates it from the cylinder head.

Tue Jun 16, 2015 4:46 pm

Northof49 wrote: If something was going to work, those would do it. Too bad the gasket insulates it from the cylinder head.

if the gasket weren't there, you'd have problems keeping the oil in the motor!

These covers probably do help cool the oil however, regardless of the gasket. i would bet they would be even more effective if they also had internal fins. Internal fins would increase the oil wetted surface area, resulting in more heat transfer form the oil to the cover. Even some ridges cast or cut into the inside would be have an effect. You could maybe increase the inside surface area 100% with some ribs inside, and that would help.

But is probably easier to simply install a larger oil cooler to get similar results.

Tue Jun 16, 2015 4:51 pm

mark tucker wrote: those are sweet!!! I wonder if a hotdog will fit between the fins :shock: :wink:
looks about right for bacon. :D

Tue Jun 16, 2015 5:01 pm

what gasket? it has an "o"ring!!. dont you know how "o' rings work? or how to tighten them down. cheezzee the brains areound hear are worse than my spellen :wink: me wonders how wel them plastic valve covers reaiditieate heat. since the oe cover have those bails witch are kinda like suspenders....should they be called valve coveralls??

Tue Jun 16, 2015 5:18 pm

mark tucker wrote: what gasket? it has an "o"ring!!. dont you know how "o' rings work? or how to tighten them down. cheezzee the brains areound hear are worse than my spellen :wink: me wonders how wel them plastic valve covers reaiditieate heat. since the oe cover have those bails witch are kinda like suspenders....should they be called valve coveralls??

I have always considered an O-ring to be a type of gasket. and yes O-rings gaskets do allow for metal to metal contact. when an o-ring seal is designed, the depth of groove is such that there should be metal to metal contact. the o-ring should NOT stand the two metal parts off of each other.

However in this case from what i can see form the photo and I maybe wrong, it appears the o-ring is extended way past the top of the groove, such that there wont be metal to metal contact between cover and head. could be a bad angle for determining this with the photo, but that o-ring sure appears to stand out pretty high from the groove. Since this application is not a high pressure seal, this may be acceptable, but for high pressure service, the oring groove and the mating part are supposed to completely surround the oring, else the oring can be blown out between the gap of the two mating parts. for low pressure it matters little, for high pressure it is very important!

the o-ring seals by being compressed into the groove space that is made when the two parts are joined together in contact.

My guess however is that the cover gives most of it heat rejection by the oil splashed internally on it, rather than form conduction from metal to metal but that is simply a guess, I don't know for sure. It will reject more heat than a stock cover by both conduction via the metal to metal contact and thru oil splash cooling.

I cant seem to find anymore information on this neato cover on the web, i only found one more photo by searching for Willibald.

Does any one have any links for more info?????

Tue Jun 16, 2015 5:20 pm

the "O" ring looks to be about right to me.
and the oe cover was also isolated with a gadget.but it did have those wire thingys to hold on the covers....possiably thats how they cooled so well :shock:

Tue Jun 16, 2015 5:32 pm

The stock valve covers disipate heat just like the VW engineers intended. They even clear my 1.4 rockers.

Mon Mar 14, 2016 9:57 pm

Aerindel wrote: A few facts.

physics and facts. sweet. old topic but my 2 cents. i run aluminum lightly finned clip on vc's. the heat conductive properties of aluminum are so much greater than steel and you can improve the heat radiance properties of aluminum vcs by painting the outside with a high emissivity paint.

also, you could try painting the inside of the valve cover with high emissivity paint. fact: high emitters are high absorbers. so the radiating head will heat the valve cover through radiance. the vcs then transfer heat to the air as the air swirls around the exposed vcs while you drive down the road.

Mon May 06, 2019 9:55 am

Does wrinkle paint on the outside have any effect of cooling?

Mon May 06, 2019 10:36 am

Old thread I know

The finned aluminum valve covers stay quite a bit cooler than the head. But is it because of heat dissipation or lack of transfer

Mon May 06, 2019 10:40 am

This pic has a stock valve cover arrangement on my thing

Mon May 06, 2019 11:37 pm

Remember those Derale trans pans for automatics that had the tubes brazed in them for air to pass through? what if you made valve covers like that?

eQ

Tue May 07, 2019 3:49 am

Don't forget, exhaust pipe J tube will dump heat into nearby valve cover in some circumstances, whereas stock heater box header is "aircooled"
All started with "go fast parts" and no "do better cooling systems"

Tue May 07, 2019 6:20 am

I am into art deco, love fins, I collect Electronic Heat sinks, small and some 2x4 feet and 25 lbs --

Those valve covers would look great bolted to the back of my bugs engine cover. Not Really, but I do use some on different projects. Like the spacer between my rear bumper and License Plate and on Drivers Mirror.

Also have an ATOMIC Disintegrator Ray gun ( mom bought it for me $.75 in 1957 )

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Hubley-1950s-Atomic-Disin...Sw5CZcfeWY

As for those pieces of art work valve covers. Talk about overkill !!!.

Come on really. How much heat do you think you need to disapate. The mass vs the fins will most likely balance each other out.

Also it would be a crime to hide them under the bug.

I think we should spend more time on trying to figure out how to keep the damn stock covers from leaking.

Tue May 07, 2019 3:43 pm

Northof49 wrote: Or perhaps its too far removed from the combustion chamber area to have a significant effect on cylinder head temp.
The OP knew the answer 4 years ago.

Tue May 07, 2019 6:06 pm

I would try out them big fins.....just for the looks alone.
Not that they would actually do much.......but.

Wed May 08, 2019 6:14 am

Now you are talking, that would really set that bike off.

I think that is a Trike -- if so great.

If not make sure both Valve Covers are on, you don't want the bike to fall over to one side, ha. javascript:emoticon(':wink:')

Wed May 08, 2019 7:53 pm

Its amazing the amount of scientists that always seem to pour in on so many of these threads.

Thu May 09, 2019 4:38 am

Its the aluminium fins on the head that really do the work.

I have gone from Autolinea heads out of a VW branded box which were covered in casting flash and had almost half a fin difference in height between the two sides of the head, to EMPI heads. Which have cleaner castings (and apparently better port flow out of the box )
CHT sensors in the same place on both heads (castings have same CHT boss) show about 30 degrees F cooler with the tidier EMPIs while running but heat soak back to similar levels when the engine is stopped or idling.