Alu Rad or Std?

Alu Rad or Std?

Author
Discussion

tuscan_al

Original Poster:

4,107 posts

220 months

Monday 17th August 2009
quotequote all
I need to replace my cracked rad, and want to know if spending the extra on an aluminum one is worth it? I have an all metal one now, no plastic ends and have never had the water creep over 100 C anyway. Can anyone give me some suggestions.

Basil Brush

5,198 posts

269 months

Tuesday 18th August 2009
quotequote all
I´ve just put a copper & brass one on mine to replace the original all alloy one which had split. I got it for 250 quid + VAT from a place called Northern Radiators in Leeds who had a few in stock, as I couldn´t get hold of an alloy one quickly enough. It´s a bit heavier than the alloy original but not that much in it tbh.

Having been driving round the south of France and northen Spain for the last week in 30+ degree temps I´ve not had a problem with engine temps at all.

Edited by Basil Brush on Tuesday 18th August 00:12

farook

115 posts

235 months

Tuesday 18th August 2009
quotequote all
Hi tuscan al - i had to replace my rad and jason suggested to go for the alu - since fitting it, it has never gone above 92 - 2nd fan doesn't even need to come on. i never had any probs with overheating in the past, but it seems to run 'cooler' or less 'hot'.

hth, f

tuscan_al

Original Poster:

4,107 posts

220 months

Tuesday 18th August 2009
quotequote all
thanks for the advice guys, I am having it changed at RG, app mine being a 2000 car had all alu rad anyway, so thats whats going back in. I'm sure with a newer core and water flush will help cooling, although its never been a problem .

BDM

407 posts

188 months

Tuesday 18th August 2009
quotequote all
How much they charging for this mate?

tuscan_al

Original Poster:

4,107 posts

220 months

Tuesday 18th August 2009
quotequote all
BDM said:
How much they charging for this mate?
Don't know yet, but the rad is £290 iirc on exchange basis.

so called

9,119 posts

215 months

Wednesday 19th August 2009
quotequote all
I've just spent 3 weeks with my Tuscan in Spain. I had a small leak during the trip and had to put about a 1/4 litre in every day.
My cars in the workshop now to get it sorted along with a couple of other issues.
I dont know which radiator is in at the moment but am interested to read the comments above regarding the radiator performance.
While in Spain, I did a run from Bilbao down to Costa Blanca. My Tuscan struggled to keep the temperature down, especially in the afternoon.
The morning temperatures where reading in the low to mid 30°'s but in the afternoon sat at around 43°. Then we went throught the area with the forrest fires and the temp reached 57°c! The trees and bushes were still burning at the side of the road and in the central reservation.
By the time we got to our destination, both fans were running constantly and I then found that the battery connection in the passenger footwell had been so hot that it had burnt a hole through the carpet !!!
For the rest of the holiday I had one eye always on the water temp which always seemed to sit around 89°c but as soon as any work was required it would be very quickly climbing into the 90°'s.
So my question, is there significant performance difference between ally and copper rads ?
Thanks,
Tony.

Quentin1

468 posts

250 months

Wednesday 19th August 2009
quotequote all
The aluminium one looks so much nicer...if you could only see it, that is...

This one went straight into the Cerbera:



Regards,
Björn.

Quentin1

468 posts

250 months

Wednesday 19th August 2009
quotequote all
so called said:
I've just spent 3 weeks with my Tuscan in Spain. I had a small leak during the trip and had to put about a 1/4 litre in every day.
My cars in the workshop now to get it sorted along with a couple of other issues.
I dont know which radiator is in at the moment but am interested to read the comments above regarding the radiator performance.
While in Spain, I did a run from Bilbao down to Costa Blanca. My Tuscan struggled to keep the temperature down, especially in the afternoon.
The morning temperatures where reading in the low to mid 30°'s but in the afternoon sat at around 43°. Then we went throught the area with the forrest fires and the temp reached 57°c! The trees and bushes were still burning at the side of the road and in the central reservation.
By the time we got to our destination, both fans were running constantly and I then found that the battery connection in the passenger footwell had been so hot that it had burnt a hole through the carpet !!!
For the rest of the holiday I had one eye always on the water temp which always seemed to sit around 89°c but as soon as any work was required it would be very quickly climbing into the 90°'s.
So my question, is there significant performance difference between ally and copper rads ?
Thanks,
Tony.
We are talking of an increased cooling performance of 25-30% (depends on source of onformation) at same dimension plus less weight in the front.

So yes, it pays out.

http://www.stockcarproducts.com/rad2.htm

Regards,
Björn.

Edited by Quentin1 on Wednesday 19th August 10:41

so called

9,119 posts

215 months

Wednesday 19th August 2009
quotequote all
Quentin1 said:
so called said:
I've just spent 3 weeks with my Tuscan in Spain. I had a small leak during the trip and had to put about a 1/4 litre in every day.
My cars in the workshop now to get it sorted along with a couple of other issues.
I dont know which radiator is in at the moment but am interested to read the comments above regarding the radiator performance.
While in Spain, I did a run from Bilbao down to Costa Blanca. My Tuscan struggled to keep the temperature down, especially in the afternoon.
The morning temperatures where reading in the low to mid 30°'s but in the afternoon sat at around 43°. Then we went throught the area with the forrest fires and the temp reached 57°c! The trees and bushes were still burning at the side of the road and in the central reservation.
By the time we got to our destination, both fans were running constantly and I then found that the battery connection in the passenger footwell had been so hot that it had burnt a hole through the carpet !!!
For the rest of the holiday I had one eye always on the water temp which always seemed to sit around 89°c but as soon as any work was required it would be very quickly climbing into the 90°'s.
So my question, is there significant performance difference between ally and copper rads ?
Thanks,
Tony.
We are talking of an increased cooling performance of 25-30% (depends on source of onformation) at same dimension plus less weight in the front.

So yes, it pays out.

http://www.stockcarproducts.com/rad2.htm

Regards,
Björn.

Edited by Quentin1 on Wednesday 19th August 10:41
Thanks, very interesting.

johnbear

1,568 posts

241 months

Friday 21st August 2009
quotequote all
Just changed mine to alloy but it was a waste of time. I'd recommend refurbing the aircon rad in front of the rad as I suspect it pervents good airflow if the fins on it are damaged or clogged

Buffoon

879 posts

210 months

Friday 21st August 2009
quotequote all
johnbear said:
Just changed mine to alloy but it was a waste of time. I'd recommend refurbing the aircon rad in front of the rad as I suspect it pervents good airflow if the fins on it are damaged or clogged
Agreed. Nothing wrong with properly conditioned originals. If it runs hot with a recon, you will need to get to the route of the problem. Alloy rads are pretty before they are covered in feathers and insects, but money better in the bank ready for more important jobs

Basil Brush

5,198 posts

269 months

Sunday 23rd August 2009
quotequote all
so called said:
I've just spent 3 weeks with my Tuscan in Spain. I had a small leak during the trip and had to put about a 1/4 litre in every day.
My cars in the workshop now to get it sorted along with a couple of other issues.
I dont know which radiator is in at the moment but am interested to read the comments above regarding the radiator performance.
While in Spain, I did a run from Bilbao down to Costa Blanca. My Tuscan struggled to keep the temperature down, especially in the afternoon.
The morning temperatures where reading in the low to mid 30°'s but in the afternoon sat at around 43°. Then we went throught the area with the forrest fires and the temp reached 57°c! The trees and bushes were still burning at the side of the road and in the central reservation.
By the time we got to our destination, both fans were running constantly and I then found that the battery connection in the passenger footwell had been so hot that it had burnt a hole through the carpet !!!
For the rest of the holiday I had one eye always on the water temp which always seemed to sit around 89°c but as soon as any work was required it would be very quickly climbing into the 90°'s.
So my question, is there significant performance difference between ally and copper rads ?
Thanks,
Tony.
Have just got back from my trip round Spain and France as well, with the temps hitting about 41 degrees as we came back from Toulouse up via Millau.
I´m not sure the cooling was any better with the original alloy rad as there is so little area exposed to the airflow. I have a new aircon rad as well.

I was looking for an alloy replacement though and it was only the time pressures that made me take the copper & brass replacement. I also had to adapt the hoses as the replacement has straight connections but my original rad had curved ones.

so called

9,119 posts

215 months

Tuesday 25th August 2009
quotequote all
johnbear said:
Just changed mine to alloy but it was a waste of time. I'd recommend refurbing the aircon rad in front of the rad as I suspect it pervents good airflow if the fins on it are damaged or clogged
Thats another interesting point for me.
My Mk1 1 didnt have aircon and I never had an overheating problem.
Think I need to look a bit further into this.
(I left it off most of the time in Spain to keep the additional load off the engine.)