aftermarket radiator reviews.

[BrassMonkeY]

my radiator is nasty and old, and i have a large intercooler covering it.
its time for a new one.

im looking at the summit brand aliminum rad. anyone use this brand. good,bad?

thanx.

[SteveReject]

www.radiatorbarn.com has good aluminum radiators, I got one for my lebaron for $100 shipped.

-Steve Reject.

1997 Chevrolet Cavilier (the POS) (http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2211292)

1992 Chrysler Lebaron GTC (http://www.cardomain.com/ride/580902)
K&N Cold Air Intake, 15* Ignition Timing, 52mm Throttle Body, 2.5" catback, MSD Coil,Taylor 8mm wires, NGK Plugs, HD Trans Cooler, Aluminum Radiator, A-Spec Strut Tower Bar, Falken ZE-512 205/55/16

[BrassMonkeY]

going throught the menues i cant find a aluminum rad for a dodge,

where did you find it on there site? the lebaran and omni rads the same size?

[CletusJones]

going throught the menues i cant find a aluminum rad for a dodge,

where did you find it on there site? the lebaran and omni rads the same size?
I couldn't find any all aluminum ones either. They do have regular radiators listed for our cars though.

I've never personally used summit brand radiators but I've had friends use them with good success.

[rbryant]

An aluminum radiator won't cool as well as a copper one if the tubes are the same configuration! So if you have the choice on a factory aluminum vs copper radiator the copper one might very well be better.

Here is my own personal analysis:

The thermal conductivity of copper is roughly twice that of aluminum depending on the alloy you end up a lot better off with the copper radiator in stock form because the tubes are in the same configuration. It probably isn't twice the capacity but it is better than aluminum.

reference: http://www.engineersedge.com/properties_of_metals.htm


The cooling advantage of aluminum comes in because a wider tube gives more water to metal contact area than a small tube does. Going a step further a single wide tube gives more metal to water contact area than 2 smaller tubes:

Think about (=====) vs (=) (=) They both have the same radiator width but the single wide tube has a lot more cooling capacity in this case roughly 5 vs 3 cooling units (counting the ends of the multiple tube case as half each) Note the dead space that means overall and less contact with the metal.

If copper has twice the conductivity then we are breaking even except the pressure loss is higher for the smaller tubes...

In this case aluminium is overall about the same. When we consider a few more things it eventually ends up better. The front of the radiator does more cooling than the back. I am not sure how much but if we say that it does twice the cooling in the first inch as the seconnd inch now it is more like 3.5 cooling units vs 1.5.

This means that we in effect have something that is 3.5 cooling units vs 3 when we factor in the thermal conductivity of the materials even if we give the copper core a full 2:1 advantage as the conductivity charts show..

The main reasons I found that aluminum is used in performance radiators are:


It is lighter 3:1
It is cheaper by the pound 2.25:1 (makes it over 6X cheaper)
It can be made with wider tubes compared to copper (with decent yeild in mass production but I don't remember why exactly...)
Not because aluminum cools better than copper because it doesn't!


As a side note this might change as copper radiator production techniques are improved see:
http://www.copper.org/applications/automotive/radiators/design_innovations.html

I also don't care for plastic end tanks. If you get a clog on a copper/brass core you can have the end tanks removed and rod it out. That can't be done very easily on an aluminium radiator with plastic tanks.

So if you have a choice between a stock plastic/aluminum radiator form radiator barn and a copper/bronze one as factory replacements for our cars the copper/brass is probably better!

If you go for an aftermarket high quality racing radiator the aluminum ones are probably better! This is especially true because I was not even able to find a company making a wide tube copper core radiator. I bet it would be much more expensive if they were.

-Rich

[turbovanman²]

I am trying to get a price on a oversize aluminium that bolts in place of my stocker. He's getting back to me tomorrow, :nod:

[Turbodave]

JT(badassperformance) has got a nice Aluminum Fluidyne radiator in his Daytona. It's a nice looking piece and as far as I know has worked well for him. I'm pretty sure it was custome made by Fluidyne, but if you PM him he may have the specs and more information.

[Ondonti]

98% of the radiators at the J yard have plastic end tanks, and a lot of them are factory units

[iTurbo]

I have a Modine OEM replacement radiator in my '86 Dodge Omni GLH Turbo. I have deleted the entire A/C system and sandwiched a large NPR intercooler with the radiator. The NPR is 2" thick and entirely covers the radiator core. The car has no problem keeping cool here in Wyoming. The only problem I notice is that it heat soaks faster on hot days when the car isn't moving.

Other cooling system mods include an aftermarket 14" radiator fan mounted on a custom sheet metal shroud, and modded T-stat. I also only use distilled water when mixing antifreeze and use some Water Wetter for good measure.

[BadAssPerformance]

JT(badassperformance) has got a nice Aluminum Fluidyne radiator in his Daytona. It's a nice looking piece and as far as I know has worked well for him. I'm pretty sure it was custome made by Fluidyne, but if you PM him he may have the specs and more information.

Yep, custom piece from Fluidyne, works great! :thumb:

http://www.badassperformance.com/mstore/bap_parts/fliudyne.jpg

[turbovanman²]

Yep, custom piece from Fluidyne, works great! :thumb:

http://www.badassperformance.com/mstore/bap_parts/fliudyne.jpg


How much?

Well, rad barn is useless, I emailed them about a alum rad and they gave me the price on a reg radiator, I called them and they said they have nothing and he wasn't really interested when talking on the phone, :(

[Whorse]

I have an aluminum replacement for my car, except it's T1 size (couldn't get anything in the T2/T4 configuration anywhere locally, and dodge aparantly didn't have any in their database across Canada). It cools incredibly well, and it's light and aside from some custom cutting I did to keep my stock IC position at the time, it was easy to install.

[turbovanman²]

I have an aluminum replacement for my car, except it's T1 size (couldn't get anything in the T2/T4 configuration anywhere locally, and dodge aparantly didn't have any in their database across Canada). It cools incredibly well, and it's light and aside from some custom cutting I did to keep my stock IC position at the time, it was easy to install.

Geez you guys, part numbers, pics, how much, where did you get it from???? :mad:

[BadAssPerformance]

My custom one was $450 delivered.

[CSXTacy]

BADASSPERFORMANCE do you have a part number or any other information that would help me in purchasing that radiator i am looking to upgrade and that radiator looks pretty sweet. was there any customizing that had to be done to either the car or the radiator??? this is going into a P body car if that makes a difference......... please be our savior and shead some light on the subject!!! lol thanks:amen:

[BadAssPerformance]

This radiator is bigger than teh stock T2 daytona piece. I had it made so that it could be as big as possible (most cooling) and fit with two 2.5" IC charge pipes and one 3" airfilter inlet pipe past it on the drivers side w/o cutting sheetmetal. The alternator is really close to the passenger side tank (cuz it is longer than a stocker) and it is not a problem cuz I am running solid front and rear motor/trans mounts. I have no idea how it would fit with A/C as i dont have that on the car.

This one is based on an 18" core, they can also do a 15" core. Mine was a one off custom piece so I dont have a part number, however, if there is enough interst, I might be up for arranging a group buy?

[rbryant]

Here is a picture of mine. It is a 24x16" f*rd double pass with 1.25" inlet and outlet from Ron Davis Radiators. (http://www.rondavisradiators.com/Radiators.htm) With a shroud and fan it was $500.

Not bad but they don't provide a way to mount it which really sucks so I had to have a tray and top mounts made.

The f*rd double pass leaves both the inlet and outlet on the drivers side. On an lbody there isn't enough room to do a 90 degree turn in rubber so I used a 3.3 V6 thermostat housing. It points the outlet perfectly at the drivers side and even uses the same thrermostat and gasket... Too bad it doesn't have an oring like the TU one I have but it will have to do. Atleast it is all aluminum and they are a dime a dozen. The top hose was made from a daytona bottom hose and looks like it was made to be there. I just used the elbow from one side and cut it to length.

http://rbryant.freeshell.org/enginebay/GLHS%20147%20Rad1.jpg

Please excuse the dust in this picture I haven't had it running in a while...
http://rbryant.freeshell.org/enginebay/GLHS%20147%20Rad2.jpg

As you can see in a GLHS it is a tight fit. I am still able to use the PH16 (3.0V6, 4.0 Jeep, etc) oil filter which is a good size. I did have to switch to a smaller battery though. I think I will eventually move it to the trunk and built an airbox for a cone filter and ditch the 3.3 airbox. For now I have to get rhough emissions so I will stick with an airbox.

-Rich

[turbovanman²]

^^^Wow, thats a big as-s rad, :nod:

I think I will be ok with my stocker. I just installed a 16 inch hi flow fan, vs the stocker which is 13 inches. :thumb:

[rbryant]

^^^Wow, thats a big as-s rad, :nod:

I think I will be ok with my stocker. I just installed a 16 inch hi flow fan, vs the stocker which is 13 inches. :thumb:

I live in Phoenix, AZ and I am not messing around!

I have had way too many cooling issues in the past and now I have a big FMIC.

-Rich