Engine life for Air vs liquid cooled

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flw · #1 Unread post by **flw** » Sat Jul 08, 2006 2:26 am

I'd like to know how much of a difference there is between the life of a air cooled engine and a liquid cooled engine, if both drived on the street and as hard/easy?

I have the same question for V-style engines and I style due to heat build up?

Last for now is there a advantage to using synthetic oil like in auto's?

Randy · #2 Unread post by **Randy** » Sat Jul 08, 2006 1:56 pm

the only thing I can say is pull your radiator out of your car and see how it runs. Then again, I am not a mechanic.

Noob4.0 · #3 Unread post by **Noob4.0** » Sat Jul 08, 2006 2:13 pm

I am not to sure about the air cooled liquid debate. Any bike with proper maintenance will last a long time. Air cool means you do have less parts to worry about. Coolant, water pump, hoses etc. Air cool means larger cooling fins and you gotta keep your oil good. In air cooled machines the oil helps cool the engine along with the lubrication it provides it.

In all my vehicles I shoot synthetic. It costs more but I find it does a good job and lasts a bit longer then normal motor oil and provides more protection.

-Curly- · #4 Unread post by **-Curly-** » Sat Jul 08, 2006 2:37 pm

the only thing I can say is pull your radiator out of your car and see how it runs. Then again, I am not a mechanic.

Yea, you can still see the old VW beetles driving around today and they are air cooled.

dieziege · #5 Unread post by **dieziege** » Sat Jul 08, 2006 2:50 pm

Airplane engines regularly last 40+ years (and thousands of hours running at nearly full throttle) and most of them are air cooled. Maintenance is key.

ofblong · #6 Unread post by **ofblong** » Sat Jul 08, 2006 4:05 pm

dieziege wrote:Airplane engines regularly last 40+ years (and thousands of hours running at nearly full throttle) and most of them are air cooled. Maintenance is key.

most of those also are in air that is freezing way up there.

Kal · #7 Unread post by **Kal** » Sat Jul 08, 2006 4:36 pm

-Curly- wrote:Yea, you can still see the old VW beetles driving around today and they are air cooled.

Our project 1303s is 34 years old in December. Most of the bodywork is new(ish) but the engine is still strong and will be going back on the road without a massive rebuild.

(Don't ask, at some point this year I am hoping I wil have the time and funds to sort my bike out and can stop riding the Trike)

dieziege · #8 Unread post by **dieziege** » Sat Jul 08, 2006 4:41 pm

most of those also are in air that is freezing way up there.

No, not really. Most light planes spend their lives at low altitudes... many (trainers) spend much of their lives in the pattern which means going from ground level to typically 1000AGL... even at higher altitudes of 5000-8000 feet air temps are usally less than 5 degrees cooler per 1000 feet... so if it's 100 on the ground it'll be 95 at 1000 and 75 at 5000. Hardly freezing.

ofblong · #9 Unread post by **ofblong** » Sat Jul 08, 2006 10:03 pm

ahh im thinking bigger planes never thought about the daily driver kind of plane. well then you have more wind current lol. although im sure thats not going to make that big a difference going 250mph up in the air

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TechTMW · #10 Unread post by **TechTMW** » Sat Jul 08, 2006 10:56 pm

Anything w/ cooling fins will stay within proper operating temps as long as it's got some kind of breeze blowing on it.

There is always an advantage to using synthetic oil.

As for your other questions ... Man buy a bike and enjoy it, air or water cooled, it doesn't matter. There are TONS of old bmw (Air Cooled) bikes that are still on the road. I've posted 2 links about such bikes - One had 600,000 miles on it, the other had 400,000 miles on it.

As most people mentioned, it's all about the maintenance. If you maintain your bike, and replace parts as necessary, the bike will outlast you. Whether it's air or water cooled. Smaller CC dirtbike engines tend to burn out long before street bike engines, but that's because they live harder lives and get the snot revved out of them. BUT. They are tiny engines, simple to work on. So there's the trade-off. The engine may burn out quicker, but you can get a whole new piston and ring set for a hundred bucks or so, and have a completely rebuilt engine in a weekend.

It's all a trade off. everything has its advantages and disadvantages.

Just buy what you like, ride it, and maintain it!