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S1 Cooling System

The Elise coolant system is remarkable effective due to the relatively large radiator, the front mounting position and the good air flow over the radiator, thanks to the large air intake duct and vents in the bonnet. The downside with this layout is that there is a lot of water to be carried around in all the pipework, which weighs a fair bit.

One quirk of the system is that the header tank has a 'min' and 'max' mark for the coolant level. In reality any coolant above the 'min' mark is vented out when the engine reaches operating temperature, making it a pointless exercise to top it up above the 'min' level.

For normal operation there is little point in upgrading the cooling system. As power output increases it may be worth making modifications to the system. These are not to improve the efficiency as such but more to alter the characteristics. A very good description can be found on Simon Scuffham's web site.