Discussion
Extra 300 Driver said:
What do you think of them? I have a small leak in my rad on the Cerbera and a local firm will make one up for £300.
I'm in the same situation. I've got a hairline crack about 2 inches below the top of the Cerb's rad which seems to seal when the rad warms up and expands. In this weather, it's not too much of a problem but I was planning to get a new radiator and fit it over the Christmas week. I was quoted £239 by the TVR Centre for a new standard rad so £380 + vat + delivery for the Radtec option from ACT seemed fairly expensive. If you can get one made up for £300, I'd be interested in the details!
Extra 300 Driver said:Isn't copper a better conductor of heat?
What do you think of them? I have a small leak in my rad on the Cerbera and a local firm will make one up for £300.
Any good?
Cheer folks
Ali is obviously lighter which is probably why it's used in competition.
There is a compromise between increasing surface area and adding weight, which may be helped by switching material to aluminium.
I don't know how significant the weight saving is (esp. for road cars) and aluminium is probably more expensive to manufacture.
That's my 2p
Leo
You can have your std rad re-cored with a high flow, large fin pitch export range rover core for much less than the numbers given here. see your local yellow pages for details, I have a local company that do all mine and they're excellent. no need for alloy rads unless you want the weight saving 
rmaurer said:
What do you think of them? I have a small leak in my rad on the Cerbera and a local firm will make one up for £300.
I'm in the same situation. I've got a hairline crack about 2 inches below the top of the Cerb's rad which seems to seal when the rad warms up and expands. In this weather, it's not too much of a problem but I was planning to get a new radiator and fit it over the Christmas week. I was quoted £239 by the TVR Centre for a new standard rad so £380 + vat + delivery for the Radtec option from ACT seemed fairly expensive. If you can get one made up for £300, I'd be interested in the details!
Same here!
It looses water while standing but never looses a drop while we are sitting in traffic at 100 drgrees!
Well a local firm will recore it for £80 + vat or they may be able to repair it. The issue I have with Alloy rads is the corrosion. All that salt and crap being thrown up will just eat the alloy away.
Extra 300 Driver said:
What do you think of them? I have a small leak in my rad on the Cerbera and a local firm will make one up for £300.
I'm in the same situation. I've got a hairline crack about 2 inches below the top of the Cerb's rad which seems to seal when the rad warms up and expands. In this weather, it's not too much of a problem but I was planning to get a new radiator and fit it over the Christmas week. I was quoted £239 by the TVR Centre for a new standard rad so £380 + vat + delivery for the Radtec option from ACT seemed fairly expensive. If you can get one made up for £300, I'd be interested in the details!
Same here!
It looses water while standing but never looses a drop while we are sitting in traffic at 100 drgrees!
That's it! I undid the bleed screw recently, topped the level up to the top and by the time I'd put the coolant down on the floor and picked up the bleed screw, the level had dropped back down again to the previous level. Also, when cold I can tell when the thermostat opens because I get a small puff of steam from the front of the car but once hot this doesn't happen - presumably heat expansion closes the crack? If the car gets really hot I do lose a small amount of water, presumably as the pressure builds it blows through... Not too much of a problem over winter but I'd rather get it sorted sooner than later.
trackcar said:
You can have your std rad re-cored with a high flow, large fin pitch export range rover core
Do you mean that? As I understand it, increased fin pitch is used because it improves the mud clearing capability, not because it improves cooling. Alloy rads usually offer significantly better cooling than the old Cu/brass ones. Historically they have been a lot more expensive, but they're getting a lot more common these days and the prices are coming down. External corrosion doesn't seem to be an issue, and internal corrosion isn't a problem as long as you keep the antifreeze strength up (which you will need to anyway for an alloy engine).
The only disadvantages I can see for an alloy rad is that they are still more expensive than Cu/brass, and some horizontal flow rads are vulnerable to fatigue failures due to thermal shock.
rmaurer said:
I'm in the same situation. I've got a hairline crack about 2 inches below the top of the Cerb's rad which seems to seal when the rad warms up and expands.
Is it definitely holding pressure when hot? (Hoses hard, hiss when you crack the pressure cap etc?) If so then for the sake of £300 plus hassle I'd be inclined to put a dose of Wynns in and see if cures it.
rmaurer said:
What do you think of them? I have a small leak in my rad on the Cerbera and a local firm will make one up for £300.
I'm in the same situation. I've got a hairline crack about 2 inches below the top of the Cerb's rad which seems to seal when the rad warms up and expands. In this weather, it's not too much of a problem but I was planning to get a new radiator and fit it over the Christmas week. I was quoted £239 by the TVR Centre for a new standard rad so £380 + vat + delivery for the Radtec option from ACT seemed fairly expensive. If you can get one made up for £300, I'd be interested in the details!
Same here!
It looses water while standing but never looses a drop while we are sitting in traffic at 100 drgrees!
That's it! I undid the bleed screw recently, topped the level up to the top and by the time I'd put the coolant down on the floor and picked up the bleed screw, the level had dropped back down again to the previous level. Also, when cold I can tell when the thermostat opens because I get a small puff of steam from the front of the car but once hot this doesn't happen - presumably heat expansion closes the crack? If the car gets really hot I do lose a small amount of water, presumably as the pressure builds it blows through... Not too much of a problem over winter but I'd rather get it sorted sooner than later.
Mine isnt as bad as that, will loose about a cup full a week if left.
victormeldrew said:
Mu alloy rad has split slightly due to head gasket failure and resultant coolant system pressurisation. Can they be repaired?
Depending where the crack is, maybe. But unless you're in the trade it's unlikely to be economic and you would be better off replacing the rad.
Not heard the mud thing peter but sounds possible.
I was told that the more cores you have the less *line of sight* through the matrix .. not a problem for air as that can zig-zag it's way through the cores, but stuff like small insects and small debris gets stuck if it hasn't got a cler path through the fins .. by using a larger fin spacing you reduce the clogging on the matrix so I guess they trade an initial massive airflow capability that dies off quicker with clogging against a longer lasting airflow that is still more cacpacity than you require ..?
I was told that the more cores you have the less *line of sight* through the matrix .. not a problem for air as that can zig-zag it's way through the cores, but stuff like small insects and small debris gets stuck if it hasn't got a cler path through the fins .. by using a larger fin spacing you reduce the clogging on the matrix so I guess they trade an initial massive airflow capability that dies off quicker with clogging against a longer lasting airflow that is still more cacpacity than you require ..?
victormeldrew said:
Mu alloy rad has split slightly due to head gasket failure and resultant coolant system pressurisation. Can they be repaired?
Yes but can be expensive as it is almost a complex as building the thing in the first place. Worth getting some quotes but be prepared for the worse.. and then be surprised
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