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Rule 6.3

I"ll start the ball rolling on this one, and stick my neck out by saying that i think the radiator(for the engine) should remain within the confines of the engine bay.
Why??, when its obvious that its a great advantage to have it on the back - clean and out of the shit
Well simply because there are quite a few trucks that are/have been built inside the present rules and the owners/builders have managed to comply.
Cooling has always been a issue when playing in the mud, but at least at the moment everyone has the same problem.

Just my 2 cents.....

As this was originally brought up by me i thought i would explain my thoughts /At present a few of us are running either rear mounted trans coolers ,Hyd oil coolers,or intercooler radiators why not allow us to run the main engine cooler on the back also as long as all pipe work runs under or away from the occupants of the truck and all is certified ,from a saftey point nothing will change and from a visual point the only difference will be we will be running a larger radiator in the rear ,I know that this may only apply to traybacks / utes etc and may be an unfair advantage in some peoples eyes but the same was proberly said when the first Nissan was tray backed and Hyd winches came on the scene ,its called progress".Just my thoughts .Steve

I think there is a place for it but not within the current Challenge class. I think that it is getting too far from the concept of having a road legal vehicle. There is no arguement it would be easier to keep the trucks running etc etc and for an outlaw type class then no doubt about it. I don't see this as safety thing I just think it is a good rule to keep the trucks more like a standard truck.
I think this is just an opinion one so will come down to what people.

Hi Darin ,Re being road legal i have spoken to my Cert guy who said as long as it was done right it would not be a WOF problem and would be road legal..Steve

I realise it can be legal, I was more talking in concept. ie radiator in front of the engine. If we said you can run anything you can get certified then we would no longer have a standard looking truck.
To me having them at the back is way more practical, I just don't like how it changes the general layout of the truck.

Hey the rule says that you must have to have the rad in the engine bay etc.... well I have allways complied I thought as I have had a rad in the tailgate as well keep the old girl cool tailgate never gets muddy. Rules do not say you cant have a rad somewhere else as well as the engine bay so leave it alone I say .

Darryn, having an additional radiator in the tailgate does not comply with the current rule. It says 'all engine cooling radiators', not 'the radiator'.

Rule 6.3

All engine cooling radiators apart from oil coolers must remain within the confines of the front grill and the engine bay.

It is my opinion that a hilux with 31's and a radiator on its deck would be mistaken for standard by the average punter far more often than a hilux on 37s with a rad in the engine bay. (I know Steve has allready said it).
Allowing a radiator on the back takes very little away from our "recognisable standard vehicle"
It is a cheap(ish) mod. No need to spend dollars on many oil coolers and fans and all those bloody fittings.Keeping costs low will encorage more people to our sport.
I understand that people in wagons may have a disadvantage here, Nissan drivers may tell you that I have a disadvantage in my hilux.
Who of you would be truly happy to come in first place because the guy who was beating you overheated his truck on the last stage?
So If its not a road legal issue, and its not a safety issue, and doesnt make the ruts deeper, why is it an issue?
I know many of you will not want to change your trucks, and you wont want me to have this "unfair" advantage, so I see its tricky for you. Tough.
And finally, It was my interpretation that THE radiator had to be in the engine bay. I assumed (wrongly, as Darryn has been competing all this time with a rad in his tailgate) that even if you did have two radiators, they would both need to be in the engine bay. As this clearly is not the case, and if the rules are not changed, then I will turn up with a 150mmX150mm radiator in my engine bay and a holden radiator on the back of my truck.
Cheers.

P.S What was the original intention of the "rad must be in engine bay" rule?

The original radiator rule said (first written in 2003 for the Denny's Restaurants NZ 4x4 Challenge)...

Extra and remote mounted radiators are permitted provided they remain within the confines of the front grill and the engine bay.

It was changed for the 2007 version of the rules to the current rule to exclude oil coolers...

All engine cooling radiators apart from oil coolers must remain within the confines of the front grill and the engine bay.

I can't see any room for mis-interpretation in either rule, but if there is, please do explain.

The original rule was created to keep things closer to the standard production vehicle concept that our rules are based around and to stop a few having a huge advantage over others (just like we don't allow portal axles).

Nope, no confusion there, thanks Jeremy.

So did I read Darryns post wrong or has he competed (compete?) in many events with a secondary radiator?

Well since we are moving with the times and few have any problem with a hilux cab on a nissan chassis, why cant we put a radiator on the back of our "not at all standard but Joe Public thinks its a hilux"?

Why dont we allow portals? Is it just cause of the massive dollar investment that some could make and many could not? If so, then by the same logic lets allow a radiator on the back.

The radiator rule is not about budget, it's about keeping a level playing field for all types of vehicles and not favouring tray-back cars and others like Darryn's who are able to run a rear mounted radiator. Or at least, that was the idea.

We have rules based around production vehicles. Name a model that has a radiator that isn't within the engine bay?
Name a vehicle that has portal axles that you 'could' use in a WC. The same can be said for 37" tyres.

Again we are talking rear mounted radiators when that is NOT what the current rule stops. It is about keeping a factory configuration. This is also why portals aren't allowed.
So the same arguement does not work for 37" tyres. If someone turned up in a Hummer, which they can, would you then say they can't race as it came out of the factory?

Nope, they couldn't turn up in a Hummer, as portals are not allowed. The rules are pretty clear - there's no grey area there.

Oops forgot they had portals!

There is no need to change this rule. Everyone who has built a truck to date has been able to comply with the rules without a problem.

If you want to rear mount your engine radiator, go build a buggy and race Outlaw Class.

Well Jeremy walker...... I prefered to call it the "heater radiator" as I moved the heater from the interior to fit computor etc. Anyhow I removed it as I was looking for weight saving for Taupo race. It may go back in if I see the need for my heater !

Quote Mitch O'Brien:

If you want to rear mount your engine radiator, go build a buggy and race Outlaw Class.

We could just add a clause that states all heater venting must be onto the inside of the windscreen or to the driver and co-driver! I'd just love to see hot hot Darryn gets with all that hot air blasting him throughout a race!

Ah very clever! Me thinks it might be time for a bigger heater in the hilux

Quote Darin Neeley:

Quote Mitch O'Brien:

If you want to rear mount your engine radiator, go build a buggy and race Outlaw Class.

We could just add a clause that states all heater venting must be onto the inside of the windscreen or to the driver and co-driver! I'd just love to see hot hot Darryn gets with all that hot air blasting him throughout a race!

Hey thats good , you keep it up soon you may have it all figured out . Anyhow there's enough hot air in there as it is , cheers. Seriously, rear mounted rads are not all that radical and should be accepted providing primary OME cooling is still in place.

Jeez Darryn..... L.O.L.